An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 happened 150 miles
away from Japans Northeast coast last Friday. As of right now, there is no
death related and nearly no structural damage reported by the 7.3 quake or its
4.7 after shock. This is incredible in terms of environmental hazards and
mitigation. The event did happen some distance off in the ocean as opposed to
in the heart of a city, which was a reason why this large scale earthquake
caused little chaos. Japan it seems has nearly perfected their warning systems
and mitigation efforts. People in the area affected by the quake had nearly 6 minutes
to take action and precautions before the quake hit. Advanced warning systems
play a large role in preventive measures, but so too does the technology
employed on buildings. Because of Japans
cleverly designed buildings, they were able to withstand the prolong shaking
that would topple many houses in less developed countries. This is a good
example for showing the different affect hazards have on more developed countries
compared to less developed ones. The earthquake that claimed a still undetermined
amount of deaths in Haiti registered as a 7.0, smaller than the one that hit
Japan. The main difference between the two outcomes was the construction of the
houses. While the more advanced and developed Japanese society was able build structures
that could withstand the tremors associated with quakes, the Haitians were
stuck with much less.
Another interesting part of this article was the mention of
the perceived tone of fear used by the Japanese news reporters. People are
still frightful of another event like Fukushima so any mention of a potential tsunami
in this case it was less than 3 feet, causes people to head for the mountains.
This puts more responsibility on the government when issuing warnings, needing
to take into consideration the potential reaction from the public. As we have
seen in other environmental hazards around the world, looting and crime are an
issue. Therefore issuing a warning, even if the waves are only to reach 5
feet, is a concern.
Source: http://z6mag.com/featured/earthquake-in-japan-hours-after-2012-fukushima-aftershock-1616538.html
