Fires caused by earthquakes... Attempts to create "risk level 5" areas for towns where fires do not spread January 31st, 16:53

In the recent Noto Peninsula Earthquake and the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, fires that occurred after the earthquake exacerbated the damage.

There is a 70% chance of an earthquake directly hitting the Tokyo metropolitan area within the next 30 years. There are concerns that multiple fires will occur at the same time and that the fires will spread and cause a large fire.

Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, is an area designated as "Rank 5", which has the highest risk of fire after a major earthquake. Residents and the government are working together to create a fire-resistant town. (Metropolitan Area Bureau Reporter Chuichiro Yamashita)

*At the end of the article, a map showing the "difficult firefighting areas" in Tokyo's 23 wards is included.

Noto Peninsula earthquake burns more than 200 buildings

The Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year's Day caused a large-scale fire in the center of Wajima City. It is estimated that more than 200 buildings, including shops and residences, were burnt due to insufficient initial fire extinguishing.

In the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995, many people were killed in fires that occurred in various places.

In areas where housing is densely populated, it is important to take measures not only to prevent earthquakes, but also to prevent post-earthquake fires.

Walking through an area with a "Fire Danger Level 5"...

Nishishinkoiwa 5-chome is located about 1km northwest of Shinkoiwa Station on the JR Sobu Line. It is located in the southern part of Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, and is home to approximately 1,800 households.

We were guided by Koji Machiyama (80), the town chairman of this area.

The Shin-Koiwa area was originally a farming village dating back to before the Edo period, and when Mr. Machiyama was a child, it was a place where he could see the station building of Shin-Koiwa Station, which was about 1 km away from his home.

As shown in the photo, the fields were conspicuous until the beginning of the Heisei era.

Now, in Reiwa 6, what I see when I walk around the city is that old wooden houses and built-for-sale houses are clustered together. There were places where there was only a few tens of centimeters between the houses next door, and there were places where four or five houses were lined up at the back of a narrow alley.

Without any land readjustment, residential land development progressed rapidly during the period of high economic growth after the war, and the population increased.

For these reasons, Nishi-Shinkoiwa 5-chome has been designated as Rank 5, the highest on a five-level scale of risk of fire in the event of a major earthquake, according to a survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Machiyama is also worried about the spread of the fire. There have been a number of fires in 5-chome over the past few years, and fortunately the fires did not spread on a large scale, but if an earthquake directly hits the capital, it could be a catastrophe.

I have a strong sense of crisis about the current situation in the town.

Koji Machiyama

: ``There are many buildings where the distance between each side is 10 centimeters.(If an earthquake directly hits the capital), there will probably be a big fire.It's not a town where you can live in peace.''

An even bigger challenge... narrow roads

What makes the area even more dangerous is the narrowness of the roads. Many roads are less than 4 meters wide, making it difficult for cars to pass each other, hindering firefighting efforts.

In fact, there were times when fire engines were unable to enter 5th Street from the main street, making firefighting efforts difficult.

The width of the road is at least 6 meters so that a fire engine can pass through it without any problems. However, there are many narrow streets on 5th Street that are less than 6 meters long.

Fire engines can safely extend their hoses up to 140 meters in a straight line, but nearly 30% of 5th Street is a ``difficult firefighting area'' where hoses cannot reach.

What residents can do to protect the area

What can we do to protect our community from fires? In areas like 5th Street, it is important for residents to extinguish the fire in the early stages.

There are about 60 fire extinguishers installed in the town, but they are of no use if you can't use them in an emergency. At 5th Street's annual disaster prevention drill held last November, residents were trying to remember the steps to use a fire extinguisher.

Furthermore, the firefighters learned how to use standpipes, which can be easily used by connecting to a fire hydrant and are more powerful than a fire extinguisher, and they also experienced spraying water.

Resident

: "It's difficult for fire trucks to get in, so residents have to do what they can first."

Resident

: “I think everyone in the neighborhood needs to work together to extinguish the fire in its early stages.”

Build a town that won't spread like wildfire

We are also working with Katsushika City to create a city that does not burn. A council was formed in February last year, and it became possible to widen the road.

The plan is to widen the existing road to at least 6 meters to allow fire trucks to pass through it more easily.

This road forms the backbone of 5-chome, and has a total length of approximately 770 meters. Once completed, the ``difficult firefighting area'' will almost disappear.

This is a simulation assuming an earthquake directly hitting the Tokyo metropolitan area. First, look at the map on the left. If a fire breaks out in three buildings in a "difficult firefighting area," the fire will spread to about 120 buildings within an hour. The dark red and brown areas on the map are areas where the fire has spread.

However, if roads are widened and houses along the roads are made fireproof, the spread of fire can be reduced by about half. It can be seen that the spread of fire has decreased, especially on the south side of the widened road.

The ward is holding briefing sessions for residents this fiscal year, and plans to begin full-scale discussions with landowners and other parties toward land acquisition starting in the new fiscal year.

Katsushika City Urban Development Department Asako Tobishima, Urban Development Promotion Section Manager: ``

We want to respond firmly to the growing momentum for disaster-prevention urban development among local residents.We feel as though the government is strongly pushing us forward. We want to create a safe town where flames do not spread.”

Nishishinkoiwa 5-chome Neighborhood Association Chairman Hikaru Machiyama

: ``Building roads where everyone can live safely.That's all I want to make this town a safe town as soon as possible.''

There are few voices of opposition.

In order to widen the road, cooperation from residents is essential, including relocation of houses along the road.

Compensation will be paid to residents who will be relocated, but according to Katsushika Ward, there is little opposition to the project. The ward hopes to begin construction after 2020 at the earliest.

As I briefly touched on at the beginning, Nishi-Shinkoiwa 5-chome was a rural area before the Edo period, and it was converted into residential land without any zoning, and the zoning has hardly changed since the Edo period.

It seems that in some places, agricultural roads from the Edo period, when vegetables were transported in large carts, have been paved and turned into roads. We found that these topographical features are connected to the disaster prevention issues that 5-chome is currently facing.

“Difficult firefighting areas” exist in various places.

The "areas where firefighting activities are difficult" that we picked up this time is not just a problem in Katsushika Ward. This is a map of Tokyo's 23 wards. The red areas are areas where firefighting activities are difficult. It is noticeable in the western 23 wards, such as Suginami Ward and Setagaya Ward.

In the event of an actual disaster, there are concerns that firefighting efforts will be hampered, such as roads being blocked by debris from collapsed buildings or fire hydrants becoming inoperable due to water outages, as was the case in the recent Noto Peninsula earthquake.

In order to reduce the number of victims and save lives in the event of a major earthquake that may occur in the future, the government and residents must work together to rebuild the city to prevent the spread of fire.

(Broadcast on “Good Morning Japan” on January 15th)

Chuichiro Yamashita,

reporter for the Metropolitan Area Bureau

Joined the station in 2004

After working at the Aomori, Akita, and Osaka stations, he is currently in charge of news production for the Metropolitan Area Network.