We’ve already known that Japan is an earthquake prone country. But still, we didn’t anticipate much the damage caused by the earthquake that hit Japan on 11 March 2011. The epicenter of the earthquake was located 70 kilometers east of Tohoku and an underwater depth of 32 kilometers. Probably, the damage was worsened by the tsunami wave. The world was shocked. Even Japan, the most earthquake prepared country faced terrible damage. This earthquake is the biggest in Japan’s history.

The magnitude is 700 times higher than the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010. But the death toll is far lower than Haiti, thanks for the well organized infrastructure. The Japan National Police Agency confirmed the death toll reached 15,365 people and more than 8,000 are still missing. An earthquake is unavoidable. But no technology and science can predict the precise date when a quake will happen. However, it is a human being’s duty to assure that every disaster will have minimum risk. In Japan, the knowledge on how the people should react when an earthquake happens is well circulated and documented. The Japanese Government has many programs in making their people realize the danger of earthquakes and the damage afterwards such as in the Disaster Prevention Drill Week. People in Japan understand very much what to do when earthquake happens. Since 1981, Japan launched the earthquake proof building code. In the 1995 Kobe earthquake, there were many casualties due to fire. Then the Government revised the code
in 1998 to add fire resistance and preventive measures. Though the regulation couldn’t guarantee zero casualties the effort is aiming to minimize the damage and the casualties. The Government of Indonesia also uses a similar approach and applied it in many areas in Indonesia which were hit by earthquakes such as in Aceh, Yogyakarta, and Padang. The Government measures the condition of a building shortly after a big earthquake
happenes. Then, they make a category based on the condition of the building whether it has to be destroyed, renovated, or considered safe.
As you know, Indonesia was hit by some major earthquakes from 2004, after those earthquakes public awareness increased. Now in Jakarta, the
capital city, many buildings such as shopping malls and offices have their own assembly points in case an earthquake happens so that evacuations can be done. However, a major earthquake educated society is not easy to achieve. The Government in many parts of the world should include earthquakes and other disasters to their curriculum in their educational system. This is important in preparing the younger generation on how to cope with a disaster. After all, the infrastructure itself needs to be well planned and constructed according to safety measures