Nearly 200,000 Casualties Estimated In The Event Of M9 Quake Hitting North Japan

Tokyo: The Japanese Government has released new damage estimates where it has warned that nearly 200,000 people could be killed in seven prefectures, including Hokkaido and Aomori in the event of a magnitude-9 level earthquake hitting off the Pacific coast of northeastern and northern Japan.

According to predictions made by the Central Disaster Management Council, the resulting tsunami will be the reason for most of the casualties and a maximum of 220,000 buildings could be destroyed if such a quake occurs along the Japan Trench.

The potential economic setback for the region and the country as a whole could amount to roughly 31.3 trillion yen ($275.4 billion).

The death toll in the northeastern and northern areas could be brought down by 80% if timely evacuations are made. As a result, the Japanese Government will accelerate up the process of updating disaster management measures.

Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, the Japanese government has been reviewing its disaster management.

The review on two other probable massive quakes - Nankai Trough and Tokyo Inland has already been completed by the government.

According to estimates, as many as 323,000 people could die in a trench-type earthquake occurring along the Nankai Trough stretching from off western to central Japan.

The council considered several different scenarios depending on the season and time of day of the disaster for the estimates of Japan Trench and Chishima Trench.

The worst-case scenario is a megaquake in the vicinity of the Japan Trench in late hours in winter which will allow only 20% of residents to evacuate promptly.

 137,000 could die in Hokkaido, 41,000 in Aomori, and 11,000 in Iwate under such a scenario.

The council says that the public should be made aware about the fact that the undertaking of necessary steps, including building tsunami evacuation towers and more quake-resistant structures, would result in the death toll going southwards, at roughly 30,000.

According to the assessment, most of the building damage will be caused by a tsunami, and the number of evacuees would reach up to 901,000 by the following day of a magnitude-9 level quake.

The destruction of buildings and infrastructure in the affected region would account for 25.3 trillion yen and the remaining approximately 6 trillion yen is expected to spill over to the rest of the country.

Japan has a notorious history of massive earthquakes devastating the pacific nation. However, the rate at which they build back their infrastructure is impeccable given their limited workforce.

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