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Million Japanese Brace For The Big One
Tokyo (AFP) Sep 01, 2006 Nearly one million people across Japan took part in drills Friday to prepare for a major earthquake, in an annual exercise joined for the first time by US and South Korean authorities. The drills took place on the anniversary of the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, which left more than 142,000 people dead or unaccounted for in the Tokyo region. Japan endures about 20 percent of the world's major earthquakes and lives in constant fear of the "Big One." The archipelago has been hit by three moderate tremors in the past two days. More than one million people including police, firefighters, troops and local volunteers on Friday practiced their response to a major earthquake registering 7.3 on the Richter scale. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, sporting a blue-gray workman's tunic, held a mock press conference. "Due to the quake which occurred at 7:15 am, we've received reports that already many people were injured or died," Koizumi said. "The government has set up an emergency counterdisaster center and ministers are now dealing with the initial response," he said. Koizumi linked by a teleconference with Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara and Bank of Japan Toshihiko Fukui on ways to rescue people and keep running the capital of the world's second largest economy. A study by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in March said a 7.3-magnitude earthquake would kill 5,600 people and damage 440,000 buildings, despite Japan's requirements that all construction be resistant to tremors. The US military took part in the nationwide drills for the first time, with helicopters from Yokota air base in Tokyo ferrying people and relief materials. The Seoul fire department also sent a delegation which worked jointly with its Tokyo counterparts to rescue people from fallen buildings. Tokyo was jolted Thursday by a 4.8-magnitude quake, which was followed an hour later by a moderate tremor in the Russian-ruled Kuril islands off northern Japan. On Friday, a quake registering 5.7 on the Richter scale struck Japan's southern Okinawa island chain. None of the quakes caused injuries or damage.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Bring Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Experts Reduce Forecasts For Hurricanes This Year
Miami (AFP) Sep 01, 2006Hurricane forecasting experts said Friday the number of named Atlatinc storms this year will be lower than initially predicted, following a slow start of the season in which only one hurricane formed so far. But the respected University of Colorado hurricane team said this did not mean anyone should let their guard down. |
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