Comments on: Despite Major Earthquake Zero Tokyo Buildings Collapsed Thanks to Stringent Building Codes http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/ Green design & eco innovation for a better world Thu, 23 May 2013 21:03:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc By: Clarketom http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-346306 Clarketom Mon, 18 Jul 2011 21:19:14 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-346306 @jstream, My point concerning distance from the epicenter was to merely point out that Tokyo didn't feel 9.0 but felt 5.2. So on that point we agree. However, you are factually incorrect concerning the richter scale. 5.2 is considered a moderate earthquake not a "Major", as the title reads. Los Angeles experienced a 5.5 three years ago 2.5 miles outside the city. They caught the brunt of 5.5, and no the city did not come crashing down. Christchurch experienced 7.1 that did severe damage but did not destroy the city. A 9.0 earthquake is 1000 times more powerful than a 7.0 I take nothing away from Japanese engineering or their building codes they have saved countless lives. I'm no engineer but a metropolitan area experiencing a direct 9.0 earthquake would be devasted. I only commented on this story because I hate sensational stories written by lazy writers. Tokyo did not experience a major earthquake and because of that fact zero buildings collapsed. When Tokyo endures an 8+ and survives intact then this story is relevant. @jstream,
My point concerning distance from the epicenter was to merely point out that Tokyo didn’t feel 9.0 but felt 5.2. So on that point we agree. However, you are factually incorrect concerning the richter scale. 5.2 is considered a moderate earthquake not a “Major”, as the title reads. Los Angeles experienced a 5.5 three years ago 2.5 miles outside the city. They caught the brunt of 5.5, and no the city did not come crashing down. Christchurch experienced 7.1 that did severe damage but did not destroy the city. A 9.0 earthquake is 1000 times more powerful than a 7.0
I take nothing away from Japanese engineering or their building codes they have saved countless lives. I’m no engineer but a metropolitan area experiencing a direct 9.0 earthquake would be devasted.
I only commented on this story because I hate sensational stories written by lazy writers. Tokyo did not experience a major earthquake and because of that fact zero buildings collapsed. When Tokyo endures an 8+ and survives intact then this story is relevant.

]]> By: jstream http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-346147 jstream Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:58:01 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-346147 clarketom, it doesn't matter how far or close Tokyo was to the epicenter. The matter of fact is the earthquake measured 5.2 on the Richter scale there. That's enough to send most earthquake prone cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Christchurch come crashing down. An 8.9 under Tokyo would most definitely cause some buildings there to collapse but it most likely will not flatten the city or come anywhere close to it. The evidence speaks for itself - forward planning and dedicated government investment into safe infrastructure saves lives! clarketom, it doesn’t matter how far or close Tokyo was to the epicenter. The matter of fact is the earthquake measured 5.2 on the Richter scale there. That’s enough to send most earthquake prone cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Christchurch come crashing down. An 8.9 under Tokyo would most definitely cause some buildings there to collapse but it most likely will not flatten the city or come anywhere close to it. The evidence speaks for itself – forward planning and dedicated government investment into safe infrastructure saves lives!

]]> By: Tokyobling http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-320141 Tokyobling Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:32:56 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-320141 Chrisbowd,Clarketom, I beg to disagree. I was up in Tohoku, as close to the epicentre as possible on mainland Honshu (the main island of Japan) and I could see, literally, with my own two eyes, not one single fully collapsed building younger than 65 years in all of the town, villages, cities that I have visited during/after the earthquakes. Each earthquake is different, I know that, but it is very far fetched to imagine that there would be massive damage to Tokyo if a similar earthquake occured at a similar distance to Tokyo as the epicentre in Tohoku. Tokyo was not shutdown for 24 hours. Trains stopped running between 14:46 and about 23:00-24:00 at night, that is a mere few hours. Tokyo was back to normal on Day 2, except for disruptions in electric supply limiting the use of some train lines. Indeed a similar tsunami hitting Tokyo would be devastating, but rest assured a tsunami of that size is just not possible inside the relatively shielded Tokyo bay. In fact, there are no recorded instances of any similar sized tsunami hitting the Tokyo bay areal, while there are several recorded instances of similar tsunami striking Tohoku, Hokkaido, Kanagawa (the southern part) etc. etc. Best regards, Tokyobling Chrisbowd,Clarketom,

I beg to disagree. I was up in Tohoku, as close to the epicentre as possible on mainland Honshu (the main island of Japan) and I could see, literally, with my own two eyes, not one single fully collapsed building younger than 65 years in all of the town, villages, cities that I have visited during/after the earthquakes.

Each earthquake is different, I know that, but it is very far fetched to imagine that there would be massive damage to Tokyo if a similar earthquake occured at a similar distance to Tokyo as the epicentre in Tohoku.

Tokyo was not shutdown for 24 hours. Trains stopped running between 14:46 and about 23:00-24:00 at night, that is a mere few hours. Tokyo was back to normal on Day 2, except for disruptions in electric supply limiting the use of some train lines.

Indeed a similar tsunami hitting Tokyo would be devastating, but rest assured a tsunami of that size is just not possible inside the relatively shielded Tokyo bay. In fact, there are no recorded instances of any similar sized tsunami hitting the Tokyo bay areal, while there are several recorded instances of similar tsunami striking Tohoku, Hokkaido, Kanagawa (the southern part) etc. etc.

Best regards, Tokyobling

]]> By: chrisbowd http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-308124 chrisbowd Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:10:44 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-308124 I agree with clarketom. I have lived in Japan for 19 years. Yes, it was the strongest earthquake in Tokyo during that time, but the magnituide in Tokyo (around 6+) was much lower than most new buildings (designed since the late 1990s) are designed for. You must consider that despite being so far from the epicenter, Tokyo was pretty much shutdown for 24 hours and is only now (11 days later) getting back to normal. Had the quake happened south of Tokyo we would have been even more devastated because the population density in Tokyo is massively higher. Were the same tsunami to strike Chuo-ku, Chiyoda-ku and Minato-ku at the same time of a working day, the death toll would have been at least hundreds of thousands. I agree with clarketom.
I have lived in Japan for 19 years. Yes, it was the strongest earthquake in Tokyo during that time, but the magnituide in Tokyo (around 6+) was much lower than most new buildings (designed since the late 1990s) are designed for.
You must consider that despite being so far from the epicenter, Tokyo was pretty much shutdown for 24 hours and is only now (11 days later) getting back to normal.
Had the quake happened south of Tokyo we would have been even more devastated because the population density in Tokyo is massively higher. Were the same tsunami to strike Chuo-ku, Chiyoda-ku and Minato-ku at the same time of a working day, the death toll would have been at least hundreds of thousands.

]]> By: A. Raouf El Hamwi http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-307892 A. Raouf El Hamwi Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:03:49 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-307892 Though we are very sorry for lost lives, we very pleases to see Japanees designed buildings, that oassed the severe test of 8.9, Thanks to new Japanees building codes. Eng. A. Raouf El Hamwi Though we are very sorry for lost lives, we very pleases to see Japanees designed buildings, that oassed the severe test of 8.9, Thanks to new Japanees building codes.
Eng. A. Raouf El Hamwi

]]> By: clarketom http://inhabitat.com/despite-record-breaking-earthquake-no-buildings-in-tokyo-collapsed-thanks-to-stringent-building-codes/comment-page-1/#comment-306979 clarketom Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:48:13 +0000 http://inhabitat.com/?p=227209#comment-306979 I want to write for Inhabitat, so I can post ridiculous stories on how zero buildings fell in Tokyo because of engineering. Tokyo buildings didn't fall because Tokyo is 230 miles south of the actual epicenter. It's akin to saying that zero buildings fell in Las Vegas from an earthquake in LA. That magnitude under Tokyo would have leveled the city, building codes or not. You could have written a piece explaining what engineers have done to minimize earthquake damage in their designs in Japan. Your headline and story is typical sensationalistic shit journalism. Tokyo didn't get hit by a major earthquake it felt a major earthquake. I want to write for Inhabitat, so I can post ridiculous stories on how zero buildings fell in Tokyo because of engineering.
Tokyo buildings didn’t fall because Tokyo is 230 miles south of the actual epicenter. It’s akin to saying that zero buildings fell in Las Vegas from an earthquake in LA. That magnitude under Tokyo would have leveled the city, building codes or not.
You could have written a piece explaining what engineers have done to minimize earthquake damage in their designs in Japan. Your headline and story is typical sensationalistic shit journalism. Tokyo didn’t get hit by a major earthquake it felt a major earthquake.

]]>