Exceptfor a smallhandfulofbuildingsbuiltbefore 1981, theseareprettymuchalllow-costresidentialbuildingssofortunatelytheonlyoneswhoaregoingtodiearepoorpeople.
Butforbuildingstallerthan a simpledetachedhouseorsmallbusiness, thismightnotcutitwhichiswhatthenexttierofearthquake-proofingisfor.
しかし、一戸建ての住宅や小さな会社よりも高い建物では、これでは対応できないかもしれません。
Thistiercalledseishinarefeaturesyou'llfindinmanyofTokyo's high-riseofficebuildingsandthey'redesignedtocounteractthesortofswingthatmightshake a housebuttop a skyscraper.
Butifyourbuilding's engineeriscool, they'llinstall a giantswingingeggthatweighsseveralhundredtonsandswingsthroughyourbuildingtoremindeveryonethatdeadlycity-endingearthquakesareinevitable.
Thecityneedstobeabletodetectmeasureandrespondtoearthquakesin a matterofsecondsbecausehere's a funfact: it's notactuallypossibletopredictearthquakesbeforetheyhappen.
Theforcesthatcauseearthquakesbuildupreallyslowlyoverhundredsorthousandsofyears, soeven a fairlyaccurateearthquakeforecastisgiveortake a fewcenturies. Andthatdoesn't reallyanswermyquestionof: Do I havetogotoworktoday, orwill I bedeadbynoonanyway?
There's the S-wave, whichisthethingthatactuallycausesmajortremors, andthere's also a weakerbutfastertraveling P-wave, whichislike a politelittleMessengertotellyouthatthe S-waveisonitswaytocomemessyourwholedayup.