TOKYO -- Earthquakes dwell deep in the Japanese imagination.
No country may be better prepared for a major earthquake than Japan. Seismic standards for construction are among the strictest in the world. From a young age, Japanese learn to dive under desks to protect themselves in a quake. The nation has a state-of-the-art tsunami warning system.
That preparation undoubtedly saved many lives on Friday, when a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck offshore of Japan's main island, shaking buildings in a large swath of the country and sending a 30-foot tsunami onto a populated tretch of coast.
But an uncomfortable truth may emerge from this quake, which killed hundreds of people and caused damage that could mount into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The lesson is that there's only so much that disaster preparedness can do. At some point, humans -- even humans in an affluent society, equipped with 21st century technology and peerless infrastructure -- respond to deeper emotions, to panic or flee.
The scenes from Japan captured the almost incomprehensible power of one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. The tsunami swept away houses, cars and ships like debris in a storm channel. Roads split apart; buildings buckled. And faces registered the shock and bewilderment of people whose disaster training vaporized in the violence of the moment.
Every year, Japan marks "Disaster Prevention Day," marked to commemorate the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which killed more than 100,000 people in and around Tokyo. That disaster, along with the 1995 quake in Kobe, which killed more than 6,000 people, are as drilled into Japanese memory as World War II -- and discussed far more openly.
Last August, the annual drill was built around a scenario in which there was a triple earthquake that killed an estimated 25,000 people and destroyed 550,000 buildings, an assessment based on a 2003 projection by the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council.
Most schools and offices keep helmets handy, as well as first aid kits. Disaster training begins early and can include sessions in earthquake simulators that mimic the impact of a major quake on a building.
Disaster supplies such as reflector blankets, collapsible water containers, even hand-cranked cell phones, are easily found in convenience and department stores. Neighborhoods are organized with water storage facilities. Parks, shrines and temples are designated as congregation points in case of disaster.
Not all of that preparation came into play on Friday. It appears that the tsunami hit too quickly for any warning system to help. Although some people could be seen wearing helmets after the quake, most lacked the time or presence of mind to put one on.
And in a country where minor earthquakes occur daily, some people didn't initially recognize the gravity of the situation.
By KENJI HALL AND MITCHELL LANDSBERG
Los Angeles Times