Tokyo holds drills to prepare for looming 'Big One'
Tokyo commemorates 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake with extensive emergency drills, preparing its population for the looming 'Big One' forecast by experts to hit within the next 30 years.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 It's not a question of if, but of when.
00:04 Experts say there's a 70% chance that a strong earthquake will hit the epicenter of the Tokyo area in the next 30 years.
00:12 There are often small-scale quakes here, almost as if the earth were trying to warn residents.
00:19 The local government is continually investing in disaster prevention.
00:25 The Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills has 54 floors.
00:31 Hidden beneath its roof garden, there's a sophisticated earthquake protection system.
00:37 Here we see the inside of the earthquake shock absorber.
00:46 The weight of the platform is used to absorb the vibrations.
00:50 The city was hit by a major earthquake before, the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
00:56 This cartoon by the Disaster Prevention Authority serves as a reminder.
01:01 Back then, residential buildings were commonly made of wood.
01:05 The earthquake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, caused them to collapse.
01:11 Eventually, the tremors subsided, but then a second nightmare began.
01:15 A firestorm swept through the city.
01:18 Hundreds of thousands of people fled.
01:21 Panic broke out and many residents were trapped by the flames.
01:25 100 years later, the city commemorates the victims.
01:32 Emergency drills were held across the country.
01:35 At the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, office workers rehearsed emergency procedures.
01:44 When a real emergency occurs, it can take a while for professional helpers to arrive.
01:50 It's up to everyone to do their bit.
01:53 This is a taste of what might be yet to come.
01:59 Bringing injured people down from the office tower when the elevators are out of order takes time.
02:05 "You can't practice this enough," says Professor Itsuko Nakabayashi.
02:13 He advises the city's mayor on earthquake protection.
02:17 Forecasts suggest that the number of houses likely to be destroyed is going down
02:24 by around 100,000 every 10 years.
02:27 So in that respect, safety is getting better.
02:30 But there are a lot of people here.
02:32 Even without a fire, people will be injured, and many will be unable to return to their homes.
02:39 Modern cities have a better chance of withstanding destruction.
02:44 That was the lesson Japan learned from the Great Kanto Quake.
02:48 But Tokyo is built on shaky ground, and it's also bursting at the seams.
02:53 And that's something not likely to change anytime soon.
02:56 (car engine roaring)