What if…

You all know it. Japan suffered yesterday an impressive earthquake. This disaster has been transmitted almost live to the whole globe. We all have seen the damages in one of the richest countries in the World, and have felt once more how indefense and small we are when comparing to the nature.

Somehow, the devastating earthquake in Haiti impressed us, but did not scare those in the “First World” in the same way as this one. Haiti is a poor country (now even poorer) and it was “normal” that the damages of an earthquake were that great… but Japan? Japan is a rich country, and used to prevent earthquakes. They are famous for their seismic technology. And still, we are hearing of hundreds of fatalities and material damages in millions, nuclear power plants struggling to keep radiation under control…

Furthermore, those who have lived in Japan for some time in their lives are puzzled. When we hear these news, see the images, and read the stories in Internet from people we have met there or from the journalists, we can only wonder “What if I had been there?”.

In fact, that was part of the conversation with my mother yesterday. I told her she would have immediately known that I was alright, because I read tweets from Tokyo minutes after the earthquake took place… So, communication was possible in Tokyo. A different story would have been if the epicenter had been nearer to Tokyo area, though.

In fact, I was not specially scared during my stay in Tokyo. Maybe it helped that I only felt one earthquake while working on a 14th floor, and that before I realized what was going on, it stopped. Another relative big earthquake I heard about caught me deeply sleeping in the first floor of a new building (supposed to be prepared for big earthquakes) and did not notice it.

Anyway, the Japanese were really worried about this possibility.

When you registered in the local government, you got the “Disaster Survival Manual”, a book with complete instructions on what to do in case of earthquake and floods. Now, I consider I took too many risks. I did not read it as careful as I should, and did not find out where the evacuation area was. I did not follow the recommendations of having some food and water stored at home. I expected that if such a major disaster took place, I would either directly die, or be able to follow the well prepared Japanese to the meeting point and be taken care.

Also, in my office, when you were not a temporary worker, you got a disaster surviving kit. This kit consisted of a helmet, a lamp, and something else I do not recall. They were thinking of course in the Great Tokai, the big earthquake which was already 10 years late to its appointment with history, and which finally came yesterday. I was not afraid of not having such a kit for me (but I knew where my colleagues’ were, just in case).

One day I met the Risk Manager during a coffee break. He was in charge of being able to restore operations in case of such a disaster. In this case, he was not only duplicating the information systems as in many other companies. He was also responsible of having a clear view of who was able to cover someone else…

Having seen all this and the images of the tsunami originated in Senpai… I think it would have been a matter of luck to survive such an event originated in Tokyo Bay… and of money: new buildings in Japan were more expensive to live in because of the lower probability of collapse. But if it was in the afternoon, it would all have depended on where you were. If you were in an old building, near it or in the street, your chances were low. If you were in a new skyscraper working… lucky you.

In summary, these situations make me feel small, and even though technology and investment may help in minimizing the personal damages, it is absolutely impossible to be completely safe. Unfortunately.