Science defiance?

It was just after 4pm on Monday, and Suranjana Tewari was on a skiers' shuttle bus in the Japanese Alps. Suddenly a siren sounded on her phone - and on everyone's around her. "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. In the city of Suzu 1,000 houses were damaged.

Over 32,000 homes were left without power in bitterly cold conditions. Water supplies in some areas were cut off. Thousands of people spent the night in evacuation centres.¹

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 peninsula. It was the largest earthquake recorded in the area since records began in 1885.

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 It also caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the effects of which are still being dealt with.

Fortunately that particular threat did not materialise. But by yesterday morning around 200 further tremors had hit the country, and dozens of people were known to have died. Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said that it was "a race against time" as rescuers searched for people trapped under rubble.

To make things worse, five people on a coastguard plane delivering aid died when it collided with a Japan Airlines jet at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Amazingly, all 379 passengers and crew on the airliner escaped before it burst into flames.

Geologists 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 mantle 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. After each major quake, lessons have been learnt from the damage and regulations have been updated.

Since 1923, when much of Tokyo was flattened by a huge earthquake, 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.