the big one ........

[chinese boy]

Hello all ! I heard that one day a big earthquake same as in 1923's will appear later in tokyo !!! If it is true that's very sad for all people who love tokyo !!! Imagine tokyo after a big earthquake people...........:(

[Homerduff]

heres a good article about it (BBC)..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3950315.stm
_______________________
Japan's earthquake watch

Japan holds regular earthquake drills
Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world, perched on top of several converging tectonic plates.
Geological instability causes around 1,000 tremors in the country each year, although many of these go undetected by the public.

Every time they do strike they are a reminder to the country's capital, Tokyo, that it is long overdue "a Big One".

The last major quake in the city was in 1923, and records suggest the geologically precarious Kanto region - where Tokyo in located - will experience one of a similar size about every 70 years.

The 1923 quake, known as the Great Kanto Earthquake, killed more than 100,000 people. Although building and safety standards have greatly improved since then, experts predict that a major quake in the capital could still kill several thousand people and shake the world's financial markets.

But Tokyo is not the only Japanese city at risk.

The 1995 quake in Kobe, western Japan, jolted those who had been focusing quake prevention efforts only on the Kanto area. The Great Hanshin Earthquake killed more than 6,400 people and injured more than 400,000 and was the most powerful tremor in the country since 1923.


The devastation wreaked by an earthquake is not simply connected to its strength.

A tremor of magnitude 8 hit northern Japan last September - the strongest anywhere in the world in recent years. But because its epicentre was far offshore, and because the quake hit hardest in under-populated areas, it caused no fatalities and only seriously injured a handful of people.


Likewise, the first of a string of quakes to shake Niigata this weekend was a sizeable 6.8 magnitude. These tremors killed at least 25 people, but deaths could have run into the thousands if their focus had been in a built-up area - Niigata is largely rural.

The 1995 Kobe quake was only slightly stronger. But it was so devastating because its epicentre was only 20km from a city of 1.5 million people.

Annual drill

The urban density of Tokyo - home to more than 12 million people crammed into an area of just over 2,000 sq-km - therefore puts it at great risk.

A government earthquake panel said in August that there was a 70% chance of a quake around magnitude 7 hitting Tokyo in the next 30 years. The city government has predicted a quake measuring 7.2 could kill more than 7,000 people and injure around 160,000.

Another major factor in determining the death toll is timing.

Experts say many more people would have died in the Kobe quake if it had been later in the day - it struck at dawn, before most people were using cars or public transport.


Fires also pose a major risk after quakes
It could also be argued, however, that a quake that strikes while people are sleeping puts them at greater risk of collapsing buildings and ensuring fires. Fires killed the majority of victims in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Because of its geological vulnerability, the Japanese authorities make every effort to prepare for a major earthquake.

New buildings are designed to withstand the strongest tremors and the army and emergency services go through elaborate drills every year, on the anniversary of the Great Kanto earthquake.

The difficulty lies with older buildings. A 1997 report by Tokyo's government showed that more than 1.6m houses in the capital were built before 1981, when new recommendations for quake-proofing came into force.

The local government offers all of the city's citizens a structural health check on their homes.

But engineering work to strengthen them is not cheap, and not everyone can afford it.
____________________________________

Its pretty scarry indeed. I also read about it once but tought that with the infrastructure of these days, there shouldnt be any fatalities. But remind that there was an earthquake in Kobe 1995 that killed over 5.000 people. Chance is big that there will be a big earthquake soon in Japan, but the size of the catastrophe will depend on where the epicentre is situated and ofcourse the time of day (see article). So fingers crossed..

[Uncle Frank]

All the buildings built after the 1923 quake were built on deep layers of marbles. Any new quake will just roll things around. When the quake is over , authorities will just roll everything back the way it was, no problem!

Uncle Frank

:blush:

[chinese boy]

In fact the thing which gave me the idea to create this thread about the earthquakes in japan is takashi murakami, a japanese artist, he said in an interview on cnn : "People here know that one day soon there's going to be a catastrophe -- another big earthquake. The people here don't live in fear though. But that's why people want to enjoy today, now. Not the future. Not the history. Now is the most important thing."

[Goldiegirl]

I felt my first earthquake yesterday! It wasn't big to everybody around me, but to me the world was going to end! My heart was pounding, and I thought what if this is just the little tremor before the BIG ONE! I like my ground stable and in the same place. I worry about the firestrom that is supposed to happen after the earthquake. There was a TV program maybe by Nova or Discovery, National Geographic about all the fires in Tokyo after the big earthquake hits. That show terrified me and I never thought I'd ever be in Tokyo and now I can picture in my head that program so clearly! I wish I hadn't watched it. How can people live with the idea of a huge earthquake looming everyday. chinese boy wrote what I have been told...no one really thinks about it; you just live your life. I hate the thought of it and think of it a lot, and plan an escape route every new building, hotel I am in...crazy hey!

[Uncle Frank]

I felt my first earthquake yesterday! It wasn't big to everybody around me, but to me the world was going to end! My heart was pounding, and I thought what if this is just the little tremor before the BIG ONE! I hate the thought of it and think of it a lot, and plan an escape route every new building, hotel I am in...crazy hey!

Everytime I was in an earthquake, my feet became "superglued" to the floor, LOL. I could take in all the movement around me, but couldn't make my own feet move.

Uncle Frank

:blush:

[Goldiegirl]

I became stuck in place as well, but my mind was in overdrive. It's like you have to wait and see just how bad this is going to be....is this IT! If not and you run around I am sure everyone would think you're crazy. They think I am crazy and obsessed with earthquakes, when in actuality I am obsessed with survival! Of course after the the little quake I was so upst and wired there was only one thing to do to calm down....Shopping! Bought a few things and somehow it made everything right with the world again! :)

[pipokun]

You are not crazy at all.
I am obsessed with survival!
It is considered you need to survive for 3 days before the government's help starts working.

[Cue]

I hear there was a big one in Hokuriku region this morning.
M6.9 quake jolts central Japan, 1 dead, at least 160 injured (http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=305562)

Also M5.3 around 6pm.

I really hope all JREF members in Hokuriku region as well as other regions are safe and okay.

My mom in Osaka told me that even she could feel the quake, so it must've been a rather big one...

Mars Man? You okay, right?

[Glenn]

Yeah, I felt in here in Kyoto, around 9:45 this morning. I was lying in bed and all of a sudden the room was shaking, and after a few seconds I realized it was an earthquake. I had no idea the epicenter was as far away as it was though. They said they're that aftershocks may occur for a about week, with a possibility of one as strong as 6 or so, I think (Japanese scale was shindo 5-kyô).

From ANN News (http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/ann/news/web/index7.html?now=20070325231230)
気象庁・地震津波監視課・鉢嶺猛課長：「今後１週間程 度で、震源の位置、深さを考えると、震度５強程度を観測する余震発生の恐れがあります」

[Elizabeth]

I felt my first earthquake yesterday! It wasn't big to everybody around me, but to me the world was going to end! My heart was pounding, and I thought what if this is just the little tremor before the BIG ONE! I like my ground stable and in the same place. I worry about the firestrom that is supposed to happen after the earthquake. There was a TV program maybe by Nova or Discovery, National Geographic about all the fires in Tokyo after the big earthquake hits. That show terrified me and I never thought I'd ever be in Tokyo and now I can picture in my head that program so clearly! I wish I hadn't watched it. How can people live with the idea of a huge earthquake looming everyday. chinese boy wrote what I have been told...no one really thinks about it; you just live your life. I hate the thought of it and think of it a lot, and plan an escape route every new building, hotel I am in...crazy hey!
You'd better get used to it with a mini quake around every two weeks in
Tokyo. Just don't stay 50 years or you've got a 90% chance of living through it. My number must not be being called by the universe, either, or else I also have a secret obsession with survival since I left Kanazawa Ishikawa only one week ago yesterday !!! Ahhhh, the adventure of an earthquake that will never be !!! :( It's a sign that I must move to Japan no matter what the odds !!! :cool: And since I can't force myself to clean the house more than twice a year, first order of business : must hire a housekeeper or husband to pick up all the stuff. LOL

[Karamuucho]

Goldiegirl>
That quite possibly might be the same earthquake I felt the other day, I just stood up when it happened so I thought I was getting a headrush, til I noticed the light on the ceiling dancing. My first quake since moving back too ;) Wasn't a big one though, most people barely noticed it, lol.

[Uncle Frank]

I hear there was a big one in Hokuriku region this morning.
M6.9 quake jolts central Japan, 1 dead, at least 160 injured (http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=305562)
Also M5.3 around 6pm.
I really hope all JREF members in Hokuriku region as well as other regions are safe and okay.
My mom in Osaka told me that even she could feel the quake, so it must've been a rather big one...
Mars Man? You okay, right?

Mars Man has not been on for a week? I tried PM'ing him and E-Mail with no answer; hope he's OK!

Uncle Frank

:(

[Glenn]

He's in Nagoya, right? If so I'm sure he's OK. That's farther away from the epicenter than Kyoto is (if my geography is correct).

[ArmandV]

The worst quake I ever felt was the 1994 Northridge Quake (almost a year to the day before the Kobe Quake). As it was going on, I tried to get out of my bed to get my daughter from her room to get her into the hallway, but the shaking was so bad that it kept throwing me back into bed.

I did feel a six-pointer in Tokyo in October 2005. As the epicenter was about 60 miles away, it was more like a three or four-pointer.

As a Californian, I felt right at home during the quake in Tokyo.

Goldiegirl: Welcome to Japan! ;-)

[Glenn]

Well, today's was my first, so I'm glad it was pretty minor here. I wish I could say the same for all the people who lost homes in Ishikawa. Luckily the casualties and fatalaties are light as far as we know now.

[ArmandV]

My worry-wart daughter emailed me about the quake this morning. I have to thank Uncle Frank for the "bed of marbles" story, I used it in my reply.

She wrote:
you are NOT going to japan. HELL FREAKING NO!!! not after that earthquake. no no no no no. you can use that money to do something funner. yes, i said funner. do something else. NOT THERE!!!!

I replied:
Aw, it was centered way offshore from the west coast of Japan. Tokyo is on the east coast of Japan. Besides, it should make me feel right at home since California has plenty of them as well. Also, I'll be spending most of my time down in Kyushu on this trip looking at volcanos (Rodan locations).

Anyway, I've already experienced a 6-pointer in Tokyo (since the epicenter was 60 miles away, it felt more like a 3 or 4-pointer) back in October 2005. Modern buildings in Japan are built on beds of marbles. So all they do is roll around. When the quakes are done, they just roll the buildings back into place.
****
Think she'll buy it? :-)

[Glenn]

Yeah, volcanoes are much safer! :D:D

[ArmandV]

Yeah, volcanoes are much safer! :D:D

Heh.

If she presses the issue, I'll just tell her it is safer in Japan now since some pressure has been released.

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, volcanoes are much safer! :D:D
Actually they are...but if you're going to be in Kyuushuu in September or October you're much more likely to die from a typhoon. Also be sure not to tell your daughter if you're going to be driving or on the road in Japan. :relief:

Gotta live for the moment I guess...Hysteria never saved a single life. :souka:

[ArmandV]

Actually they are...but if you're going to be in Kyuushuu in September or October you're much more likely to die from a typhoon. Also be sure not to tell your daughter if you're going to be driving or on the road in Japan. :relief:
Gotta live for the moment I guess...Hysteria never saved a single life. :souka:

Actually, I am going next month. So I won't have to burden her with typhoon worries.

[Cue]

He's in Nagoya, right? If so I'm sure he's OK. That's farther away from the epicenter than Kyoto is (if my geography is correct).
Yeah, he's in NaGANO, No.20 on this map (http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/~weddha/place/mapjpn.html)(I think you just misspelled it, right?), and it was "Shindo 4" around that area...


Argh, I want to reply to other people as well but I gotta run to work...meh.

Q

[yukio_michael]

"Little" quakes 4-5.x scared me... when your house shakes all around you and you feel as if anything is possible, and you have no idea until minutes later when you watch tv just how bad the quake is...

It was better in Chiba, worse usually in Central Tokyo... still, I don't know how you get used to that... I experienced probably 7 quakes, and a few minor rumblings in 6 months...

[Goldiegirl]

ArmandV, you made me smile....the pressure being released...I was told the exact same thing here. I don't buy it! :okashii: I have truly come to the realization that I am terrified of earthquakes. I haven't been able to wrap my head around all of the emotions that I go through, before, during and after even the tiniest of tremors or quakes. I have become supersensitized. I don't like the building I am in to groan and creek and make bizarre noises or the feeling of it swaying. I was so panicked, but I just stood there wondering if this was going to be the big one. Just how safe are the tall buildings here, well any buildings? I can say as much as love it here, earthquakes are a major issue for me to consider living in Japan. Is everyone really that brave, or is everyone in denial? Or is it just that everyone has given up because they know there is nothing they can do about it!? I never thought I was such a weak person. I feel silly to get so scared.:blush: So for everyone who lives in Japan or other earthquake prone areas (like ArmandV in CA) how do you deal with the thought of a devastating earthquake? Are you afraid? Do you think about it...a little...a lot? :?

[Glenn]

Yeah, he's in NaGANO, No.20 on this map (http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/%7Eweddha/place/mapjpn.html)(I think you just misspelled it, right?), and it was "Shindo 4" around that area...

No, I meant Nagoya. I got the city wrong. So, he's actually a lot closer than I thought. I'm sure he's alright, but it's be nice if he'd pop in and let us know for sure.

[ArmandV]

ArmandV, you made me smile....the pressure being released...I was told the exact same thing here. I don't buy it! :okashii:

So for everyone who lives in Japan or other earthquake prone areas (like ArmandV in CA) how do you deal with the thought of a devastating earthquake? Are you afraid? Do you think about it...a little...a lot? :?


Believe it or not, although scary, the energy from a quake does help to relieve inner pressure underground.

I've already dealt with a devastating earthquake: the Northridge Quake from 1994. I was about 6-7 miles from the epicenter. It was like Linda Blair's bed in The Exorcist. My bed was basically jumping around and I could not get out of it. I was more concerned for my daughter (she was 7 at the time) in the next room.

One can't constantly live in fear, but should be prepared for the time a big one comes. Since 1994, I have earthquake kits containing water and food provisions, flashlights, etc. Earthquakes don't kill people, it is falling structures and things and fires.

When one hits, get under a strong desk or table or go into the smallest room available.

[Uncle Frank]

Heard from Mars Man last night and he is just super busy. As soon as he gets his busy life in order, he'll be back on JREF. Sure was glad to hear from him.

Uncle Frank

:cool:

[Elizabeth]

ArmandV, you made me smile....the pressure being released...I was told the exact same thing here. I don't buy it! :okashii: I have truly come to the realization that I am terrified of earthquakes. I haven't been able to wrap my head around all of the emotions that I go through, before, during and after even the tiniest of tremors or quakes. I have become supersensitized. I don't like the building I am in to groan and creek and make bizarre noises or the feeling of it swaying. I was so panicked, but I just stood there wondering if this was going to be the big one. Just how safe are the tall buildings here, well any buildings?
I don't know exactly but I think the technical standard is designed to withstand a magnitude 7 or so (close to the Kobe, Niigata and Ishikawa quakes).
I can say as much as love it here, earthquakes are a major issue for me to consider living in Japan. Is everyone really that brave, or is everyone in denial? Or is it just that everyone has given up because they know there is nothing they can do about it!?
Earthquakes are a fact of life everywhere, unfortunately. There really isn't anywhere to run, at least for those folks that want to stay within their own borders. I don't know how most people deal with it besides making sure their personal residence is up to code. There have been scandals involving shoddy contractors recently so that might be something important to check. How does your husband react ?

There are around 3,000 earthquakes a year in Japan with only 2 in the last 80 + years (Kobe and Niigata) leading to significant loss of life. Just take Armand's advice about going to an safe, interior room and hope the big one doesn't come at night, which happened in Kobe. Under the right conditions and with all the safety measures in place there is a high probability that the damage around Tokyo will be fairly contained.
Ganbattene ! :)

[Goldiegirl]

At least it sounds good that the buildings can tolerate a 7 earthquake. Thanks for the info Elizabeth! BTW my husband doesn't react. He just says it's an earthquake and if it gets bad to duck and cover....but don't do anything unless it gets bad...it's like a wait and see approach. I still am on high alert, although I am starting to relax because I didn't feel anything move today. Oh ArmandV, you are right...sometimes when a quake happens it does relieve tension and built up pressure in the plates. My apologies at not believing you and to my Japanese friends too! Sorry. (However....that's not true in every case. :) ) I did some reading today on earthquakes thinking it would help. It didn't but I feel smarter! ( a little )

[Elizabeth]

At least it sounds good that the buildings can tolerate a 7 earthquake. Thanks for the info Elizabeth! BTW my husband doesn't react. He just says it's an earthquake and if it gets bad to duck and cover....but don't do anything unless it gets bad...it's like a wait and see approach. I still am on high alert, although I am starting to relax because I didn't feel anything move today. Oh ArmandV, you are right...sometimes when a quake happens it does relieve tension and built up pressure in the plates. My apologies at not believing you and to my Japanese friends too! Sorry. (However....that's not true in every case. :) ) I did some reading today on earthquakes thinking it would help. It didn't but I feel smarter! ( a little )
It is preferable to have several small earthquakes than to have no activity over a long period. The reason being because frequent, small earthquakes release energy in little bursts, instead of building up the pressure to release in one giant tremor. So you might want to start an earthquake calander, Goldiegirl, just don't include the one this week since Tokyo happens to be on a different fault line...:relief:

[Cue]

I don't mean to scare you Goldiegirl, but I experienced the Kobe earthquake myself, and I thought I was done for. xD
Like ArmandV mentioned, I couldn't even get up. I still remeber my mother screaming my name and my younger brohter's so loud. We lived on the reclaimed land right across the Osaka-bay from Awaji-shima island(epicenter), and lived on the 11th floor, so it swayed much more than other Osaka area... All the dishes on the cupboard fell off, so did books and CDs and stuff on the shelf and some shelves themselves, ugh, it was a big mess. We left those broken glasses on the floor as they were for a couple of days, as we thought even if we cleaned it, the aftershock would cause another mess anyway. We were so scared that we left the all the lights on when we sleeped...
I haven't experieced big one since then, but still I'm scared even if it's a small one...