Yes, you need to be careful with bamboo spreading. I've seen bamboo get under a concrete patio and crack the slab when it started growing from underneath. Now that's power! I've also seen a house with a bamboo shaft poking a hole through the roof. Again, it was bamboo that started growing someplace unexpected (and unseen). It can be very tough to remove bamboo completely from an area once it gets going. You may never find all the roots that it sends out (depending on the variety).

As far as the earthquake idea, that may have some merit, but only long ago. I've lived in Japan before and probably 95% of people live in big cities, and another 4.99% don't live near enough to a bamboo forest close enough to dash into when the ground starts shaking. I've been in a bamboo forest before. Beautiful, although kind of eery, and actually a bit claustrophobic because the shafts tend to grow quite close together.

In Hong Kong, they still routinely use bamboo as scaffolding for new building construction. It's wild to see these skyscrapers under contrusction surrounded by bamboo scaffolding many, many stories high. Sometimes I wonder if the scaffolding is stronger than the building! I wouldn't be surprised if they were.