A Tokyo Earthquake Would Strand 1.8 Million Commuters

Above, a view of Tokyo from Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With the Great East Japan Earthquake still fresh in memory, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is taking a hard look at what a major earthquake would do to the city of Tokyo and are formulating earthquake preparedness plans.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

A huge morning earthquake striking directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area would strand about 1.8 million railway commuters and force 45 flights to divert their landings away from Haneda Airport, the transport ministry said. 

Water supplies would remain cut off even a week after such an earthquake, depriving 30 percent of the population in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama of potable water, according to a ministry plan released on April 1. 

The quake would damage or crack railway station buildings and bridges, as well as force runways to close at Haneda Airport, the ministry predicted. 

Many people would be trapped in elevators in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures, where there are about 260,000 units in total.

The ministry plans to implement anti-earthquake measures by the end of the 2017 fiscal year.

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