Two seismically-challenged cities on opposite sides of the Pacific are to cooperate to improve their readiness to cope with the next big earthquake, Yokohama city officials said Monday.
The mayors of Japan's second largest city and Los Angeles signed a "Global partnership in preparedness agreement for disaster preparedness," aimed at boosting exchanges of information and resources on disaster response, said a spokeswoman for Yokohama City Hall.
"The officials signing this document support future efforts of co-operation and mutual exchange of information and resources relating to emergency preparedness, disaster response and recovery of public services," said the declaration signed by Los Angeles' mayor Richard Riordan and Yokohama's Hidenobu Takahide.
Making greater use of the Internet to keep citizens informed in the event of a major earthquake would be a key focus of the exchange, believed to be the first of its kind between Japanese and foreign city governments, officials said.
Yokohama's municipal authorities hope to learn more advanced disaster prevention techniques developed by Los Angeles in the aftermath of the 1994 North Ridge earthquake which killed 61 people, the spokeswoman said.
Yokohama, home to 3.4 million inhabitants, lies 30 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Tokyo.
Seismic experts believe that a major earthquake with its epicenter in the Pacific and sufficient to cause widespread damage in both cities could occur at any time -- TOKYO (AFP)
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