Disastrous Earthquake In Japan: What Do We Learn From It?

Today, marked the first anniversary of the greatest disaster mankind had known which hit East Japan. For a minute, Japan fell silent to remember the 19,000 people who were killed in tsunami following the magnitude 9 earthquake.

Japan Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe said a year after the disaster, normal life is back in Japan except for very limited areas.

“Japan is open for business, tourism and study. Japan has gone through crisis, survived and improved ourselves. This time it is better. We know that we are not alone,” Urabe said. “Of course, after such a disaster the road ahead is still hard and long. It is Japan’s responsibility to share the knowledge and lessons learned from the disaster with the international community.”

Urabe averred that Japan will transform challenges into opportunities concerning various issues such as post-disaster reconstruction, disaster risk reduction, a shift to a “green economy,” how to cope with aging society.

The world had witnessed how Japan’s quick and efficient recovery from that huge blow. And the more important thing is, they’ve learned their lessons.

Both Japan and Philippines had a fair share of natural disasters in the past as we are situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire. The issue of disaster prevention and preparations has become the pressing concerns, especially that the debilitating effects of climate change continues.

Recently, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed more than a thousand in Negros Occidental and even authorities fear of more stronger earth movements to come.

The question now, did we learned our lessons too? Or we are again, at risk of losing more lives and properties when another catastrophe comes?