For modern Olympic host cities, the twin threats of terrorism and financial ruin constantly loom.
However, spare a thought for Tokyo 2020 organizers, who face the added risk of a devastating earthquake or tsunami.
Japan is already stepping up efforts to reassure top athletes and hundreds of thousands of visitors when they flock to Tokyo for the Games, which are to begin on July 24, 2020, that safety will be paramount.
Tokyo and its surrounding areas sit precariously at the junction of shifting tectonic plates and have suffered violent quakes in the past, notably the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people.
In March 2011, a giant quake and tsunami killed more than 18,500 people in northeast Japan — though the majority died as a result of the latter rather than the earthquake itself.
Naoshi Hirata, head of the Earthquake Prediction Research Center at the University of Tokyo, said a powerful quake before the 2020 Olympics could cripple Tokyo’s ability to host the event.
“If an earthquake directly hitting the capital caused catastrophe before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it could be serious enough to prevent the Japanese economy from functioning properly,” Hirata told reporters. “We would have little option but to seek an alternative Olympic host.”
Tokyo 2020 organizers said Olympic facilities have all cleared the nation’s strict quake-proof building standards.
“I cannot think of any city that is completely safe, but Tokyo is one of the best-prepared for natural disasters,” Tokyo 2020 chief executive officer Toshiro Muto said.
Many venues are reinforced by shock-absorbing technology, organizers said, such as the US$320 million Ariake volleyball arena, which features giant rubber cushions.
“Japan is vulnerable to earthquakes, but building standards are the strictest in the world,” said Satoru Sunada, a Tokyo government official in charge of Olympic facilities.
Sunada said that waterfront facilities, including the Olympic village, are built on embankments or protected by sea walls high enough to withstand a tsunami of almost 2m — the maximum height predicted inside Tokyo Bay.
However, Kojiro Suzuki, a tsunami researcher at the Port and Airport Research Institute said there is a limit to what preventative measures can do.
“The damage could well be beyond people’s anticipation,” he said. “We should not fully rely on breakwaters. Evacuation is important.”
“People who are not used to [earthquakes] might get into a panic even at minor jolts,” said Toshitsugu Fujii, a retired professor at the University of Tokyo and leading expert on quakes and volcano studies.
However, it is not only earthquakes that worry Olympic organizers — a volcano could also pose a potential threat to the Games.
Situated about 100km west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji last erupted in 1707, covering the capital with a thick layer of ash.
“It is difficult to predict precisely, but it would be no surprise if Mount Fuji erupts in the near future,” Fujii said. “We have to keep that risk in mind.”
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