Case Study: Japan & Pakistan - Planning
Geography: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 1.4.6
Earthquake Preparation in Pakistan and Japan
Both Japan and Pakistan are located on plate boundaries. They both suffer many earthquakes, but Japan's high-income status has helped it to prepare well for earthquakes.
Pakistan - prediction
- The Pakistan Meteorological Department has only recently begun to monitor seismic activity and it was only in 2005 that it upgraded its systems to an acceptable standard.
Japan - prediction
- Seismic waves and other activity is monitored nationwide by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
- There is a rapid warning system that was introduced before the 2011 earthquake to warn Japanese residents.
Pakistan - preparation
- Lots of houses in Pakistan are built out of wood. Although wood houses are usually destroyed in earthquakes, it is less dangerous for a wooden house to collapse than a concrete house.
- Poor infrastructure and governance mean that earthquake protection is not a major consideration in construction regulation and that warning systems are inadequate.
Japan - preparation
- Early warning systems and good communications infrastructure let people know about earthquakes and tsunamis.
- Building regulations are very advanced to use shock absorbers, strong foundations and building in redundancy to make buildings safer.
- When an earthquake happens, 'bullet' trains automatically stop so there cannot be any train accidents.
- The 1st September every year is 'Disaster Prevention Day' or 'National Earthquake Day' where everyone does drills for evacuation and sheltering during an earthquake.
- The Japanese army and public services are well-trained for natural disasters.
Test yourself on Case Study: Japan & Pakistan - Planning
Which of the following countries is better prepared for earthquakes?
Who is responsible for monitoring seismic activity in Japan?