Regarding the April 3 front-page article "Earthquake will pack millions in tight areas": With the extent of crowding outlined, people would spill out over the roadways. There would be no vehicular traffic, not even emergency vehicles. Perhaps the solution would be to limit freeway traffic to one lane for emergency vehicles and permit pedestrians to use the other lanes.
But should people even go home? If transport is massively disrupted, then many people need to be allocated accommodation near work as their jobs would be vital. Doctors, nurses, electricians, plumbers, food shop staff are only a few instances.
At least if mobile phone installations were restored promptly, then people would have voice contact with loved ones. This would minimize the need to rush home to check on loved ones where it was in fact unnecessary. In London, though, at the time of the terrorist bombings, the mobile phone system went into meltdown. What would happen in Tokyo?
It seems that very few Tokyo people know exactly what they should do in the event of a major natural disaster. In fact everyone should have two or three scenarios mapped out in their heads, depending on their job and the safety of loved ones. The earthquake will happen; the only questions are "when" and "how big."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.