“Half of the population is affected” Nankai Trough earthquake Can you reach the affected area at 16:44 on November 25?

“We will definitely rush to the affected areas.”



This month, firefighters conducted the largest-ever drill.



The assumption is a Nankai Trough earthquake that could affect about half of Japan's population.



Firefighters gather in the "disaster area" from the sky, the sea, and the land.



What did you see through your training?


(Yuki Wakabayashi, Disaster Reporter, Social Affairs Department)

From the Sea of ​​Japan side to the “disaster area”

8:00 p.m. on November 11th.



A total of 17 fire engines landed at Tsuruga Port in Fukui Prefecture from a ferry operated by a private company.

These vehicles are the Hokkaido Battalion of the "Emergency Fire Relief Corps".



The largest drill ever held this month, assuming a Nankai Trough earthquake.

I was about to head to the main venue, Shizuoka Prefecture, from Fukui Prefecture.



Why did you head to Shizuoka from the Sea of ​​Japan side instead of heading directly from the Pacific side?



There was a firefighting strategy to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake.

“Half of the population is affected” Rescue

A major feature of the Nankai Trough Earthquake, which is expected to cause violent shaking and a huge tsunami, is the overwhelming extent of the affected area.

A maximum of 230,000 people are estimated to have died from the Kanto region to Kyushu.



The number of local governments affected by tsunamis and shaking with a seismic intensity of 6-lower or higher reaches 26 prefectures.

It is said that 68 million people, about half of the population of Japan, are at risk of being affected by the disaster.



In order to come to the rescue, we need support from all over the country.

Therefore, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has established a dispatch plan for each case when "Chubu," "Kinki," "Shikoku," and "Kyushu" are expected to suffer particularly severe damage.

In the event of a huge earthquake, we are trying to reach the affected areas by various means, taking into account the disruption of sea and land routes.



Its effectiveness was verified in this exercise.

“Many corpses in front of me…”

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake is a reference for the Nankai Trough earthquake dispatch plan.



There is a firefighter who still remembers the bitterness of those days.

Kuniyuki Iijima, who was a member of the Hokkaido Battalion and was involved in rescue operations.

Two days after the earthquake, I entered Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture as a commanding officer in charge of rescue operations.



Mr. Iijima said that it was his first time to help in a tsunami-stricken area.

Overwhelmed by the sight in front of him, and troubled by the lack of equipment such as boats, he continues his activities by fumbling around.



Over the course of three days, he rescued 17 people who were trapped inside buildings or stuck on rooftops.

On the other hand, by the time Mr. Iijima rushed to the scene, many people had already died.

I saw many corpses.

Mr. Kuniyuki Iijima, Sapporo City Fire Department,


"After entering Ishinomaki City, there were elderly people on the roadside who were holding hands with our vehicle in the pitch-black darkness. There was also the feeling that we had entered a day late. I saw many corpses at the scene, but since the main purpose was to save lives, I focused on rescuing survivors instead of taking them in.”

can't put gasoline

Mr. Iijima says that he remembers not only the relief efforts at the site, but also the frustration of reaching the affected areas.



Iijima's group from Hokkaido gathered at Otaru Port on the morning of the day after the earthquake and arrived at Akita Port by ferry.

It was a plan to aim for Ishinomaki City by land from there.



However, advance coordination with the ferry company, the police, and the Self-Defense Forces did not go well, and the number of firefighting vehicles that could be carried on the ferry was limited.

In addition, fuel-efficient firefighting vehicles will suffer from fuel shortages as subsequent units travel overland.



However, most petrol stations are closed due to blackouts, so refueling is almost impossible.

It is said that it was a big time loss because he refueled a large number of vehicles at a place he managed to find.

Mr. Kuniyuki Iijima, Sapporo City Fire Department


“We arrived 53 hours after the earthquake. On the way home from the activities, I kept asking myself, 'What did I do?' and 'Do I have any regrets?'

Utilizing the lessons of the earthquake disaster

11 years since then.



The Hokkaido battalion made use of reflections at the time and faced training.



After the Great East Japan Earthquake, coordination was underway so that the Hokkaido Government could collectively handle the preparations for boarding ferries of private companies.

Furthermore, based on the lessons learned from the disaster, we have made new efforts.



The marching force, which is generally considered to act as a unit, was divided into two groups.



The reason for this was to disperse refueling, which had become an issue in the aftermath of the earthquake.

At the time of the earthquake, refueling at one gas station took a long time, so we split into two groups and refueled at separate gas stations.



In past training, the Hokkaido Battalion has also conducted training that moved on SDF aircraft and ships, and would like to respond flexibly in the event of a Nankai Trough earthquake.

Emergency Fire Relief Corps Hokkaido Battalion Commander Mitsuhiro Sakai


“In an actual disaster, it is conceivable that we would have to head to the disaster area with poorer road conditions and less fuel. I would like to repeatedly confirm the cooperation of

Cars strayed on unfamiliar roads...

Firefighters from all 47 prefectures participated in this drill.

Of these, the southernmost Okinawa battalion in Japan also faces challenges.



It is a movement of unfamiliar land.

The members traveled from Naha to Haneda Airport on a private aircraft.

Firefighting vehicles were transported by ferry and joined at the port of Koto Ward, Tokyo.



It took us half a day to safely arrive at the training venue in Shizuoka from Tokyo, but we encountered a new problem on the way back.



The two vehicles were briefly separated.

The cause is route search in unfamiliar land.

It was because the members of each vehicle were traveling while searching with a smartphone app, so they headed on a different route.



In the future, the Okinawa Prefectural Battalion would like to use devices other than the app to search for routes, share them, and improve their movement.

Placing new equipment

Firefighters who came from the sea, the sky, and land to the training venue in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Approximately 3,000 people from all 47 prefectures attended, making it the largest ever.



In addition to training to reach the disaster area, rescue training was also conducted at a harsh site.

After reaching the disaster area, we are trying to rescue people who need help by making full use of new vehicles and equipment.



One of them is a large amphibious vehicle.



In the case of earthquake rescue, it was introduced so that even if there is flooding due to landslides or tsunamis, it is possible to reach the rescue site.

To save as many lives as possible.



In this drill, in addition to tsunamis and landslides, we confirmed the procedures for rescuing people in need in various situations, such as train derailments and underground mall collapses.

“Needs more validation”

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, which hosted the drill, will continue to work to reach the affected areas through drills.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Fire and Disaster Management Agency Wide Area Support Office Chief Masato Takada


“I felt that the movement of troops on a nationwide scale needed further verification. Since it was held, I would like to interview the volunteers who participated and make use of it in actual disasters.”

I will definitely rush

What left an impression on me during this interview was the earnest determination of the firefighters when I spoke with them.



Mr. Kuniyuki Iijima, who was active in the Great East Japan Earthquake, said, "I will definitely rush to you. That's why I want you to prepare and evacuate in case of emergency."



The current preparations may not be sufficient to prepare for the Nankai Trough earthquake, which is expected to cause an unprecedented disaster.



Even so, I felt that the key to reducing the damage as much as possible would be for the Self-Defense Forces, the police, private companies, and others to seriously pursue rescue efforts in an all-out effort, in addition to the fire department.

Reporter


Yuki Wakabayashi


Joined in 2012


After working in the Kagoshima Bureau Metropolitan Police Department, since 2020


My father-in-law in charge of disasters is a former firefighter