. Earth Science News .
Tokyo to face 'toilet refugee' crisis in quake: study

Japan is hit by 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes.
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 28, 2008
A dreaded major earthquake in Tokyo would set off a crisis of "toilet refugees," with a restroom shortage for nearly 820,000 people, a government study said.

An expert panel of the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council came to the conclusion this week while studying the potential impact of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the tremor-prone metropolis.

According to the study, some 817,000 people would find themselves without toilets two hours after such a big tremor, which would cut off 46 percent of Tokyo's water supply.

The wait to use a toilet would be four and a half hours in central Chiyoda ward, home to the headquarters of major companies, government buildings and the imperial palace.

"Besides food and water, shortage of toilets is one of the major issues in post-disaster situations," said Itsuki Nakabayashi, head of the study panel.

The group is advising Tokyo residents always to carry pocket-sized tissue papers or plastic bags for emergency toilet use and urged companies to have portable toilets on standby.

The Japanese government has warned an earthquake with a magnitude of around seven could hit the capital in the coming decades, killing 11,000 people and causing economic damage of 112 trillion yen (1.2 trillion dollars).

Japan is hit by 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes.

Much of Tokyo was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which left 142,807 people dead or unaccounted for.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


African Migrants Flood Into Spanish Enclave
Madrid (AFP) Oct 27, 2008
Around 40 African migrants took advantage of flood damage at the border to cross into Spain's North African enclave of Melilla from Morocco on Monday, police and local government officials said.







  • Tokyo to face 'toilet refugee' crisis in quake: study
  • Saudis send Yemen 100 million dollars in aid as flood toll rises
  • African Migrants Flood Into Spanish Enclave
  • World Bank, France pledge 910 million dollars in quake funds: report

  • Britain's Charles says climate the real crisis
  • Caltech Geobiologists Discover Unique Magnetic Death Star Fossil
  • Effects Of Climate Change Vary Greatly Across Plant Families
  • Sarkozy's carbon footprint as big as 1,000 Frenchmen: report

  • GeoEye Releases First Image Collected By GeoEye-1
  • Maps Shed Light On CO2's Global Nature
  • 2008 Ozone Hole Larger Than Last Year
  • Smog Blog For Central America And Caribbean Debuts

  • Analysis: Iraqi oil law still stuck
  • French oil giant mulls exploiting Congo tar sands
  • Bodies of three dead Chinese hostages reach Khartoum
  • China defends energy policy after scathing report

  • Seeing Life In Viruses
  • WHO slashes AIDS mortality projections
  • HIV treatment should begin earlier: study
  • Genetic Based Human Diseases Are An Ancient Evolutionary Legacy

  • Spanish authorities call for removal of bears after attack
  • Scientists Track Salmon From Rockies To Alaska
  • Roads Bring Death And Fear To Forest Elephants
  • Study Sheds New Light On Dolphin Coordination During Predation

  • Lawyers blast verdict in Ivory Coast toxic waste case
  • Fertilizers: A Growing Threat To Sea Life
  • 20-year jail term handed down in ICoast toxic pollution case
  • 'Toxic' ship dismantled in Bangladesh despite court ban

  • Total artificial heart to be ready by 2011: research team
  • US women office-workers prefer computers to men: study
  • US nuclear family also technology family
  • Which Way Out Of Africa

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement