Japan has always been at a risk of facing earthquakes and tsunamis. The Sumida district of the capital is one of the most vulnerable neighborhoods, where the officials are busily preparing for the ‘Big One’. The officials say that according to some experts, Tokyo will have to face a major earthquake which will strike someday soon.
Shinishi Sakai, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s earthquake research institute said, “The earthquake will happen. We don’t know when, but it definitely will happen.” Japan is seismically active and is habituated to earthquakes and tsunamis. The experts are closely monitoring seismic activity since the March 11, 2012 disaster.
The March 11 disaster had hit the nation’s northeastern coast and left about 19,000 dead or missing. Even though the epicenter was a fair distance away from Tokyo, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake had hit the coast, which resulted in a tsunami.
Experts have warned that Japan’s political, social and economic capital is vulnerable to a massive temblor which could be equivalent to the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which claimed the lives of more than 100,000 in and around the Japanese capital. On the other hand, much of Tokyo’s modern infrastructure is quake resistant, but the same cannot be said about Sumida due to its wooden framed homes and narrow streets.
