Are you ready if disaster strikes?

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BOSAI: Be Prepared.

Our topic this time is "Lessons from the 1923 Earthquake."

Hi! I'm Chairat Thomya from Thailand.

This time, I've come to Ryogoku, an oldtown area in Tokyo,

where the sumo stadium and Katsushika Hokusai Art Museum are located.

It's a place where many foreign tourists visit.

However, 100 years ago, this area was severely damaged by the Great Earthquake.

This time, we will visit places that tell history about the great disaster that hit Tokyo 100 years ago.

In any discussion of the Great Kanto Earthquake, Yokoamicho Park,

about five minutes on foot from Ryogoku Station, serves as a prominent location.

Chairat is meeting someone here...

Hello, I'm Hiroi Yu, an urban disaster prevention researcher. Nice to meet you.

Chairat, a question for you: what do you think this building is?

It looks like a temple.

It's actually an earthquake memorial hall that contains the ashes of around 60,000 people who died in this area during the earthquake.

In this area alone? 60,000?

The Great Kanto Earthquake occurred 100 years ago, with its epicenter in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo.

The strongest earthquake recorded up to that time, it's said to have killed as many as 105,000 people.

The damage to the densely populated Ryogoku area was particularly devastating.

In fact, this place was used as an evacuation site by many residents.

However, fires broke out and about 40,000 people died here alone.

September 1st is now designated as "Disaster Prevention Day" to remember the catastrophe.

Many documents, photographs and physical evidence of the fires at that time are on display here.

Was this taken at that time?

Yes, this is now the Plaza in front of the Imperial Palace.

Many people can be seen evacuating with their household goods.

And not just small items, but also large trunks and bedding.

Yes. They're carrying a lot of stuff that could easily burn well.

It's impossible to escape.

At that time, many people in Tokyo lived in rented houses, so those who survived and saved their household goods could soon find somewhere to live.

That's why many people fled with their household necessities.

It's likely that this place where we're at now would have been in a similar situation.

The household goods carried to evacuation sites greatly increased the earthquake damage and the number of fatalities.

As you can see here, the hands on this station clock stopped at 11:58.

That was the moment when the earthquake struck.

At two minutes before noon, of course, many families were preparing lunch,

and lit kitchen stoves and portable clay charcoal stoves quickly started fires.

It's said that 134 fires broke out in Tokyo City that day, almost all at the same time.

The large number of fires that broke out in Tokyo grew at a rapid pace,

fueled by the strong winds, and they spread to the household goods of evacuees, with deadly results.

Moreover, many "firestorms" occurred.

What exactly is a "firestorm"?

Well, there are many different types, but basically they're like a whirlwind of flame.

We now know that as fires spread they can create whirlwind-like conditions.

The very strong wind generated makes the fire spread rapidly, so, that synergistic effect expands the fire zone.

At the time of the earthquake, firestorms are believed to have occurred at 110 locations in Tokyo.

110 locations...

The fires that followed the Great Kanto Earthquake reduced the eastern side of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area to ashes,

leaving one in every 32 or 33 people dead or missing.

Even today, fire is the most feared thing about earthquakes in urban areas.

It's predicted that about 70% of the fatalities in a major earthquake under Tokyo would be caused by fire.

After the Great Kanto Earthquake, creating absolutely safe evacuation sites was considered a priority of urban planning.

For example, great efforts were made with engineering designs to protect the lives of evacuees from radiation heat even if a site is surrounded by fire.

The 1923 disaster taught us a huge lesson about the safety of evacuation sites.

Next, Professor Hiroi guides Chairat to a large bridge spanning the Sumida River.

Chairat, have you heard the term 'crowd crush'?

- Ah, like what happened in Seoul at Halloween in 2022?
- Yes.

It's the phenomenon where up to around ten people are packed together in one square meter,

and if the crowd collapses, people die due to being suffocated or because of the pressure on their chest.

The same phenomenon occurred here on the Aioi Bridge during the Great Kanto Earthquake.

"People were crushed on the bridge and trampled on,

some fell from the bridge and sank into the great river,

some were pressed against the parapet gasping for breath..."

That's how the crowd crush was described.

From such memoirs and testimonies recorded at the time, we know fires broke out on both river banks,

and the accident is believed to have been caused by a rush of evacuees from both sides of the river.

Are bridges the most likely places for crowd crushes to occur?

Well, it's more likely to occur where there is a bottleneck structure,

so, for example, at any space where people get concentrated all at once but there's no escape route,

such as bridges, pedestrian bridges, and steps leading underground.

Or places where several roads converge.

There's a high possibility that a crowd crush will occur in such places.

Today, a main concern is the problem of people who are stranded because they cannot return home by ordinary means of transportation.

Crowd crushes could occur when all those people try to walk home at once.

It's estimated that if a major earthquake occurs directly beneath the capital area,

6.5 million people will have trouble returning home in Tokyo alone.

Right after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, almost all railway services in Tokyo were suspended

and the pedestrians who overflowed onto the roads blocked the passage of emergency vehicles.

For that reason, people are now recommended to remain at their workplaces for up to 72 hours, the time during which many human lives might be saved.

This is a necessary action to avoid being involved in a crowd crush.

But 72 hours is a long time.

If you have kids in school or live with the elderly, you feel like getting home as soon as possible.

Yes. I would recommend asking neighbors to look after the elderly living at home in the event of a disaster.

And you can discuss with nurseries and schools about taking care of your children.

You should also prepare a stockpile of supplies to allow you to stay at your office or workplace.

It's important to be prepared at all times for not leaving immediately.

The final destination is Shin Ohashi Bridge upriver from Aioi Bridge.

Few bridges survived the Great Kanto Earthquake.

But on this bridge, police officers and veterans insisted on evacuees abandoning their household goods,

which could have burned down the bridge and made it impossible for people to move forward.

So the evacuees were forced to throw them away, and were then guided across.

That's how the bridge survived, and for helping more than 10,000 people to evacuate, it's now known as the "Helpful Bridge."

So crowd guidance and control will continue to be an issue.

Yes. I think it's very important for us all to consider others and remain as calm as possible.

Bridges and city structures are less likely to collapse and burn now than they were back then, but the population has grown enormously.

- If we don't realize the horror of so many people thinking of themselves first, then, history will be repeated.
- Yes.

There were tragic cases, as at Aioi Bridge, and cases where lives were saved, like here at Shin Ohashi Bridge.

That was 100 years ago, but, there's a real possibility that something similar will occur again, so it's vital for us to learn from the past.