Japan upgrades disaster plan for major Tokyo earthquake risk

The Japanese government will aim to step up measures over the next 10 years to minimize deaths in the event of a massive earthquake in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including wider use of seismic breakers to prevent fires, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.

In the first amendment of its emergency plans since 2015, the government will change its goal from “around halving” to “more than halving” the estimated death toll, which is currently projected at up to 18,000, by strengthening fire safety measures. The proposal is expected to be approved by the Cabinet as early as June.

The plans, which summarize measures to be taken by the government and municipalities in the event of a massive earthquake directly beneath Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures of Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa, are based on assumptions that a large number of casualties would be caused by fires following the earthquake.

The revision will include strengthening more buildings and further promoting the installation of earthquake-sensitive circuit breakers, which automatically shut off electricity and prevent short circuits when they detect seismic activity.

The plans will call for the installation of such devices in “most” structures. Currently, about 20 percent of structures in Tokyo and nine nearby prefectures covered by the plans are equipped with such breakers.

Some studies suggest that these breakers could significantly reduce the number of buildings destroyed by fire in the event of a major earthquake.

With enhanced fire prevention and reinforcement measures over the next decade, the government aims to more than halve the number of buildings expected to be destroyed by earthquake or fire, from the current projection of 400,000 structures.

The strategy will also emphasize the need to prevent disaster-related deaths, including those caused by health deterioration during evacuation, an issue highlighted after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake that struck northeast Japan in 2011. It will call on municipalities to stockpile sufficient toilets and beds that meet international standards.

Other measures will include urging people to secure furniture to prevent it from falling and to store at least three days’ worth of food and water.

The government will also work to raise awareness to prevent the spread of false information on social media, encourage people to evacuate to areas outside metropolitan Tokyo, and ask local governments to create guidelines designating hotels and inns as emergency shelters.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev