was+japan+prepared+for+the+earthquake?

WAs japan prepared for the quake?

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 * Draw a floor plan of your home showing the location of exit windows and doors, utility cut off points, emergency supplies, food, tools, etc.Share it with baby-sitters and guests.
 * Establish family meeting points with alternate sites inside and outside of your home for all members to gather in the event of an evacuation.
 * Establish reunion sites with alternate sites for when the family is not at home, e.g., local shelter, neighbor's house, park, school.
 * Designate a person outside of your immediate area for separated family members to call to report their location andcondition if separated.
 * Learn or establish disaster policy/planning at your children's school.
 * Know your neighbors and make them aware of the number of people living in your home.
 * Learn where the nearest designated shelter for your neighborhood is.
 * Photocopy passports and other important documents.Store copies away from home (for example, at work).
 * <span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Learn how to contact the police, fire and rescue services in Japanese.Be able to provide your address in Japanese.


 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">According to the //New York Times//, ** such features **as extra __//**s**//____//**teel bracing**//__, __//**giant rubber pads**//__ and embedded **__//hydraulic// //shock absorbers//__** in high buildings make modern Japanese buildings among the sturdiest in the world during a major earthquake.
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">“[Building codes] were tightened up a lot in the 1980s – most of the buildings built over the last 30 years in Japan will be subject to very tight seismic regulations,” he said. “They are designed for quite a high lateral force, to allow for the forces that get generated from such earthquakes… but also in many buildings they add additional features such as **additional damping** in the buildings to absorb some of the energy.”
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">During the earthquake, despite being ** hundreds of miles **from the epicenter, Tokyo’s tall buildings literally swayed like trees as the quake shook the ground. According to structural engineer ** Bill Faschan **: ”The basic idea, particularly (for) a tall building, is it’s supposed to act like a tree.
 * <span style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">http://constructionlawnc.com/2011/03/18/japan-earthquake/

the features and what they do
 * Steel bracing- they are placed between floors. These braces counteract pressure that pushes and pulls at the side of a building during an earthquake.
 * <span style="color: #2d3138; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Gian rubber pads-The isolation devices are essentially giant rubber-and-steel pads that are installed at the very bottom of the excavation for a building, which then simply sits on top of the pads.
 * <span style="color: #2d3138; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Hydraulic shock absorbers- They are hydraulic cylinders that elongate and contract as the building sways, sapping the motion of energy.