Press conference at the Astronomical Institute. In a serious voice, the speaker announces that all the calculations have been made, and there is no doubt: in ten thousand years, a comet will fatally strike the Earth, causing the extinction of life on the planet. The employee of the assistant jumps out of his chair: – For how much!? – More than ten thousand years. – Phew! You scared me! I thought you said over a thousand years!

Is it possible to predict any impact with the Earth by a comet, meteorite, asteroid of destructive dimensions? Sorry, no.

There is a network of satellites, with the addition of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021, that track what’s moving in space near us and have so far discovered 27,000 asteroids, but there remain celestial bodies that appear unexpectedly on trajectories that give us emotions.

But if we were to observe one with potentially catastrophic potential, what would we do? Of course, let’s pray and hide in the bunkers that I hope you all have already prepared.

Can catastrophic floods be predicted? Thank God, yes, at least a few days before it happens. The situation in which what do we do? It depends on the specific case.

Well, when they started in the region of southern Romania, 4×4 vehicles were sent, one of which arrived at Nea Ilie’s house. The old man, however, refused to go: – I am a faithful person, God will save me! People shrugged their shoulders and left. Half a day later, when the water was raging on the streets of the village, a motor boat floated in front of Nea Ilie’s house in the pouring rain: – Come on, Nea Ilie, sit down! – No, I am a religious person, I pray incessantly, and God will save me!

Six hours later, when the water reached the roofs and the old man climbed onto his own, holding on to the chimney, a helicopter appeared above, barely resisting the gusts of wind: – We are throwing a ladder at you, the people on the plane roared, dial quickly! “No,” roared the old man in turn, “God will save me!”

By morning, the water covered the roofs and Nea Ilye drowned. As he was faithful, he ended up in heaven, before God, whom he reproved. – Lord, I believed in you all my life, but you did not help me!

– How did I not help you, Ilya!? – God was indignant. Well, didn’t I send you a car, a boat, a helicopter!?

Can volcanic eruptions be predicted? As we saw last week, yes, the vast majority of these are expected, with numerous warning signs. And can something be done? If you don’t mind bathing in the lava, it’s enough to leave, and when the plague passes, you’ll see if you come back or not. When some are more stubborn, the persuasive power of someone like Dr. Raimundo Santiago Punongbayan, whom I told you about, is needed.

Finally, is it possible to predict earthquakes and, if they occur at the edge of or even at the bottom of the oceans, the tsunamis that come with them? At least 120,000 people died in the Indonesian area in 2004, the vast majority from the killer wave rather than the earthquake, and about 20,000 in Japan in 2011 (in both cases there were many missing persons still unaccounted for). day).

No, earthquakes cannot be predicted. None was “guessed” in time. But can we do anything without even knowing in advance that they will come? Fortunately, yes. First, let’s build earthquake-resistant buildings. Second, let’s provide the best anti-seismic education. Many people died, including on March 4, 1977 in Romania, because they did not know that under no circumstances should you run up the stairs, their void is the most fragile part of the building. And you can do much more.

In the already mentioned disaster of 2011, the earthquake + tsunami (it’s better not to talk about Fukushima, okay?), on the northeastern coast of Japan, in the village of Fudai, with three thousand inhabitants, the houses barely got wet. . And that’s thanks to the crazy mayor, who wasn’t even alive at the time.

Kotaku Wamura served as mayor for 10 terms, beginning after World War II and ending in 1987. The 2011 disaster was not without precedent: powerful earthquake-triggered tsunamis devastated Japan’s northeastern coast in 1933 and 1896. In Fudaya, two disasters killed a total of 439 people. Wamura saw the consequences of what happened in 1933 and vowed that if it was up to him, nothing like this would happen again, at least in his village.

As a result, when he became mayor, he began the construction between the slopes of the mountains (this is the natural position of the village) a dam 17 meters high, or rather a gate with panels that could be raised to allow the Fudai River to flow into the bay from the ocean and lower to block tsunamis if they occur.

Silrada initially refused the project, which cost a lot of money. But the mayor insisted and convinced them. Construction began in 1972 on a 224-meter span and was completed in 1984. On March 11, following the 9.1 magnitude earthquake, the dam’s four main panels were closed for the first time by remote control. The smaller ones, on the sides, got stuck and were manually unlocked by a fireman. After the tsunami that hit the coast, the village remained almost untouched.

Wamura died in 1997 at the age of 88. When he retired, he told his men: “Even if you meet opposition, stick to your convictions and finish what you started. Eventually, people will understand.”

39 years since the massive construction began, 27 since its completion, and 14 since Kotaku Wamura left this world, you might have thought the project was the mayor’s insanity. Then it was clear, amazingly, that it wasn’t…