28 hours to evacuate Shizuoka Pref.

 April 24, 2014

Evacuation from Hamaoka could take 28 hours

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140424_15.html 

Shizuoka Prefecture says it could take more than 28 hours for around 860,000 people within a 30-kilometer radius of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant to evacuate in the event of a serious accident.

The Hamaoka plant, run by Chubu Electric Power Company, is located nearly at the center of the projected focal area of a mega-quake that could hit central Japan in the near future. The operator closed it following a state government request after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

The prefectural government that hosts the plant on Thursday released estimated evacuation times for a range of scenarios. It made the calculations after the area for which prior planning is required for a nuclear disaster was expanded from 10 kilometers to 30 kilometers.

The Shizuoka prefectural government says an evacuation will take 28 hours and 15 minutes if residents are guided to evacuate in stages to avoid traffic jams. This would be despite partial road blockage due to multiple disasters involving an earthquake and tsunami.

But it says it could take longer, as the scenario is based on the most efficient evacuation methods. For example, it assumes 3 people would ride in one car.

Prefectural officials in charge of nuclear security say they will discuss these calculations with local municipalities. They say they want evacuation plans to reflect the estimations.

Apr. 24, 2014 - Updated 02:35 UTC