They just suddenly happen once one occurs.

There are early warning systems that could give people miles away a few seconds notice.

But could a carbon fiber material be used to better protect the buildings there?

In Here's some research from Japan, where earthquakes are common, this'll is the Zenkoji Temple in the city of Nagano.

It's one of the oldest and most important in all of Japan, and it's under the constant threat of earthquakes.

And this is the story of how a month on architect and a mystery material could help save it.

Here's Armonk, Syria, wacko me and he could get the story started.

I was in college or extra.

You're saying you're helping there on Theo.

Worry is that one of the 1500 earthquakes that hits Japan ese year could destroy all that history in an instant.

And that's where this comes in.

A carbon fibre rod that was made by Komatsu Sirin, a material research company.

Here's Shizuka Haga, holding 15 meters of it.

It weighs only 1.4 killer grounds.

Run is made up of these thin carbon fiber strands.

Strands are twisted into six tight bundles and wrapped in a special thermoplastic resin.

That's the white stuff.

This braiding technique is actually borrowed directly from an ancient method of braiding used in making a kimono made this rod and then we were like, Okay, I don't know what to do with this material.

So we have this connection with the tango.

Enter architect.

The detection, basically in Tokyo's Kengo is designing the 2020 Olympic Stadium, and he was actually just in an earthquake.

Was watching TV two in the morning that suddenly ask Quick can go.

You've got this new carbon fiber broad.

What was your first thought?

The first sort is it?

It looks weak, But he tested it and soon realized it was just the thing he was looking for.

Kengo's idea was to retrofit a building, using the rods making it, he hoped earthquake proof.

He attached the rods to the outside of a building.

He put them on the inside, too.

He stuck the next to the windows through the stairwells.

He strung them from the roof to the ground.

Altogether, he fitted nearly 4000 rods to grip the building to the ground three idea being.

If an earthquake causes the building to shift from left to right, the rods stretch and pull it back in the opposite direction, preventing the building from shaking itself to smithereens.

Experience on softness is a really this'll was the first real world application, and the building has not been through a major earthquake yet.

But the promise of the solution proved too powerful for Syria.

Armonk to ignore.

Back in Nagano, the monks have started retrofitting an ancient storage house called the Kyo.

So the building right next door to the main temple.

Eventually all the temple buildings will have the rods installed on the inside so you won't actually see them.

But they'll hopefully be able to keep the temple safe from an earthquake.