I was in the office the other day, and suddenly I felt this jolt. Then the building started moving from side to side slowly. Ten seconds later, the jolt had become big swaying movements, and I quickly took refuge underneath my desk.
Earthquakes are a regular feature of life here in Japan. They happen so often that households and offices equip themselves with emergency kits. The Japanese archipelago is located in an area where several continental and oceanic plates meet.
Back in 1995, Kobe was devastated by an earthquake 7.2 on the Richter scale. I was recently there on a business trip, and the city is immaculate. The locals told me that it took no time for the Japanese authorities to get the city back on the ground running.
In such circumstances, the news agencies are very efficient reporting the whereabouts of earthquake occurrences in addition to potential tsunami.
The big discussion here in Tokyo is the expected big earthquake due to happen within the next ten years. The last big occurrence was in 1923 resulting in the deaths of 100,000 people.
Somehow, I just feel that if any country can handle devastation, Japan would certainly be top of the list.
