Japan has been the witness of many man-made as well as natural calamities. One of the country’s biggest foes throughout history has been earthquakes. Japan is among the countries most prone to earthquakes and the natural calamities have sometimes led to some of the most harrowing destruction brought into the land of the rising sun. The infamous and soul-wrenching earthquakes of 2011, followed by the devastation that were the Tsunami waves, wreaked havoc on the nation on a scale that made the whole world witness the loss of lives in abject horror.
However, as ravaging as the frequent earthquakes are in Japan, the country is also among the very few in the world that know how to best contend with natural disasters. Japan has the most advanced earthquake warning system in all of the world. People are warned of earthquakes before the destructive waves commence. However, is that possible because Japan can predict earthquakes? Or is it just a great warning system? We dug into the topic and found some explanation as to what exactly happens with Japan’s advanced warning system. Let’s find out!
How does Japan deal with earthquakes?
One of the many strategies that Japan employs to deal with earthquakes is the earthquake-resistant architecture and design of the buildings. Houses and buildings in Japan have to comply with the earthquake-proof and prevention standards set by the country. Buildings are built in a way that makes them flexible, which in turn makes them resistant to much of the upheaval caused by the tremors. Many buildings use flexible materials like Teflon or rubber. Other shock-absorbing materials and techniques are also employed to make the structures earthquake-proof.
There are many other strategies that Japan uses to ensure the safety of the people during earthquakes. One of these is the lighting-fast response to earthquakes. From schools to companies to railways to road traffic — every aspect of daily life and commute is made aware of the imminent dangers and warned of the disasters even before the tremors begin.
TV coverage and warning messages are broadcasted to the public via mobile phones and other media sources. Even Bullet Trains are stopped as soon as the earthquake warning is put out in the air. The trains have the technology that enables them to stop quickly and immediately in case of an earthquake. Additionally, people are already prepared to deal with earthquakes. From a very young age, Japanese people are adept at earthquake drills and appropriate measures to take during a quake.
So, can Japan predict earthquakes?
No, Japan doesn’t predict earthquakes, nor can it, at least for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, no country has yet found a way to predict earthquakes. Then how exactly does Japan warn the public about the quaking disasters before it even hits the ground? The answer to that lies in the major and significant advances the country has made in the area of earthquake detection. The county can detect earthquakes very quickly. This entails advanced hardware and software that detects the light primary waves that emanate out of the tectonic plates shifting about. The bigger seismic waves during an earthquake are preceded by smaller, hard-to-detect waves.
These are the waves that the sensors pick up to help Japan’s seismologists calculate the risks and the intensity of the disaster to follow. One important thing to note, though, is that these methods are not entirely resistant to failure. In fact, several times in the past, sensors have given out false alarms and sometimes not even been able to detect the primary waves. However, as uncertain as they can be, these detection systems are the best and the most advanced technology we have, and Japan is the leader in the area. With each passing day, our understanding of earthquakes and tectonic movements is improving and one day, we might be able to predict and defy the natural calamities with no loss of lives or property.
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