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The probability of your being atop the summit of Mt Fuji at the moment the next major temblor strikes the Japanese archipelago is probably slim to none.
But Shukan Gendai (Jan 21) isn't leaving anything to chance. The point is, when it happens, you want to survive it, no matter where you are. And the magazine emphasizes the word "when" rather than "if," because this country is situated atop so many tectonic plates and faults that any unpredictable burp of our spinning planet can set one off.
"Resign yourself," advises the headline, "that an M8 quake beneath Tokyo and an M9 quake in the Tokai region are imminent." Shukan Gendai makes this assertion because the huge energy released by the Tohoku earthquake of last March 11 is believed to have caused buildup of tension on the Pacific Plate, which will inevitably cause what seismologists call an "outer rise earthquake."
Now let's say a whopper strikes Tokyo at the moment you're dining in the observation platform of the Tokyo Sky Tree (due to open later this year). The magazine's advice is: get away from the windows and head for the staircase close to the robustly constructed elevator shaft. Then grab a firm hold on the handrail and hang on.
It's probably just as likely, however, that you'd be on the street beneath a high-rise structure at the moment a big quake hits. In this case, Professor Haruyuki Kitamura of the Tokyo University of Science suggests, "The best thing would be to run inside the building, as they are designed to withstand the shake. Then even if glass on the upper stories shatters and falls, you'll be safe. Besides, the lower floors don't shake that much. You'd be safer than in regular buildings."
One of the worst places to be at the moment a quake hits the metropolis would be aboard the Shinkansen or a regular commuter train. "The accident on JR West Japan's Fukuchiyama Line (in April 2005) is a good point of reference for derailment or overturning," points out disaster consultant Takamasa Wada. "According to the accident report, most of the 107 fatalities were due to passengers being smothered or crushed to death; and most of these were in the two front cars."
It seems that if a train derails before it can decelerate, the passengers are flung forward. "I always make it a point to ride in the rearmost cars of a train," Wada adds.
Keep your fingers crossed that you won't be on a commuter train if the quake hits during the morning rush hour. On the JR Yamanote Line, it's common during peak times for cars designed to hold 160 passengers to carry twice that number.
"It's not that easy to cause people to panic, but two conditions raise this possibility," says Mafumi Usui, professor of clinical psychiatry at Niigata Seiryo University graduate school. "One is the strong feeling that 'If I stay here, I'll die.' The other is 'There's a way out just in front of me.' If people see fires breaking out or buildings toppling, they'd naturally pull the emergency lever to open the car's doors. That could result in people toppling over like dominoes, with the likelihood of fatalities."
And what if you're on the summit of Mt Fuji? "While the shaking might not be that great, there's a chance an observation platform might collapse," says the proprietor of a cabin at the summit that serves climbers. "On the lower slopes, you'd need to watch out for avalanches. We figure we couldn't expect much help from rescuers, who would have their hands full as conditions would be even more confused at the foot of the mountain. So we'd join up with other cabin operators and organize a descent."
Okay then, but what if Fuji had a volcanic eruption? "That wouldn't happen without advance warning, so we'd evacuate beforehand," the cabin keeper says. "And besides, the eruption would be more likely to take place somewhere on the slopes, not the summit, so we'd know how to avoid any pyroclastic flow."
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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MaboDofuIsSpicy
Subways are the scary part as some are so deep....and dark.
ebisen
Well, if you are in the Aqualine's undersea tunnel, and a big tsunami enters through Umihotaru, it's time to become religious and start praying...
Virtuoso
It's almost like expecting The Rapture. Only most people will survive, and be stuck with a huge and messy cleanup.
GW
A big quake & desire for some space was a driving force that pushed me more & more outta Tokyo over the years, now I mainly just have to worry about trees or a few utility poles near my place & just hope it doesnt hit when I venture into the big smoke!
paulinusa
As the song goes: "Don't Worry, Be Happy."
ExportExpert
GW same here on high ground inland too so no worries about tsunami either.
edojin
As it says in the article above: One of the worst places to be at the moment a quake hits the metropolis would be aboard the Shinkansen or a regular commuter train.
Well, I was riding on the Ginza Line subway when last year's March 11 quake shook Tokyo. It was a wild and woolly ride to say the least, but the driver kept repeating over the loudspeaker in Japanese (something like): "We're experiencing an earthquake. Don't be scared as this subway is safe." After being tossed around a few times, he repeated this again. I always wondered what it would be like to be on a train or subway during a really big rocker, and I found out. Everyone got out safely, but we all had to walk back home along with hundreds of thousands of other people.
As for a Shinkansen disaster in "the metropolis," they don't run as fast here as in the open countryside, so I think it would be safe. As for the local commuter trains, I'd hate to be in one if it were to jump the tracks and slam into another one. Also, a fear I had upon emerging upon the main Ginza Street aboveground was glass crashing down from those swaying buildings overhead. Luckily no windows broke ... but in a really big quake glass will be slicing down everywhere. So I guess as the story above suggests, get inside the building so as not to be cut to shreds. Just hope the building doesn't pancake ...
Samantha Zoe Aso
I'd like to think on a personal level, I am much more prepared post March11th than before.,I realized that I didn't have enough water etc after last Year's tragedy and I am in Tokyo! Wherever I go now, I am always 'casing' the joint for best exitways etc. We will be riding in the rear carriages from now on. Like everyone says, it's a case of 'when' and not 'if'. I am not as complacent these days.
WilliB
edojin:
This was while the train was still moving, or after it stopped? Being a little claustrophobic even under normal circumstances, I am never happy when I have to go underground.
nisegaijin
8 In Tokyo is just frigging scary.
What is even worse is the aftermath. Tokyo pretty much shut down after the Tohoku quake even though sustaining virtually no damage.
MaboDofuIsSpicy
Windows in big relatively new buildings are safe. It is the old ones to worry about. Many business have put plastic coatings on them too.
edojin
As for WilliB's question above ... the train was moving when the quake hit. It then stopped ... and the quake continued to rock it. After all the rocking and rolling had calmed down, the driver eased the subway into Nihonbashi Station. The subway man on the platform signaled to me that it would run no more, so I went up to the main street. When you're in a subway (or a train for that matter) you can't get out. In my case I was stuck there until we got to Nihonbashi Station. My only fear was the canal at Nihonbashi Bridge breaking and dumping water into the subway, which, of course, didn't happen. There was a group of people from Hong Kong in the same car as me, and I kept joking that this was "better than Disneyland." Sure was ...
Elbuda Mexicano
Edojin, maybe should have joked with them that this was better than Tokyo Disneysea, not land?? But very glad that no canals etc..broke, when I do take subways in Tokyo, this, people panicking, smoke, say lights going out etc..are not what I hope happens but my guess is that if we do get say a shindo 8 or above basically all hell will brake lose here in Tokyo and it will make Tohoku look like a walk in the park.
WilliB
Edojn,
so you are trapped underground in locked crowded steel box that is shaking wildly, and you know it is a massive earthquake, and you know somewhere above your head is a river, and you feel like cracking jokes about it? I admire your nerves. I would have had to change my pants...
edojin
Well, WilliB, I learned from experience that if you are in a big quake, go to the bathroom as soon as you can ... 'cause they might all be locked up at the wrong time ... and you might have trouble changing your pants in case of a mishap. I was carrying two bags of things I had bought at Ameoko in Ueno and to get home I had to walk around the Imperial Palace along with a sea of people. I intended to go to the public bathroom near Sakuradamon Gate but it was blocked off by police. So I went on around the Palace ... and by the time I got to Yotsuya Station I really had to urinate badly. The station was packed with people waiting to go home, but fortunately the toilet was still open ... and working.
As for cracking jokes, what else is there to do in such a situation (only a few shrieks here and there in a crowded coach)? Can't panic ... you'd just look like a fool. And may as well calm the visitors down along with Japanese who can understand English. So I was making, I guess you'd call them, amusement park jokes. And Elbuda Mexicano, sorry, but I've never been to Disney Sea. Someday ... but not during an earthquake ... I hope.
Samantha Zoe Aso
Exojin- Hope you are around me if/when a big one strikes Tokyo! I can't promise I won't be screaming but at least it will be punctuated with a few giggles! Take care!
Diane Pumphret
I will say that within the near future Japan will have the wrath of the gods. That said, the island is doomed, the earth and waters will bring about complete disaster to the point the Japan will be sucked up and swallowed into the earth by the powers under the ocean.Than the waters will will become still after long period's of time(not as we know time). What is so sad is the way the government has lied to the people about being exposed to radiation. People should be examined for radiation poisoning, but the damage has and continues to go on. Japan won't be the only one affected by these up coming things. The whole world will be too. It is very sad...