The Japanese know all this too well. In places like Sendai, coastal engineers are creating more holistic systems to help fend off environmental threats, incorporating various layers of breakwater barriers—Tetrapod clusters a few miles out to sea, sturdier sea walls lined with native trees and vegetation—in order to provide multiple stop gaps against the tempests of wind and water. Their attitude is one that feels more practical, and bleak, than anything ever expressed in the US when it comes to natural disaster prevention.“We’re not trying to completely stop the waves from coming in a tsunami, that’s impossible,” says Okuyama. “Instead, we want to build armor that gives people another 10 seconds to escape. That’s what can mean the difference between life and death.”