Mar 22 (Asahi) - Japan will need the equivalent of 1,600 Tokyo Domes to store rubble and debris produced from a long-anticipated huge earthquake along the Nankai Trough off the Pacific coast, according to an estimate.
An expert panel working committee of the Environment Ministry on March 6 said a magnitude-9 earthquake along the Nankai Trough would create 330 million tons of waste, including rubble from buildings and objects washed ashore by an expected tsunami.
The country would have to secure 7,478 hectares of storage sites for the wreckage because school yards and other places suitable for the task will be used to shelter evacuees.
An expert attending the panel's meeting described the figures as "surprisingly large."
According to the prediction, in the initial post-disaster stages, 5,238 hectares will be needed to temporarily store the debris, including 1,269 hectares in the Chubu region, 915 hectares in the Kinki region and 1,543 hectares in the Shikoku region.
After the debris is properly separated, it will be taken to secondary storage sites. These sites would require 2,240 hectares across the nation if all of the waste is dealt with in three years. If the waste requires five years of handling, 1,120 hectares would be needed, according to the panel.
