Tokyo Says It Is Ready for Covid-19. What About Earthquakes?

If there were an earthquake that measured 4 or higher on Japan’s seismic scale — out of a possible 7 — the land ministry or Olympic organizing committee would most likely call for a temporary suspension of the Games so that the agency’s 12,000-plus engineers could check buildings for structural integrity.

Before the pandemic, when Japan expected to welcome hundreds of thousands of overseas visitors, a major concern was communicating earthquake protocols to officials, athletes and media members who might not react as calmly as the average Japanese. Imagine a stampede for the exits at any of the stadiums. While fans will be limited to Japanese people, and arenas will be at half-capacity, there will be tens of thousands of foreign athletes, coaches, officials and media members in attendance.

“If it was only for Japanese people we can say ‘an earthquake has occurred,’” said Kazuki Matsumoto, an official at the land ministry, describing a common disaster announcement. “But maybe for foreigners we have to announce, ‘An earthquake occurred, but it’s OK, and please don’t panic.’”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/sports/olympics/tokyo-olympics-covid-earthquake.html