Japan is an island nation lying off the eastern coast of the
Asian continent. The archipelago consists of four main islands
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, as well as thousands of
adjacent smaller islands. Its total land area is 377,818 sq km,
which is about 4% of that of the United States and slightly
bigger than Germany. Japan occupies about 0.3% of the earth's
total land area. The country is situated in a volcanic zone
along the Pacific deeps, which causes about 1,500 earth tremors
every year and destructive earthquakes occur several times a
century. Volcanic activity is occasional, due to the large
number of dormant and active volcanoes. Because of close
proximity to human populations they are being constantly
monitored. Tsunamis and typhoons are also among the natural
hazards. Sounds like quite active place to live in, but what
happens when two natural hazards occur simultaneously? A
disaster of enormous magnitude resulting in numerous lost lives,
hundreds of injured people and a nuclear peril for