  This study uses a catastrophic earthquake in 1923 to analyse the long-term
effects of a natural disaster on children's health. I find that fetal exposure
to Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake had stunting effects on girls in the
devastated area. Disaster relief spending helped remediate stunting among boys
by late primary school age, whereas it did not ameliorate girls' stunting,
suggesting a prenatal selection mechanism and compensating investment after
birth. While the maternal mental stress via the fear of vibrations and
anticipation of future aftershocks played a role in the adverse health effects,
the maternal nutritional stress via physical disruption also enhanced those
effects.
