As Japan recovers from an earthquake-triggered tsunami, experts find ways to avoid damage in the future
While a country can prepare for an earthquake, it often can’t prepare for something as unpredictable as a tsunami. Although the buildings in Tokyo and other large Japanese cities have sustained limited damage from the earthquake due to strict building codes, the damage from flooding is much more significant.
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, located on the boundary of the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate. Earthquakes along these fault trenches tend to be shallower and stronger than other types of earthquakes. Much like the earthquake last month in Christchurch, a dormant fault line is responsible for the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that shook the country this week. While Japan was expecting the Big One, they weren’t quite expecting it to occur where it did.
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• Designing Structures to Survive a Natural Disaster
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In addition to strict building codes, earthquake preparedness is instilled into the Japanese people from an early age. However, how does one prepare for a 20 foot wall of water coming toward them? Tsunamis are an unfortunate consequence of ocean-born earthquakes. While Tokyo and other parts of Japan had a sophisticated lock system in place to keep the water out, it takes time to initiate the system—time that is a luxury when a tsunami can hit at any time.
“Research on tsunami-resistant design in Japan and the US has led to a number of proposed solutions including the deployment of “vertical evacuation refuges” in combination with the early-warning systems in place for tsunamis,” said Dr. Adrian Chandler of Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre, in a statement. “This is a building having sufficient...Read the rest at:
http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/japanese-earthquake/could-tsunami-resistant-buildings-have-mitigated-damage-japan
Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, located on the boundary of the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate. Earthquakes along these fault trenches tend to be shallower and stronger than other types of earthquakes. Much like the earthquake last month in Christchurch, a dormant fault line is responsible for the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that shook the country this week. While Japan was expecting the Big One, they weren’t quite expecting it to occur where it did.
SEE RELATED STORIES FROM THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK
• Designing Structures to Survive a Natural Disaster
• 2011’s New Sustainability and Building Standards
• The Future of Cities
• Click here to read the latest edition of Construction Digital
In addition to strict building codes, earthquake preparedness is instilled into the Japanese people from an early age. However, how does one prepare for a 20 foot wall of water coming toward them? Tsunamis are an unfortunate consequence of ocean-born earthquakes. While Tokyo and other parts of Japan had a sophisticated lock system in place to keep the water out, it takes time to initiate the system—time that is a luxury when a tsunami can hit at any time.
“Research on tsunami-resistant design in Japan and the US has led to a number of proposed solutions including the deployment of “vertical evacuation refuges” in combination with the early-warning systems in place for tsunamis,” said Dr. Adrian Chandler of Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Centre, in a statement. “This is a building having sufficient...Read the rest at:
http://www.constructiondigital.com/tags/japanese-earthquake/could-tsunami-resistant-buildings-have-mitigated-damage-japan
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