Uh-oh, Japan, this is bad

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

The Emperor is worried: http://www.wootly.com/2a1rj9nnwwo6

[aimlesswanderer]

Once the shock had worn off, what struck me is how many of the houses were made of wood. Seems like they were traditional wooden houses topped with tiles - not good in earthquakes, and presumably not for tsunamis either. I wonder if more solid structures would have made much of a difference? The town where the only building not washed away was the hospital (made presumably of concrete and or bricks) made me wonder.

[gaelic cowboy]

Once the shock had worn off, what struck me is how many of the houses were made of wood. Seems like they were traditional wooden houses topped with tiles - not good in earthquakes, and presumably not for tsunamis either. I wonder if more solid structures would have made much of a difference? The town where the only building not washed away was the hospital (made presumably of concrete and or bricks) made me wonder.

Looking at the pictures to be honest it looked to me like a lot or most the buildings survived the quake but were demolished by the wave instead.

[lars573]

Well in California it's perfectly fine to have a building made from wood. You just have to build with sheer in mind. And in deed the building codes in California require that any material used have an official sheer rating. And that the timber framed building be put together a certain way. I'm sure Kukri would be able to elaborate further. But against a Tsunami it wouldn't matter what you built out of, total mass it what matter then.

The Emperor is worried: http://www.wootly.com/2a1rj9nnwwo6

The Emperor should be. It's his job to worry about the Japanese nation.