Earthquake Drill at School

My Monday wasn't exactly shattered by the earthquake drill, nor was it particularly interesting, but, being from Alberta, such things stick out in my mind as foreign and thus make a good topic for comment. Many drills are carried out every year but because I move around between schools so much, normally miss them. I was only in the school second period, but not in class, for the drill today. A loud siren went off, signaling the quake and everyone got under their desks (to protect their head, which I immediately bumped anyway). When the siren stopped, it meant the end of the earthquake, and next everyone had to quickly exit the school to be counted. The evacuation outside is necessary because the condition of the school is never immediately known; there could be a gas leak or major structural damage. I had never made the connection before but all first floor classrooms (used by grade one and two) have doors leading directly outside (but rarely used), making evacuation in an emergency quick and efficient. After assembling outside, the principal gave a short speech on some of Japan's recent big earthquakes, including the 2003 8.0 earthquake centered on the North side of Hokkaido. He included a description of the condition of Shikaoi Elementary School after the quake. After unsettling the kids enough, he casually told them to remember today's drill.

What is known in the West as the Kobe Earthquake (Jan. 17 1995) is known here as the Great Hanshin Earthquake. This is because the actual epicenter was 20 km under the Hanshin peninsula, about 20 km away from Kobe. However, Kobe was by far the nearest high-density population center and, as result, had the most damage. (The earthquake itself was big enough to cause a dip in Japan's GDP.) As a consequence of the Kobe earthquake there have been two general changes to Japan's emergency preparedness. Firstly, the science. While the earthquake only measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, it was located directly under land; a situation scientists had previously thought impossible (believing instead that these quakes occurred off the coast). And secondly, the Kobe earthquake triggered a massive restructuring of Japan's response plan. Japan had been prepared before, but the Kobe earthquake was a large-scale testing of their system, and afterward thousands of refinements and improvements were made. Interestingly, across the country they revised upwards their worst case scenarios and started to stock more of everything. In terms of tweaks, they now make sure, on top of the normal emergency rations, there is a variety of specialized rations for people with dietary restrictions.

I find the relationship between architecture and earthquakes in Japan a fascinating topic deserving it's own book. I will try to continue the discussion in the future.