Who is more earthquake prepared, Japan or California?
 

California is due to the big one soon any time now. Do you think in general we are more prepared than the Japanese are or not as much?

Quake didn't really do much damage to the Japanese, it was mostly the Tsunami

Not at all. California is entirely overdue for a cataclysmic event. I can only imagine the panic, looting and utter mass destruction a 8.9 earthquake would spawn on California.
California would not recover in our lifetime. New Orleans should be testimony to our talents of recovery and rebuild.

have the "BLACK" areas been rebuild? hmm? :mad:

Japan is far more proactive that we are in America. They were way more prepared than California is I would say. Probably by a long shot.

I read that the buildings in Japan are engineered to withstand earthquakes due to special engineering and their buildings tend to be newer. In CA I think we have lots of old apartments and buildings that were built in the 70's and 80's. I'm scared of earthquakes :(

yeah in japan they also have some kind of rubber between the building's concrete and stuff while moving during the earthquake it wont shatter the structures.. and they also have mild earthquakes on a daily basis so they're very prepared..

The next "Big One" of the strength of what occurred in Japan is far more likely in the Upper Northwest, such as Seattle, Washington State and Victoria, British Columbia.

Read up on the Cascadia Subduction Zone - a big earthquake from that will likely be around a 9.0 with a large Tsunami.

Fortunately, many coastal cities in the Northwest are sheltered from a direct hit by high water, and there's only one commercial nuclear reactor in the entire U.S. Northwest (Columbia Generating Station - Richland, WA), which is located hundreds of miles inland; none at all in BC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascadia_subduction_zone

Ron