Residents Should Stay Home after Mt Fuji Eruption: Panel

This was proposed as a basic response in a report on measures to deal with ash fall damage from a possible eruption of Japan's tallest mountain in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which was written by the Cabinet Office panel headed by University of Tokyo professor emeritus Toshitsugu Fujii.

Meanwhile, the report also said that the government should call on the public to evacuate if the ash fall reaches 30 centimetres or more, as the weight of ash may increase if it rains, possibly causing wooden buildings to collapse.

The Cabinet Office plans to draw up guidelines for dealing with such a disaster and request local governments and businesses to make preparations.

The panel considered responses based on four stages of severity, defining as stage 4 a situation with an ash fall of 30 centimetres or more.

Stage 3 refers to a situation with an ash accumulation of 3 to less than 30 centimetres with relatively large damage, stage 2 to a situation with the same amount of ash with relatively little damage, and stage 1 to a situation with an ash fall of fewer than 3 centimetres.

Falling volcanic ash does not have immediate impacts on people's lives but can cause health hazards such as throat and lung airway pain.

It may also cause low visibility which can impede traffic. In the report, the panel said that it is advisable for the public not to go out or drive cars but to spend time at home when the situation is between stage 1 and stage 3.

The report noted the importance of stockpiling goods from ordinary times as volcanic ash may keep falling for over two months.

In a stage 4 situation, the public would be told to evacuate to areas affected less by the ash fall in principle, because there is a risk to life from collapsing houses and critical infrastructure, such as electricity and water, may be disrupted.

Even if the ash fall does not reach 30 centimetres, dialysis patients and those in need of nursing care would be advised to evacuate early.

In the event of a Mount Fuji eruption, the Japan Meteorological Agency will announce every hour forecasts on the scope and amount of falling ash for the next six hours.

Municipalities would be urged to make swift decisions on advising evacuations based on the estimates and the actual amount of ash fall.

The report also noted the necessity of selecting in advance temporary storage areas for volcanic ash and presented examples of final disposal methods, such as using the ash for landfills and dumping it into the ocean.

If Mount Fuji erupts, it will be necessary to remove an estimated 490 million cubic meters of volcanic ash, including 31 million cubic meters that must be removed quickly in order to keep transportation networks, such as roads and railways, alive.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]

Photo by Reuters