Home
Back

Dear visitor, if you know the answer to this question, please post it. Thank you!

Note that this thread has not been updated in a long time, and its content might not be up-to-date anymore.

Tokai and Kanto earthquake 2011/3/30 12:23
hello guys!!!
i live in the kanto area and i'm seriously worried about other possibly coming earthquakes...so i wanna ask some question and hope you have the answers!
1: experts say that within 30 years a huge earthquakes will hit Tokyo...are they speaking about the Kanto one or the Tokai one??(both of them happen every 100-150 years about).
2:regarding the Tohoku,the most of damage has been caued by the tsunami,not by the quake(according to the news ,not many building collapsed,and almost all very old houses)....so why they expect to be so destructive the Tokai one??in wich way will hit ?
3:why the Kobe earthquake has been so destructive?
4:if the Kanto or the Tokai jishin is coming,it will cause a tsuami??if yes,area like Tokyo bay and suruga bay will be complitly destroyed?(considering that they are 'umetate' built on the sea)

i'm sorry,i may write in a confusing way,but i hope u can understand the meaning:)
thank uuu:)
by Alize (guest)  

... 2011/3/30 16:12
experts say that within 30 years a huge earthquakes will hit Tokyo...are they speaking about the Kanto one or the Tokai one??(both of them happen every 100-150 years about).

Almost the entire Pacific coast from Tokyo to Kochi is predicted to experience a shindo 6+ earthquake or more within the next 30 years with high probability (50-80%). Shindo 6+ is a strong, but not a huge earthquake.

You also have to realize that the serious damage caused even by a huge earthquake in Japan is highly localized. It is extremely unlikely that it will hit you. You have to be extremely unlucky to be exactly in the wrong place at the exactly wrong time to be hurt or even killed. The danger of being hurt or killed in a traffic accident or while doing a dangerous sport like skiing, is considerably higher.

regarding the Tohoku,the most of damage has been caued by the tsunami,not by the quake(according to the news ,not many building collapsed,and almost all very old houses)....so why they expect to be so destructive the Tokai one??in wich way will hit ?

The tremors of the recent earthquake were not so destructive because the epicenter was far away from the land! And even further away from a big city. Thanks to that distance, the damage in Sendai was relatively small. However, the worst-case scenario of a future earthquake is that it will hit directly below or closer to a densely populated area like Tokyo, where the damage would be much bigger. More like what happened in Kobe 16 years ago.

why the Kobe earthquake has been so destructive?

Because the epicenter was much closer to Kobe, and Kobe is a densely populated city. By the way, distance to the epicenter is not the only factor. Damage is also dependent on fault lines and many other complex issues which can make tremors more or less damaging.

if the Kanto or the Tokai jishin is coming,it will cause a tsuami??

Possible. Every earthquake happening under the sea can cause a tsunami.

if yes,area like Tokyo bay and suruga bay will be complitly destroyed?(considering that they are 'umetate' built on the sea

Theoretically, the damage to the open coastal areas along the Pacific coast could be devastating. The damage inside Tokyo Bay would probably be not as bad because of the geographical protection provided by the bay. Also, it does not need to be the Kanto or Tokai Earthquake. It could theoretically be an earthquake on the other side of the Pacific. But practically speaking, it is very unlikely that there will be another tsunami of that size in the near future. Again, driving a car is so much more dangerous.
by Uji rate this post as useful

. 2011/3/31 15:46
Earthquakes happen all the time in Japan, over 1000 a year. You will go insane if you worry about an earthquake happening. The best thing to do is prepare.

If we were to step back and look at the facts. The recent earthquake measured as a 5minus (on the Japanese scale) in Tokyo, THAT was a pretty significant earthquake for Tokyo, and Tokyo survived it, virtually in tact.

3:why the Kobe earthquake has been so destructive?

There are many reasons.
-Kobe was on a fault line that was undetected before by researchers.

-Many building codes were from the late 1960s did not take into account the various other types of earthquakes, this is one major reason why parts of the Hanshin Expressway Collapse, and why many modern buildings in Central Kobe fell as well.

-Another reason why there were so many deaths in the Kobe quake was that many people lived in older style Japanese homes that had traditional heavy roofs (typhoon protection) but very very weak foundation and support columns. Of the 6000+ deaths in the Hanshin Earthquake, nearly 4000 of them were attributed to people in the suburbs living in these old traditional homes.

-Another factor could of been the very very slow government response to the disaster. The self-defense forces and the US military were NOT brought in to assist the people.

Since the 1995 Hanshin (Kobe) Earthquake, alot of what went wrong in Kobe was corrected, bridges were re-enforced, new building codes put in place. Emergency responders now act a lot faster. Now the Self-Defense forces can automatically deploy when an earthquake is over a certain level, more international help and US Military help is called upon when disaster strikes.

Again, if we look at things, the recent Earthquake recorded as a 5 minus in Tokyo (That's strong) and Tokyo survived.

The best thing to do is prepare, but the worst thing to do is to worry your entire life about something that might happen.
by ExpressTrain (guest) rate this post as useful

Chain reaction unit 1-Fukushima Daiichi. 2011/4/4 16:16
Hi Guys I am now in Yokohama and track the news and experts' opinion on Fukushima disaster plant and it's effects. Today I listened to this video and it makes me get concerned to move southward with my Family: Osaka or Kyoto at least. What do you think about that?
http://fairewinds.com/
I worry about my family hearing about ''inadvertent criticality''.
by Azati rate this post as useful

. 2011/4/5 04:19
I honestly don't think it's worth it to move to an entirely different city. The situation while serious in Fukushima does not warrant people to move out of places like Tokyo or Yokohama.

The vast majority of experts will tell you this is no Chernobyl incident.

People hear the words "radiation" and become hysterical and scared, when there is nothing to be scared about.

Do you like to eat Bananas? Bananas have a lot of natural radiation in it, more then you would get just standing on the streets of Tokyo or Yokohama.

Also fairewinds is not exactly the most reliable or peer reviewed scientific organization (considering it's a website created by one guy and his "company"), not exactly the Atomic Energy Commission or the UN's IAEA.
by ExpressTrain (guest) rate this post as useful

reply to this thread