This video featuring computer-generated images released by the Cabinet Office simulates the potential damage from an eruption of Mount Fuji in Tokyo and the surrounding area. (Provided by the Cabinet Office)
Following the eruption of Mount Fuji, falling volcanic ash blankets Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, blocking the sunlight and forcing drivers to use their headlights to cautiously proceed through intersections.
A new government video illustrates various disaster scenarios, such as a wooden house collapsing under 30 centimeters or more of ash during a rainstorm.
In addition, two-wheel-drive vehicle become inoperable under just 10 cm or more of ash, making it difficult to deliver food or keep stores open.
The Cabinet Office released the video with computer-generated images simulating the potential damage from a long-expected Mount Fuji eruption in Tokyo and the surrounding area on Aug. 26, the volcanic disaster prevention day designated by the government.
“We want people to learn that a major eruption of Mount Fuji is possible and to visualize what kind of impact it could have on their daily lives,” said an official who oversaw the video, considering that volcanic ash disasters are less frequent than events such as torrential rain or earthquakes.
The video shows ash falling and accumulating near JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, and a house collapsing in areas near the volcano due to the weight of the ash when it rains.
The government has predicted that if Mount Fuji were to erupt on a scale similar to its last eruption in 1707, areas such as Shinjuku Ward could be buried under 5 cm or more of volcanic ash.
The scenario also assumed the possibility of widespread disruptions, including major railway shutdowns, power outages, communication failures and restrictions on water and sewage systems.
The video includes an interview with Toshitsugu Fujii, a professor emeritus of volcanology with the University of Tokyo, who warns that it is “somewhat abnormal” that Mount Fuji has not erupted in about 300 years, despite erupting roughly once every 30 years throughout history.
“As an active and young volcano, an eruption is inevitable,” said Fujii, who supervised the creation of the Cabinet Office video.
AloJapan.com