Editorial: Lessons for India

Prompt response mechanism and not compromising with building bylaws are the most important lessons from Japan

Japan’s level of preparedness to face natural disasters is worth emulating. The recent efforts to withstand the shock from a massive earthquake and tsunami deserve appreciation from the rest of the world. Despite being hit by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale followed by over 155 smaller tremors and tsunami waves up to one metre high along the Sea of Japan coast on New Year’s Day, Japan has been successful in minimising the human loss and damage to vital installations. Most of the buildings in the affected areas of central and western Japan withstood the severe jolts. Being the most quake-prone country in the world, it has invested heavily in technology to make its infrastructure quake-proof and establish a quick and efficient response mechanism for such disasters. Countries like India have much to learn from Japan. The lessons range from quake preparedness to a prompt response mechanism, including issuing timely alerts. Most significantly, it is about not compromising with building bylaws related to quake resistance. Japan makes it a point to update the mitigating measures after every massive quake. The first quake-resistant building code was drawn up after the 1923 disaster. The 2011 earthquake, which sparked a tsunami, leaving over 18,000 dead, provided vital clues to dealing with the double whammy of the earth shaking and sea waves crashing inland. Japan was well equipped to deal with the seismic activity. While the recent earthquake-tsunami did cause fires and buildings to wobble violently, with some collapsing, and roads cracking open, hampering rescue operations, the upheaval was handled extremely well.

The expertise of the Japanese administration was on display as they virtually raced against time to restore power supply and communication services. Nearly one lakh people were evacuated to sports halls and school gymnasiums that double up as emergency evacuation buildings. The country’s tsunami warning system won a seemingly impossible race against giant ocean waves. Japan’s timing is significant for countries such as India and Sri Lanka because the nearest fault line in the Indian Ocean lies near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The latest destruction brought back memories of the 2004 tsunami, one of the worst disasters of the century, shattering millions of lives. It remains a sombre reminder of the fragility of human life in the face of nature’s fury. It underscored the importance of international solidarity and the need for collective action in the face of disaster. The lessons learnt from that fateful day continue to shape disaster management programmes worldwide. India established a tsunami early warning system in October 2007. The Early Warning Centre receives real-time seismic data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and other international bodies. In India, there are several seismologically vulnerable regions, including the Himalayas where there is a high possibility of occurrence of major earthquakes.