One hundred years after the Great Kanto Earthquake, Tokyo is one of the best embodiments of the lessons learned by Japan. Faced with its frequent natural disasters, they focus on a key element: a resilient urbanism.
Apart from the obvious damage that an earthquake of those dimensions can cause just because of the shock, 87% of the 105,385 dead and missing on that September 1, 1923 perished due to the most feared contingency in these cases, fires.
Half of the Japanese capital and much of neighboring Yokohama burned under fires that raged for up to 46 hours, fanned by the influence of a typhoon of strong, shifting winds and a low pressure system that converged to rage the flames and create until an unusual whirlpool of fire.
It was from then on that the country began to outline a specific type of 'fire-fighting cities' that it currently maintains, beginning with the adoption of fire-retardant materials for building construction, explains Professor Takaaki Kato, from the University's Institute of Industrial Science. from Tokyo.
The Japanese capital would be devastated again in the bombings of the American army at the end of World War II. The fires were once again decisive in the level of destruction.
Twenty years later, in the midst of the construction boom in Tokyo, the first theories arose that an earthquake similar to the one in 1923 could occur in the area in the following decades.
"Then urban planning to mitigate disasters began to be considered," said Kato at a conference organized on the occasion of the centenary of the catastrophe, in which he explained that this theory supports the suitability of "preparing to mitigate a potential disaster, instead of responding once it has already happened."
Since Tokyo began rebuilding, it has placed an emphasis on urban planning, says Kato, a member of several government committees on disaster prevention.
There are currently three pillars. The first is the provision of evacuation areas, which have proliferated over the past decades and that every resident should know about in their neighborhood.
The second is the urban planning in blocks separated by wide spaces such as avenues or canals that serve as firewalls and, finally, the very conception of these blocks so that they are fireproof, "so that even in very disadvantageous conditions stop the advance of the fire.
A characteristic example of this visible planning in Tokyo is the construction of large blocks of flats or tall buildings on the first line of residential land, in such a way that these colossi surround other lower houses, serving as a "wall" to prevent entry or the exit of the flames to other blocks.
This type of urban planning facilitates that "even in a scenario in which the fire overcomes those barriers, as a last resort there is an evacuation center where you can protect yourself," says Kato. Currently there are enough for the entire population.
Japan sits on the convergence of several tectonic plates, which causes it to suffer frequent seismic movements. Its extensive experience also with other natural disasters make it a country with a high understanding of risk assessment and the formulation of countermeasures in a flexible way.
Another painful case is the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which led the country to launch several new initiatives, including the so-called District Disaster Management Plan, which involves citizens when designing preparedness and response measures. .
"As a result, the local characteristics of each district are reflected in the plan and a good part of the local community knows its details," explains Kato.
To this citizen participation is added that of the private sector. When the 2011 earthquake struck, the streets and commercial areas of the cities were overcrowded with people seeking refuge, hampering the operation of many businesses.
As a result, the Urban Renaissance Security Plan was adopted, the purpose of which is to avoid such situations. The companies have their own business continuity plans and the idea is that these private projects integrate and adjust to the plans of the districts to create a beneficial symbiosis.
