When the Earth Roars - Lessons From the History of Earthquakes in Japan

"Among the most earthquake-prone regions in the world, Japan has a long history of responding to seismic disasters. However, despite advances in earthquake-related safety technologies and the deep imprint that seismic activity has made on Japanese society, the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami were tremendously destructive. Tracing the history of earthquakes in Japan, Gregory Smits identifies a cycle of overconfidence and unreasonable expectations with roots as far back as the 1830 Kyoto Earthquake. The authorargues that the events of March 11, 2011, and its aftermath are but the latest example of this all-too-human cycle of overconfidence, exacerbated by fading attention to the risks of known natural hazards as time passes. The first sustained historical analysis of destructive earthquakes and tsunamis, this book is an essential resource for anyone interested in Japan, natural disasters, seismology, and environmental history"--Provided by publisher.

List of contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Setting the Stage
Chapter 2: Early Modern Earthquakes and Their Modern Relevance
Chapter 3: N¿bi and Great Kant¿
Chapter 4: Prewar Tsunamigenic Earthquakes in the Northeast
Chapter 5: Prediction to Forecasting: Attempting to Outsmart the Earth in Postwar Japan
Chapter 6: Conclusions
Glossary of Terms and Entities
Bibliography

About the author

By Gregory Smits

Product details

• Authors: Gregory Smits, Smits Gregory
• Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 21.03.2014
• EAN: 9781442220096
• ISBN: 978-1-4422-2009-6
• No. of pages: 226
• Series: Asia/Pacific/Perspectives; Asia/Pacific/Perspectives
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geology; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Japan, NATURE / Natural Disasters, SCIENCE / Earth Sciences / Seismology & Volcanism, Natural disasters, Volcanology & seismology, Volcanology and seismology