Modern Japan is a nation that still remembers fear, occupation, hardship and disasters. They are prepared for it. They live with it like almost no other prominent world power.
A triple whammy of repeated earthquakes, devastating tsunami and a potential nuclear meltdown, obviously brings to life some of the worst fears. On top of financial uncertainty for the nation.
How many people will suffer, if not to death, just trying to find food? But in the long term, in the coming years, how hard will it be to help everyone?
The odd thing is, not being in Japan, all I can think is that this, even as catastrophic as it is, repeated by national news outlets, is that this isn't their worst fears and some people even call it a mercy that the earth quake and tsunami didn't hit bigger cities.
CNN keeps restating that the worst fears realized would have been the annihilation of a large city or several of them. More on their side they are worried about the economics of this event. Where the money is coming from, the largest companies are being affected too.. Japan's economy is getting a big kick in the gut. Probably good for the other tech companies in other nations that won't have a choice but to pick up the slack.
What happens now is the clean up and rebuilding step, where the bigger projects would have to wait until the earth stops moving, after the after shocks, which will be in the fall and the coming years. There's an expectation that Japan will finally have a big monkey off its back and they could look forward, finally to prosperity for however long they have geological stability and economic stability.
The thing is they've been waiting for this. There are plans on what to do after the devastation is over and cleaned up..
But can and should you rebuild cities and villages that are so devastated? And rebuilt the rail links or the roads? Both might be too expensive. And the Airport(s)?
One thing that can be done with the survivors, obviously is relocation to more stable regions.. and setting up housing for them that can be made permanent.
Another thing that is being said is that for Japan this is the worst time for these ravages to have happened because even though there are plans for what to do there is no money. Where the plan has always been to endure the break and rebuild it stronger and smarter.. will that be possible. Essentially the work force will have to be the displaced and all they'll get to rebuilt their villages is what they themselves can afford. I mean for the government what should they be responsible for? rebuilding the roads and rails, the infrastructure.. but the houses and workplaces and jobs and livelihoods.. how can they be a priority in the short term?
What I love about Japan is how much of a priority they put into solid and resilient infrastructure.. even though it is so expensive to build and maintain and upgrade to keep it as strong and resilient.. so it is so horrible to see that system so devastated and wonder how it can be rebuilt so that help can get to where it is needed.
Outside of recycling what remains of the most devastated regions.. will the rest of Japan help with that? I'd like to go over there are help rebuild, but how long will that take? It would take years depending on the money invested in clean up and rebuilding.
And of course the lives that are forever changed. The people who were lost.
But once those areas are cleared out and new growth starts to take hold.. will some people leave the overly dense urban centers to find new opportunities in those new communities or like the Philippines will they come from the quake zones and make a bad situation worse for over crowded cities? As hard as life will be, moving out should be something to look for where some people.. or so many people's lives are disturbed and will need to find themselves within their communities and the nation overall.
A triple whammy of repeated earthquakes, devastating tsunami and a potential nuclear meltdown, obviously brings to life some of the worst fears. On top of financial uncertainty for the nation.
How many people will suffer, if not to death, just trying to find food? But in the long term, in the coming years, how hard will it be to help everyone?
The odd thing is, not being in Japan, all I can think is that this, even as catastrophic as it is, repeated by national news outlets, is that this isn't their worst fears and some people even call it a mercy that the earth quake and tsunami didn't hit bigger cities.
CNN keeps restating that the worst fears realized would have been the annihilation of a large city or several of them. More on their side they are worried about the economics of this event. Where the money is coming from, the largest companies are being affected too.. Japan's economy is getting a big kick in the gut. Probably good for the other tech companies in other nations that won't have a choice but to pick up the slack.
What happens now is the clean up and rebuilding step, where the bigger projects would have to wait until the earth stops moving, after the after shocks, which will be in the fall and the coming years. There's an expectation that Japan will finally have a big monkey off its back and they could look forward, finally to prosperity for however long they have geological stability and economic stability.
The thing is they've been waiting for this. There are plans on what to do after the devastation is over and cleaned up..
But can and should you rebuild cities and villages that are so devastated? And rebuilt the rail links or the roads? Both might be too expensive. And the Airport(s)?
One thing that can be done with the survivors, obviously is relocation to more stable regions.. and setting up housing for them that can be made permanent.
Another thing that is being said is that for Japan this is the worst time for these ravages to have happened because even though there are plans for what to do there is no money. Where the plan has always been to endure the break and rebuild it stronger and smarter.. will that be possible. Essentially the work force will have to be the displaced and all they'll get to rebuilt their villages is what they themselves can afford. I mean for the government what should they be responsible for? rebuilding the roads and rails, the infrastructure.. but the houses and workplaces and jobs and livelihoods.. how can they be a priority in the short term?
What I love about Japan is how much of a priority they put into solid and resilient infrastructure.. even though it is so expensive to build and maintain and upgrade to keep it as strong and resilient.. so it is so horrible to see that system so devastated and wonder how it can be rebuilt so that help can get to where it is needed.
Outside of recycling what remains of the most devastated regions.. will the rest of Japan help with that? I'd like to go over there are help rebuild, but how long will that take? It would take years depending on the money invested in clean up and rebuilding.
And of course the lives that are forever changed. The people who were lost.
But once those areas are cleared out and new growth starts to take hold.. will some people leave the overly dense urban centers to find new opportunities in those new communities or like the Philippines will they come from the quake zones and make a bad situation worse for over crowded cities? As hard as life will be, moving out should be something to look for where some people.. or so many people's lives are disturbed and will need to find themselves within their communities and the nation overall.