It has been three years since the earthquake, which killed 44 people, was observed in Hokkaido with a seismic intensity of 7.
In Atsuma Town, which suffered great damage, the affected residents have begun to live in disaster public housing, but the challenge is how to create connections with the residents in order to prevent isolation in the new community.
Three years ago, on September 6, 44 people were killed, including disaster-related deaths, due to a large-scale landslide in Atsuma Town caused by an earthquake that observed shaking with a seismic intensity of 7 originating from the Iburi region of Hokkaido. 785 people were injured.
In the three towns of Atsuma, Abira, and Mukawa, which suffered great damage, a total of about 960 people were forced to live in so-called "deemed temporary housing" where they rented temporary housing or private rental housing. We are starting a new life with the completion of disaster public housing last fall.
However, there are voices of anxiety about the financial burden of leaving temporary housing, mainly for elderly households, and how to connect residents in order to prevent isolation in a new community. It is an issue.
Details of damage in Hokkaido
Three years ago, at 3:07 am on September 6, there was an earthquake with an epicenter in the Iburi region of Hokkaido, and we observed shaking with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 in Atsuma Town and a seismic intensity of 6 upper in Abira Town and Mukawa Town. ..
A large-scale landslide occurred in Atsuma Town and many houses were involved, killing 44 people and injuring 785 people in Hokkaido, including disaster-related deaths.
In addition, the Tomato-Atsuma Thermal Power Station, the largest thermal power plant in Hokkaido in Atsuma Town, was urgently shut down, causing a "blackout" in which 2.95 million households throughout Hokkaido were cut off.
In Kiyota Ward, Sapporo City, a large-scale liquefaction phenomenon caused a series of damages such as tilting of houses and collapse of roads.
The total number of houses damaged was 49,400, including 491 completely destroyed and 1818 partially destroyed.
In addition, in the three towns of Atsuma, Abira, and Mukawa, about 960 people were forced to live in so-called "deemed temporary housing" where they rented temporary housing or private rental housing after the earthquake.
Temporary housing has a two-year occupancy deadline, so in Atsuma Town and other areas, occupancy of disaster public housing completed around October last year and reconstructed homes has progressed.
In addition, 90% of the roads and rivers and road restoration works ordered by the towns have been completed in the three towns.
On the other hand, landslides in forests have reached about 4,300 hectares, the largest since the Meiji era, when records remain, but they are still almost untouched.
Forestry is one of the core industries in Atsuma Town and Mukawa Town, and the issue is how to pave the way for the revitalization of forestry.
The lesson of blackout is
In response to the "blackout" that caused a power outage in almost the entire area of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Electric Power Company was forced to take immediate action.
The largest thermal power plant in Hokkaido, the Tomato-atsuma Thermal Power Plant, had a total output of 1.65 million kilowatts, accounting for more than half of the electricity demand at the time of the blackout.
Under these circumstances, the power plant shut down due to the earthquake, and the power supplied rapidly decreased, contributing to the blackout.
In order to reinforce the power generation facilities in Hokkaido, HEPCO started operation of a thermal power plant that uses LNG = liquefied natural gas as fuel at Ishikari Bay New Port near Sapporo in 2019.
In addition, the capacity of the "Kitamoto Interconnection Line," a transmission line that connects Hokkaido and Honshu, has been increased from 600,000 kW to 900,000 kW, making it easier for Honshu to accommodate electricity.
As a result, HEPCO says that even if the Tomato-atsuma Thermal Power Station shuts down again, a large-scale power outage will not occur.
In addition, the transmission line connecting the eastern part and the area around Sapporo was short-circuited during the earthquake, and the supply of electric power sent from the eastern hydroelectric power plant was cut off, which also contributed to the blackout. Work was done to reinforce the electric wires.
In addition, the HEPCO Group conducts training once a year with the participation of all relevant departments so that even if a blackout occurs, it can be dealt with.
Preparing for a huge earthquake
The next most likely occurrence in Hokkaido, where we observed a seismic intensity 7 tremor with the epicenter in the Iburi region three years ago, is the "Kuril Trench" and "Japan Trench" offshore from Hokkaido to Iwate Prefecture. It is a huge earthquake and tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake class whose epicenter is.
The estimated scale of the huge earthquake announced by the government in April last year is 9.3 magnitude along the "Kuril Trench" and 9.1 magnitude along the "Japan Trench". There is a high possibility that a huge earthquake with the source of the earthquake is imminent.
Regarding the tsunami caused by the huge earthquake, Hokkaido announced in July that a tsunami of up to 26.5 meters would flood in Kushiro Town in the east and more than 10,000 hectares would be flooded in Tomakomai City.
On the other hand, the scale of damage caused by this huge earthquake is still under consideration by the Cabinet Office.
While measures are being taken in local governments where damage is expected, such as increasing the designation of buildings to evacuate from the tsunami, many issues remain, such as areas where it is difficult to evacuate on foot.