Link: http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/03/2011325112137360914.html

Japan has been studying its seismic foe for years, but subsequent generations often forget the lessons of past quakes. RIKUZENTAKATA The town of 23,000 is accustomed to quakes and tsunamis, so when the twin natural disasters hit the community hugging Japan's jagged northeast coast, everyone knew what to do. "We know we have 30 minutes to move after an earthquake," said volunteer fireman Akio Kin, 51. "People who left immediately made it. And those who were late didn't." Indeed, not everyone made it - so mighty were the waves that eight of the 11 emergency evacuation points in the city were taken out by the tsunami.