When the earth roars : lessons from the history of earthquakes in Japan
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
When the earth roars : lessons from the history of earthquakes in Japan
(Asia/Pacific/perspectives)
Rowman & Littlefield, c2014
- : cloth : alk. paper
- : pbk
Available at 31 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
-
International Research Center for Japanese Studies Library
: cloth : alk. paperQE||537||Sm00532764
Note
Size of pbk. ed.: 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-203) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Japan, which is among the most earthquake-prone regions in the world, has a long history of responding to seismic disasters. However, despite advances in earthquake-related safety technologies, the destructiveness of the magnitude 9 class earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on 3/11 raised profound questions about how societies can deal effectively with seismic hazards. This important book places the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown disaster in historical perspective, examining conceptions of earthquakes since the seventeenth century, the diverse ways actual earthquakes and their aftermath played out, and their enduring social and scientific significance. By looking backward, Gregory Smits identifies future pitfalls to avoid and assesses the allocation of resources for dealing with future earthquake and tsunami disasters. He criticizes Japan's postwar quest for earthquake prediction and the concept of "characteristic" earthquakes. Smits argues that earthquakes are so chaotic as to be unpredictable, not only geologically but also in their social and cultural effects. Therefore, he contends, the best hope for future disaster mitigation is antiseismic engineering and flexible disaster-relief capabilities. As 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.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Setting the Stage
Chapter 2: Early Modern Earthquakes and Their Modern Relevance
Chapter 3: Nobi and Great Kanto
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
by "Nielsen BookData"