October earthquake gives Tokyo a wake-up call

At 10:41 pm on October 7, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake at its epicenter shook the Greater Kantō region. Although the damage was minimal, it was the strongest to hit the Japanese capital since the earthquake and aftershocks that devastated the Tohoku region on March 11, 2011.

Kyodo News reported that many late-night train passengers were stranded, with express train services and 16 local lines canceled or delayed. Normal service was not restored on some lines until 3pm the next day.

On the JR Tokaido Line, several hundred passengers were forced to evacuate by a train escape ladder after being stranded for more than two hours. East Japan Railways alone estimated that about 368,000 passengers were affected.

A 42-year-old man told Aera (October 25) that he stopped trying to call a taxi after seeing long lines of people at Shinagawa Station. Because rooms in nearby hotels were fully booked, he was left with no other means than to walk home to Ota Ward, where he arrived sometime after 2am

To help commuters temporarily stranded in the city center in the wake of a natural disaster, the Tokyo government has prepared 232 temporary shelters around the capital. But because the October 7 earthquake was less than 6 on the Richter scale, only three facilities—in the Adachi, Arakawa, and Minato wards—opened their doors to receive people.

Shokan Taisho (November 1) was among several magazines that wondered if the latest earthquake might have been a harbinger of the Shoko Chuka Jiishin earthquake (an earthquake just under the capital) – the frightening “big earthquake” that has so far defied earlier expectations.

If Tokyo and surrounding prefectures such as Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama were included, such an earthquake would affect a region that accounts for nearly a quarter of Japan’s entire population, and in the worst case the government forecasts could result in up to 23,000 people dead and missing, and economic losses of up to 47 trillion yen or more.

“The Japanese archipelago is currently going through a period of seismic activity, which is the reason why earthquakes are so frequent,” explains Professor at Kyoto University Yasuhiro Umeda. But the October 7 earthquake is unlikely to cause an earthquake under Tokyo.

Umeda says this is because the metropolitan area lies above the North American plate, below which are the Philippine and Pacific plates – essentially a trilayer formation. The October 7 earthquake, which occurred at a depth of 75 km below the Earth’s surface, was of a reverse fault type with its epicenter near the boundary of the Philippine and Pacific plates.

“A ‘direct earthquake’ is likely to occur at a shallow depth, at an active fault on the North American plate,” Umeda says.

In his book on Sunday Mainichi (November 14), Kyoto University professor Hiroki Kamata advised that you should pay attention to at least three things without hesitation. First, secure enough bottled water for three days per person (seven days would be better). Second, install metal brackets or other appliances in bedrooms and living rooms to prevent furniture or shelves from tipping over. Third, strengthen the house. These proactive measures will help protect against building collapse and fire damage.

Perhaps the most logical – and also the most practical – expert advice came from Professor Nobuo Fukua of Nagoya University. Fukua, who is in charge of disaster management, told Aera (October 25) that to mitigate the damage from the major earthquake “it will be necessary for Tokyo to get smaller.” How small? Can you believe 2 million? This would be about a fifth of its current population.

A spooky Friday (November 19) showed a map that, based on data from the Meteorological Agency, indicates the locations of 10 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or greater from the beginning of this year, through the November 1 earthquake in northern Ibaraki Prefecture. 5.2

Finally, I contacted British science journalist Peter Hadfield, a former geologist who in 1992 published a controversial work Sixty Seconds That Will Change the World: The Next Tokyo Earthquake. Three decades later, I asked him if anything had happened that would change the opinions in his book?

“If I were to change anything, I think I would omit some potential earthquake histories, which I felt pressured to include in the book,” Hadfield said in an email. “I cautioned at the time that it was nothing more than estimates based on past earthquake activity. But the danger of saying, ‘The most likely time for the (immediate) Chukagata earthquake is around 2002 and beyond’ is that when nothing happens, people think it’s a false alarm. It’s not a false alarm, it just means that the stress on the fault lines keeps building.”

While Hadfield admitted that he would “need to do a lot of research to see what’s been newly discovered in the past 30 years,” Hadfield noted that the underlying geology certainly hasn’t changed.

“Geologists are still predicting a major earthquake in the Suruga Bay area (on the coast of Shizuoka Prefecture),” he said. “Another area to watch is the potential for a swarm of Chukagata earthquakes below Tokyo itself. Again, nothing has changed – the plates below Tokyo continue to increase pressure.

“The only thing that I hope has changed is Tokyo’s readiness,” he added. “My book was heavily criticized by Japanese engineers for warning about poor building practices, inadequate standards and regulations in earthquake-resistant buildings, complacency and tenuki (sliding construction). But after the 1995 Kobe earthquake when exactly those malpractices were exposed, I apologize. One such critic – a professor at a major Tokyo university – said he was humbled by what happened.

“It would be nice to think that if I were writing the book today, I could report on lessons learned and that things got better. We’ll see.”

Big in Japan is a weekly column focusing on issues discussed by local media organizations.

In a time of misinformation and so much information, good journalism is more important than ever, and by subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

subscribe now

Photo gallery (click to enlarge)

Key words

Tokyo, earthquakes.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos