Training based on the assumption that an earthquake and a nuclear power plant accident will occur simultaneously during a snowy winter Niigata

In Niigata Prefecture, a drill was held to confirm procedures for evacuating residents, based on the assumption that an earthquake and a serious accident at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant occurred simultaneously during the snowy winter season, and evacuation routes were cut off. Ta.

This nuclear disaster prevention drill has been held every winter for the past three years by the national government, Niigata Prefecture, and other organizations in the area where TEPCO's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is located, and this year, local government officials, the Self-Defense Forces, local people, and others participated. Approximately 80 people participated.

The drill was conducted under the assumption that an earthquake and a serious accident at a nuclear power plant occurred at the same time in the snowy winter season, with evacuation routes cut off by fallen trees and snow, and areas within 5 kilometers of the nuclear power plant isolated.

During a morning drill in Kashiwazaki City, Self-Defense Force members used chainsaws to cut down trees that had been placed on roads to look like fallen trees, and then loaded residents into vehicles and evacuated them.

In the afternoon, a training exercise was held in Kariwa Village, simulating evacuation along snow-covered roads, and residents were loaded onto large Self-Defense Force snowmobiles and moved to the point where they would be transferred to buses.

A man in his 50s who participated in the drill said, ``I think it's important to participate in the drill and think about evacuation methods and alternative routes.''

Naoto Hara, Director-General of the Prefectural Disaster Prevention Bureau, said, ``In the future, we would like to increase the difficulty level by increasing the number of people evacuated, etc., in order to increase the level of difficulty.Furthermore, if the Nuclear Regulation Authority reviews the nuclear disaster countermeasure guidelines in response to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the prefectural government will We would like to reflect this in our evacuation plans."