Is science the answer to everything? People across Japan had gathered to welcome 2024 when a powerful earthquake put an end to their celebrations and brought chaos to the country.
Ninety seconds that shattered new year dreams
Is science the answer to everything? People across Japan had gathered to welcome 2024 when a powerful earthquake put an end to their celebrations and brought chaos to the country.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Science defiance?</h2>
It was just after 4pm on Monday, and Suranjana Tewari was on a bus in the Japanese Alps. Suddenly a siren sounded on her phone. "Earthquake Early Warning," read the accompanying text. "Strong shaking is expected soon. Stay calm and seek shelter nearby." The bus came to a halt, and the passengers held their breath.
The earthquake that followed had a magnitudeThe size of something. Often used to refer to earthquakes. of 7.6. Though it lasted only a minute and a half, it was enough to make buildings collapse, cause landslides and fires, and rip roads wide open. Tremors were felt more than 300 miles from the epicentreThe central focus of something. In an earthquake, the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus. on the Noto peninsulaA piece of land that sticks out from a larger area and is mostly surrounded by water. .
Over 32,000 homes were left without power in bitterly cold conditions. Thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.1
An immediate worry was that it would be trigger a tsunamiA Japanese word describing a succession of waves caused when an earthquake or volcano displaces a large body of water. like the one that devastated Japan in 2011. Wiping out whole towns, it claimed more than 18,000 victims.2
Fortunately that particular threat did not materialiseHappen, or become fact.. But by yesterday morning around 200 further tremors had hit the country, and 48 people were known to have died.
To make things worse, five people on a coastguard plane delivering aid died when it collided with a Japan Airlines jet at Haneda Airport. Amazingly, all 379 passengers and crew on the airliner escaped before it burst into flames.
GeologistsPeople who study the earth's physical structure, especially rocks. calculated that the earthquake had lifted the country more than 4m and shifted it 130cms to the west.
"This is the equivalent of a major earthquake coming in the middle of Christmas dinner for British people," said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University. ""For the Japanese, New Year's is the day everyone gathers at their extended family's home and has a meal together."
According to Dan Faulkner, a professor of geology at Liverpool University, Japan is particularly prone to earthquakes because of its position on the Pacific RimThe countries on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. : "There's lots of huge fault zones and subduction zonesSpots where two tectonic plates collide and one dives, or subducts, under the other. where tectonic platesPieces of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They are roughly 100km thick and are moving slowly. are being thrust back down into the Earth's mantleThe layer between the Earth's outer core and the crust. The semi-solid layer of rock is made mostly out of iron, magnesium and silicon. all the way around the Pacific."
In response, Japan has developed one of the most advanced warning systems in the world. It has also made huge progress in designing buildings to withstand earthquakes.
Since 1923, all new buildings have had to be reinforced with steel and concrete. And since 1981 they have also required rubber shock absorbers.3
Is science the answer to everything?
Yes: Without Japan's sophisticated building techniques and early warning system, the damage and casualties would have been much worse. When developed further they will make the country earthquake-proof.
No: The natural forces involved are so enormous that their effects can never be entirely neutralised. Tectonic plates will continue to move and continue to cause terrifying devastation.
Or: However brilliant the answers provided by science, our survival ultimately depends on luck and organisation. Without them, more people would have died in the air crash than in the earthquake.
Magnitude - The size of something. Often used to refer to earthquakes.
Epicentre - The central focus of something. In an earthquake, the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus.
Peninsula - A piece of land that sticks out from a larger area and is mostly surrounded by water.
Tsunami - A Japanese word describing a succession of waves caused when an earthquake or volcano displaces a large body of water.
Materialise - Happen, or become fact.
Geologists - People who study the earth's physical structure, especially rocks.
Pacific Rim - The countries on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Subduction zones - Spots where two tectonic plates collide and one dives, or subducts, under the other.
Tectonic plates - Pieces of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They are roughly 100km thick and are moving slowly.
Mantle - The layer between the Earth's outer core and the crust. The semi-solid layer of rock is made mostly out of iron, magnesium and silicon.
Ninety seconds that shattered new year dreams

Glossary
Magnitude - The size of something. Often used to refer to earthquakes.
Epicentre - The central focus of something. In an earthquake, the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus.
Peninsula - A piece of land that sticks out from a larger area and is mostly surrounded by water.
Tsunami - A Japanese word describing a succession of waves caused when an earthquake or volcano displaces a large body of water.
Materialise - Happen, or become fact.
Geologists - People who study the earth's physical structure, especially rocks.
Pacific Rim - The countries on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Subduction zones - Spots where two tectonic plates collide and one dives, or subducts, under the other.
Tectonic plates - Pieces of the Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle. They are roughly 100km thick and are moving slowly.
Mantle - The layer between the Earth’s outer core and the crust. The semi-solid layer of rock is made mostly out of iron, magnesium and silicon.