Despite the scale of the disaster, Tokyo was spared the worst by the quake, which hit offshore and spawned a tsunami that devastated coastal areas. Volcano-dotted Japan is located on the "Pacific Ring of Fire", and Tokyo is situated in one of its most dangerous areas. Seismologists say that the "Big One" -- a huge quake below or near Tokyo, forecast to kill thousands -- is, statistically speaking, long overdue.
The city sits on the intersection of three continental plates -- the Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates -- which are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.
The government's Earthquake Research Committee warns of a 70 percent chance that a magnitude-eight quake will strike within 30 years in the Kanto plain. The last "Big One" to hit Tokyo was the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that claimed over 140,000 lives, many of them in fires that ripped through wooden buildings. In 1855 the Ansei Edo quake also devastated the city.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110311-324806/Millions-stuck-in-Tokyo-as-quake-shuts-down-subways
The city sits on the intersection of three continental plates -- the Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates -- which are slowly grinding against each other, building up enormous seismic pressure.
The government's Earthquake Research Committee warns of a 70 percent chance that a magnitude-eight quake will strike within 30 years in the Kanto plain. The last "Big One" to hit Tokyo was the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that claimed over 140,000 lives, many of them in fires that ripped through wooden buildings. In 1855 the Ansei Edo quake also devastated the city.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110311-324806/Millions-stuck-in-Tokyo-as-quake-shuts-down-subways
