Engineers built the pipe in a zigzag configuration, which converts the lengthwise expansion into a sideways movement. Wider zigzags were added in the Denali Fault area to anticipate earthquake ...

Roads sank, rose and cracked in the earthquake. “There is no doubt that the underground piping is also in shambles,” a Suzu city official said. About 300 kilometers of water pipes run under Suzu.

Only about 15 percent of Japan’s 25,000 facilities that are considered vital in times of disaster are connected to earthquake-resistant water supply and sewer pipes, a land ministry survey ...