Nation must pool wisdom to prepare for 'unforeseeable'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

About a month has passed since a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern and eastern parts of the nation. A powerful aftershock, measuring upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7, jolted the region Thursday, causing power outages over a wide area.

People affected by the disaster have surely passed many long, hard days, unable to feel completely at ease.

The number of people killed or unaccounted for in the wake of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake now stands at more than 27,000.

As many as 460,000 people were evacuated to shelters at one time. The number has been decreasing--some returned to their homes after the water receded, some are staying with relatives, and others have moved outside their home prefectures in group relocations.

However, more than 150,000 people are still living in shelters.

We hope local governments will maintain close contact with disaster victims and continue to extend all necessary support, including housing, goods, medical care and employment.

Although reconstruction work is proceeding, removing the huge amount of rubble scattered around disaster-hit areas is expected to be a long battle. Construction of temporary housing units has begun, and we hope a sufficient number will be built as soon as possible.

To help disaster-stricken towns be reborn as municipalities better able to cope with major disasters--this will be the predominant theme of reconstruction efforts. We must thoroughly examine the damage caused by tsunami and the accidents at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

All possible measures then must be taken so we will not succumb to even "unforeseeable" scenarios.

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Breakwaters, dikes broken

In terms of its height and destructive force, the gigantic tsunami on March 11 was much more powerful than the local governments and residents in the affected coastal areas expected.

According to surveys by experts, the tsunami was more than 10 meters high at many points along the Sanriku coast. In Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, it reached as high as 23.6 meters. Tsunami waves rose up the slopes in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, to a point 37.9 meters high.

Local governments along the Sanriku coast, which is known for frequent tsunami, drew up hazard maps and conducted evacuation drills before the March 11 disaster. They also reviewed their disaster management plans in preparation for record-level tsunami.

There were a number of enormous breakwaters and dikes at the mouth of bays and ports in those areas, such as the "Taro great wall" dike in the Taro district of Miyako.

In some areas, these structures protected towns and people, but in many other places, they were fractured and many local residents engulfed by water.

When rebuilding communities, it is vitally important to draw lessons from instances in which people survived tsunami of an "unforeseeable scale."

At Okirai Primary School in Ofunato, school authorities were well-prepared enough to have an emergency passage connecting the second floor of the school building to a road leading to high ground, for quick evacuation in the event of giant tsunami. Although the school building was destroyed March 11, all its students and teachers escaped unhurt.

Also, it should be noted that many ferroconcrete buildings in the disaster areas were not swept away. This attests to the wisdom of increasing the number of strongly tsunami-resistant medium-rise ferroconcrete buildings over 30 meters high, which can be used as shelters in the future.

As noted by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, a completely new concept of city planning should be studied, such as the idea of having residents live in elevated areas and work in low-lying companies and fishing ports.

We must urgently investigate and learn lessons in various disaster-hit regions, with the participation of experts.

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Safety checks needed swiftly

The crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, and the way the government and TEPCO responded to it, can never be swept aside simply by saying it was "unforeseeable."

Shocks in the March 11 earthquake were more than 20 percent stronger than the maximum temblor envisioned in the nuclear plant's seismic resistance design. There must be careful scrutiny to clarify what specific damage was caused by the earthquake.

TEPCO operated on the assumption there could be no tsunami over 5.7 meters high. However, the actual height on March 11 was more than 10 meters, and the tsunami disabled all the plant's emergency power sources.

As a result, TEPCO became unable to pump water to cool the reactor's nuclear fuel, which caused nuclear fuel rods to be exposed.

Some experts had earlier forecast the possibility of a colossal tsunami comparable to the one in 869, during the Jogan era of the Heian period (794-1192), that submerged much of the region where the nuclear power plant is located.

These experts strongly urged the government two years ago to review its estimate of the biggest possible tsunami that could hit the nuclear plant.

In the Diet, too, questions were raised several times in interpellations about whether there was a danger of tsunami or other causes stopping the reactor cooling systems of the Fukushima nuclear plant and elsewhere.

To ensure the safe operation of nuclear power plants, "unforeseeable" things can never be left unaddressed.

There currently are 54 nuclear reactors in the country. They should all be given thorough safety checks immediately, including 40 in areas other than the Tohoku region.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry has called for the nation's nuclear power plants to complete emergency safety arrangements, including the deployment of power-supply vehicles and fire engines, by the middle of this month.

However, these are nothing more than stopgap measures against accidents similar to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima plant. After the crisis subsides, every nuclear power plant must conduct in-depth probes into the causes of the accidents and review tsunami damage estimates and related matters.

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Do what you can

Many people who live far from the disaster areas may have been asking themselves what they can do to help. What is important is to do whatever one can, keeping in mind the affected areas and the people there.

Sending relief money, going to a disaster area to work as a volunteer or purchasing products from the Tohoku region: All such actions are of course commendable. It also is important for us to maintain as much as possible our ordinary daily lives.

Although the path ahead may be rocky, Japan will rise again and grow strong. We will continue to move forward in this belief.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 9, 2011)