Earthquakes Fierce Earth

On today's Fierce Earth, earthquakes!

We train with an international rescue team...

All right, here we go.

All right, we're coming for you.

..climb through the folds of the earth...

Right, that was the easy bit, now we've got to get out of here.

..and find out how one hi-tech city is preparing for the big one.

It is incredible force!

What happens when the ground shakes, the seas rise up

and the air tears itself apart?

The Fierce Earth team move in,

taking on the most powerful forces on the planet.

Get ready for Fierce Earth.

The Earth, and how to survive it.

Earthquakes.

Falling buildings, cracks in the earth, disaster movies.

In reality, the earth is always shifting,

and there are thousands of tiny quakes every single day.

Even in countries like the UK,

there are tiny tremors that nobody even notices.

But when a big one hits, everybody knows about it.

Quakes are caused by plate tectonics,

the large-scale motion of the Earth's outer layer.

The inside is hot and toffee-like,

but the outside, where we live, is cool.

It's made up of giant rocky slabs called plates that float on top of

the underlying hot rock like a huge jigsaw puzzle.

The plates move very slowly, just centimetres a year.

As they rub together along the edges, which we call faults,

they create the seismic tremors that cause earthquakes.

Some of the biggest cities on the planet

are located on or near faults.

I'm in Japan with Zoe to find out

how you survive life in the earthquake zone.

Endless Neon. Skyscraper canyons.

The beating heart of an entire island nation.

This is Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

More people live here than any other city in the world,

almost 32 million of them.

And they live here, despite the fact that a huge earthquake

could strike at any time.

Japan is one of the most quake-prone countries on our planet,

and Tokyo is in one of it's most dangerous areas,

and that's because it lies on a tectonic crossroads.

'Zoe and I are going to show you how those slow-moving tectonic plates'

'can build up such fierce power.'

Imagine we are two, continent-sized tectonic plates.

They push and push against each other, for millions of years,

and nothing happens. But...

The pressure builds and builds until eventually one plate gives way.

And it's that release of pressure that sets off an earthquake,

sending seismic waves through the crust and that can have

a devastating effect on the tiny human beings that live on top.

There are actually four plates jostling for position

on Japan's tectonic crossroads,

and over 1,500 earthquakes hit the country every year.

Here are three of the most significant in Japan's history.

The Kanto quake of 1923 was the most deadly ever to hit Japan.

It wasn't the biggest, but ten minutes of tremors

caused many poorly-constructed buildings to collapse.

Nearly 143,000 people lost their lives.

The Hoei earthquake of 1707 is believed the have been connected

with Volcanic eruptions of the usually peaceful Mount Fuji.

The most powerful earthquake ever in the Japan area struck in 2011,

undersea, just off the coast.

Over 30,000 perished, but not because of the quake itself.

The sudden shift in the seabed pushed a huge amount of sea water

towards Japan, which hit the coast as a devastating tsunami.

For the Japanese, earthquakes are all part of everyday life.

TRANSLATION: There are many quakes,

but I don't worry that much because...

We're used to it.

Yeah, we are used to it. If there's a small tremor we don't panic.

Tokyo is one of the most at-risk cities on the planet...

SIREN WAILS

..but it's also the most prepared.

Monthly drills across the city make sure that all schoolchildren

know what to do in an emergency.

TRANSLATION: If the real quake comes,

and I do exactly the same as in the drill,

then we can protect ourselves.

TRANSLATION: In my rucksack, I have earthquake survival gear.

Children carry fold out helmets

that help protect them from falling debris.

When the alarm sounds, it's time to drop, cover, and hold on.

Drills are a serious business.

For Tokyo children, sometimes the earthquakes are real.

TRANSLATION: I was in the science lab when the earthquake struck.

The glass bottles were shaking and making a noise and that was scary.

In the beginning I didn't know what was going on,

but some of the older children started to cry

so I realised something scary was going on.

It's frightening because you don't know when it's coming.

Scientists are now able to predict earthquakes by detecting tiny tremors

from plate tectonic movements.

In Japan, you can even receive early warnings on your mobile phone.

Anything that helps you stay calm

when a real quake strikes is a good thing.

And that's where earthquake simulators come in.

Tokyo citizens can experience the shaking and disorientation

of a major quake in total safety.

In order to fully understand what a real earthquake is like,

I have come to an earthquake shaking table in Tokyo.

And I have been given, what I can only describe as an earthquake menu.

And it has a list of a number of different earthquakes

through Japanese history.

So my choice is a 1923, a Tokyo earthquake with a 7.9 magnitude.

Quakes are measured on the moment magnitude scale,

with 1 being tiny and 9 being huge.

For each step on the scale,

the energy released increases by a factor of 30,

so a quake rated 8 is 30 times more violent than one rated 7.

So I hear an earthquake,

I've got to get down, get cover and hold on.

Wow.

That is incredible force.

This would be really terrifying if you were in your own place.

'So that's a 7.9 magnitude earthquake.'

'But scientists think a future Tokyo quake could be massive.'

'Here goes a magnitude 9.'

I'm finding it hard to hold on!

Things have fallen down.

Wow, that was...

OK.

That was short, sharp, intense earthquake simulation.

I would not want to be around

when a real earthquake of that magnitude hits.

Well done, Dougal.

But the quake itself might only be the beginning of your problems.

Afterwards, you could be walking out into a disaster zone.

The Japanese are preparing for this as well.

There are plans to transport survivors of an earthquake

in central Tokyo by helicopter over to those helipads over there

and then into that hospital.

And that is all controlled from this building I am standing on,

the Tokyo Disaster Prevention Park.

Inside the building are these empty banks of computer stations,

standing ready 24/7 for the city's disaster control team to move in.

In the aftermath of an earthquake, it's these people in this room

that will co-ordinate the rescue operation

and get Tokyo back up on its feet.

Until that day, the disaster prevention park doubles as a sort

of earthquake theme park - a great day out that could save your life.

It has tips on how to survive in the first 72 hours

after a major earthquake.

That's three days - the length of time that the government

expect people to survive on their own before help arrives.

The main attraction is the post-earthquake survival experience.

It recreates a Tokyo street scene as it would be

immediately after a major earthquake.

And today, I'm joining the tour.

'We each get our own console that will tell us

'all about our fake quake and what to do in the aftermath.'

It's 6 o'clock on a winter's evening in Tokyo

and I am on the tenth floor of a terminal building

and I think there is going to be an earthquake.

Here we go.

'I'm feeling a bit nervous as we enter the lift.'

'It's easy to forget this is just a simulation.'

That's the earthquake.

'The first thing that could go in a quake is power,

'which means no lights if the quake strikes at night.'

It is quite spooky, actually, moving through this corridor

in the dark. I can't see anything except for the exit sign.

OK, so we have arrived in the Tokyo cityscape and it is complete chaos.

There is a whole seen of destruction, devastation.

'The instructor reminds us to open our consoles and follow the clues.'

OK, here we go.

It's telling me to look around, find a store in the shopping street

where a fire breaks out. Let's see if we can find it.

'Fires are one of the biggest dangers after a quake,

'and need to be put out as soon as possible.'

'They can quickly spread and turn into an inferno.'

I have just found a fire in the corner of this restaurant

and I've realised I have already put myself in danger

by standing underneath an air conditioning unit,

that's about to fall off the building.

'The middle of the road is often the safest place after a quake.'

Not only are you dealing with falling glass,

air conditioning systems falling off the walls, cars moving,

but things like fire, smoke hazards, there is so much to think about.

'The quake experience is a bit scary but also fun.'

'It is easy to forget that this building has an important role

'in the event of a major earthquake.'

'When it does come, many more people will be safe,

'thanks to the preparation, technology and ingenuity

'of the Japanese.'

Signs of the incredible plate tectonic forces

that cause earthquakes in Japan are all around us,

if you know where to look.

Leo is in Anglesey to get a very close look.

Gogarth sea cliffs on the island of Anglesey in North Wales.

The seismic forces that raised these cliffs also created Mt Everest.

Proof, right here in the UK, that the giant tectonic plates

under the earth really do move.

Imagine that this modelling clay is layers of sand, mud and silt,

and these get laid down at the bottom of the sea...

squish themselves together and turn into rock.

Then, as the earth's plates push together,

what you are seeing is millions of years in a few seconds,

it forms these amazing folds like this.

Folds that look exactly like that.

We call these layers of rock strata.

Here on these cliffs, you can see perfectly how the strata have been

bent out of shape by incredible forces,

and today I am going to climb to the very top.

This particular cliff down here is called Mousetrap Zawn.

If you want to get up close and personal with that incredible

folded strata, there's only one way to do it, get vertical.

Mousetrap Zawn is around 100 metres high,

nearly the height of two Nelson's Columns on top of each other.

Remember, you should never try climbing on your own.

Even an expert like me has brought along a support team,

a specialist cameraman

and a very special buddy who is no slouch at climbing himself, my dad.

Are you ready for this, Dad?

I am ready, sonny boy.

'Before we can start our climb up Mousetrap Zawn,

'we have to get down to the bottom.

No turning back!

'And the quickest way is to abseil.'

That was the easy bit, now we've got to get out of here.

'I'm the lead climber in the team.'

'It's my job to set the route, clipping in safety ropes as I go.'

'Then the second climber, Dad, follows my path.'

'We're climbing with our bare hands, the ropes are only to stop us

'falling too far if we slip.'

'That's the idea, anyway.

'It's a thrill to get so close to such amazing rock.'

'Almost like climbing on the insides of the earth itself.'

Some of it's dead solid, like this quartz,

which is super hard crystals.

And others bits are really scarily flaky.

'Good old Dad holds his nerve. Obviously I have taught him well.'

These rocks were formed before the dinosaurs walked the Earth.

Even older than you.

Even older than me, that is saying something.

-Ready?

-Ready.

-Climbing.

-Climb when you're ready.

'It's taken over an hour to get 40 metres,

'not even halfway up the cliff.'

'This stage of the climb is treacherous and we take our time.'

'A fall from this height without ropes

'would mean a trip to hospital.'

Once upon a time, this was down at the bottom of the sea.

One millimetre of this is laid down in one year,

so that means one metre like that is a thousand years.

'By now we have been climbing for over three hours.'

'Arms, legs, fingers are all tired, but at last the end is in sight.'

Woo-hoo!

Nice one, Dad, that was great fun.

Thank you, mate.

-What an adventure.

-Indeed.

It is amazing to think of the millions of years

and the massive forces that have gone into creating this cliff

down here which we have just climbed up.

Thanks a lot, Dad, thanks a lot, plate tectonics.

Give us a hug.

'Days like this are why I love climbing.'

'If you would like to give it a go yourself,

'never, ever do so on your own.'

'Get in contact with your local climbing club

'and learn from an expert adult.'

'Plate tectonics took millions of years to build these cliffs.'

'They will still be waiting for you when you're a bit older.'

The UK is lucky enough to be a long way from major seismic faults

and free from serious earthquakes.

In other parts of the world the story is very different.

Developing countries with poorly designed buildings and few

emergency services are particularly at risk when an earthquake strikes.

But there is always hope of rescue,

as Mike and Clare find out in Lincoln.

These are members of the UK International Search and Rescue Team.

They fly out to help people in the aftermath of earthquakes

all over the world,

and today they have two new recruits for a special training operation.

Come on, let's move.

Leading our training will be Neil and Dave, both veterans of a major

international rescue operation in Haiti.

January 2010.

A magnitude 7 earthquake hits the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince.

Over 300,000 people lose their lives during the quake

and in the chaotic aftermath.

Emergency rescue services fly in from around the world,

including a team from the UK.

The team that operated in Haiti were based here in Lincolnshire

where the fire service trains rescue workers from all over the world.

This may look like a pile of rubble, but it's state-of-the-art rubble,

an earthquake rescue training facility, and the closest thing

you can get to the immediate aftermath of an earthquake.

And here is our mission today. At just gone 4pm an earthquake struck.

It was big enough to collapse the roof of this school.

This is the building I will be searching for survivors.

The quake also destroyed this shopping centre,

so I will focus my rescue efforts on this area.

There are three survivors hidden across the two sites,

and it is our job to find them.

But where do we start?

It's not just human rescuers that train here.

Sniffer dogs are key to making first contact with trapped survivors,

so I'm working with Maisy.

So let's see what she can do. Come on, Maisy, come on, girl.

Away, find! Good girl.

'Maisy's mission is to find the scent of a survivor

'hidden under my simulated shopping centre collapse.'

'It takes around two years to train a rescue dog.'

'If a scent is here, Maisy will find it.'

'It doesn't take Maisy long.'

'A scent coming from deep within the pile of rubble.'

'She sounds the alert.'

It looks like a collapsed stairwell or something. It goes way down.

It looks like we are going to tunnel down for this one.

All right, here we go.

'So we're on the scent of survivors. I wonder how Clare's getting on.'

'Collapsed buildings are dangerous, and confusing.'

'My training area recreates the confusion of a collapsed school

'after a quake.'

'Hidden in the chaos are clues that will help me

'find two trapped survivors.'

The sort of things that I would be looking for in here now

are clues as to whether or not we've still got children in here.

Right, let's look at this whiteboard, lots of information on here.

"Detention, four o'clock."

"In the main hall."

"Abbie and Beth."

Lets go find the main hall.

'I've worked my way deep within the pile of rubble

'that used to be a shopping centre.

'It's hot and cramped in here, and I think I've heard a voice.'

This direction, it's coming from over here to the right.

We are going to make this area safe now.

'We use a T-bar support to create a safe zone

'to help protect us against tunnel collapse.'

'Rescuers are no good to anyone if they need to be rescued themselves.'

Where did you hear the voice from?

It's coming from this direction here, where this wall is,

so what's the next step?

'Turns out the next step is very noisy!'

We're going to punch a hole in the concrete, then we will put

a camera through and we will find out exactly where that casualty is.

OK.

This is tough conditions, but much tougher for the person

that is trapped. That's why we've got to get them out of here.

'Rescues can take hours or even days,

'but once the team has made contact with a survivor they never give up.'

All right, we're through.

So we're just putting a camera through this hole.

We just want to see just exactly where you are.

'This search camera can extend to up to five metres,

'and squeeze through tiny gaps in collapsed buildings.'

'It costs over £10,000 and even has its own light,'

'plus two-way audio, so teams can speak to survivors

'and keep them calm.'

We are coming for you, we are just going to get through this wall,

we are going to come and get you. Everything is going to be OK.

'This is the sight every rescuer hopes to see,

'a survivor, trapped but alive.'

We are coming for you.

Classroom 3B...

'Back at the simulated school collapse,

'the abandoned corridors are incredibly realistic,

'but thanks to the clues in the staff room,

'we haven't abandoned hope of finding our hidden survivors.'

This is very interesting,

because this ceiling has definitely collapsed,

but it has sort of collapsed into a triangle shape.

'Corners of rooms, doorways and sturdy furniture like desks

'often create spaces when buildings collapse,'

'spaces where survivors might be found.'

'Rescuers call it the triangle of life.'

Hello? Can anyone hear me?

Yeah!

-Is that Abbie?

-Yeah.

-Beth?

-Yeah.

Are you OK?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

That is great news, but I don't know how I am going to get to them.

'It takes over an hour to drill through this concrete wall.'

'In a full-on rescue situation,

'there would be the very real danger of collapse.'

All right, we are coming for you.

Do you think you are OK to crawl to me?

I think I am OK.

OK.

'It's not enough to get down to your survivor.'

'You have to get them back out again.'

'And if they're injured,

'you'll have to do it with a cumbersome stretcher.'

We're almost there, just hang in there, we've got you.

'Back in the school,

'I've managed to wriggle through a gap

'towards the sound of my survivors.'

Hello, girls.

BOTH: Hi.

Follow us. I know the way out.

One, two, three.

'Today has really brought home

'just how tough earthquake rescue work is.'

'Training here in Lincolnshire means that the team are as prepared

'as they can be when they have to do it for real.'

It's not tremors that hurt people in earthquakes.

Structures can collapse because of the shaking

and that's what makes them so dangerous.

Back in Japan, Zoe and Dougal are on the hunt for the ultimate

earthquake-proof building.

Tokyo. The mega-city that has been destroyed and rebuilt

many times in its long history.

And building is what Tokyo does best.

That is Tokyo's latest and greatest landmark, the Sky Tree.

634 metres high, a giant TV mast on the top, you simply cannot miss it.

It's the tallest building in Japan and the second tallest in the world.

Today I'm heading straight for the top, if only to ask the question...

How does that stay up in an earthquake?

The answer, Dougal can be found here at the Ikegami Honmon-ji temple,

an earthquake-proof pagoda built over 400 years ago.

And it's still standing.

Like other ancient pagodas, it's survived many earthquakes.

The Japanese didn't spend a few centuries living on one of

the world's most dangerous faults without learning a few tricks.

'So what's the secret? All pagodas have a similar design.'

'Five floors getting smaller the higher you go up.'

'A central column like the trunk of a tree.'

'This column is called the shinbashira

'and it's not solidly fixed to anything.'

'All topped off with a heavy metal decoration called a finial.'

'It seems like a very simple building,

'and that's the pagoda's secret, earthquake-proof strength.'

The floors of a pagoda are stacked on top of one another

just like this little wooden toy,

so when an earthquake happens, it doesn't tear itself apart.

So is that the secret of surviving an earthquake? Not quite.

The pagoda has a central wooden column or shinbashira.

Again, it's not attached to anything

so it doesn't carry the weight of the floors.

But what it does do is allow the floors to move from side to side.

So you might ask yourself,

"Well, what stops the column from toppling over?"

And it is the weight of the shinbashira itself

and the finial together that act like a reverse pendulum

and allows the column to ripple without actually toppling.

Not bad for a 400-year-old technology.

And what's even more amazing is that the Tokyo Sky Tree,

21st century Japan's most hi-tech building,

has borrowed its earthquake proofing straight from the pagodas.

That is amazing, but are we really looking at half a kilometre

of steel, concrete and glass pagoda?

Well, at its base, it has got three legs.

That is a very stable structure, but it quickly goes up into a circle,

and as you can see, it's got this column running right down

the middle, just like a shinbashira on a pagoda.

I've really got to take a closer look at this.

The Sky Tree is a really popular tourist attraction,

but I want to take you behind the scenes.

That door behind me leads to the central core of the building,

but check this out.

It's just like getting on an aeroplane.

The sides of this floor are actually not connected to the central core.

Just inside here is the solid structure of the building.

Now, in the event of an earthquake, this allows the floors to jiggle

from side to side so they don't collapse, just like Zoe's pagoda.

'There is one way that the Sky Tree

'has improved upon its older cousin the pagoda.'

Oh, wow, look.

'Height.'

Wow! Look at this!

What a fantastic view.

It wraps all the way round the Sky Tree at a whopping 450 metres.

Now, the people that built this particular building

must have been sure it wasn't going to fall down in a quake.

Zoe, I bet the view from my Sky Tree bets your pagoda.

But if it wasn't for my pagodas, we wouldn't have your Sky Tree.

I wonder if I can see it anywhere. There is one over there.

Oh, there is one.

'From the smallest home to the tallest skyscraper,

'Tokyo will continue building on the lessons of the past,

'using technology to beat earthquakes.'

Thankfully, really big quakes are rare.

If you're in an earthquake zone and you feel tremors

remember to drop, cover, and hold on.

Tables, doorways and the corners of a room provide the best chance

of survival should the building collapse. The triangle of life.

This is how you maximise your chances of surviving

the Fierce Earth.

Next time, it's all about flashes and bangs,

monster hailstones,

and lethal lightning.

Oh, my gosh! I was not expecting that.

It's the explosive world of the thunderstorm.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media