By KAI ICHINO/ Staff Writer
January 23, 2024 at 19:04 JST
National Route 249 was impassable in a sagging and cracked section about 10 kilometers north of the Shika nuclear power plant in Shika, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 5. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The government plans to review evacuation plans after about 400 people were stranded within 30 kilometers from a nuclear plant in the Noto Peninsula for at least eight days following the Jan. 1 earthquake.
Eight areas in Ishikawa Prefecture were inaccessible by motor vehicles within a radius of five to 30 km from Hokuriku Electric Power Co.’s Shika nuclear power plant due to severed roads and other reasons until Jan. 8, according to the Cabinet Office and other sources.
About 400 residents in seven areas of Wajima city and one area of Anamizu town were unable to leave their communities, and rescue workers were unable to deliver relief supplies.
It apparently took about two weeks to restore access to the last of these areas, officials said.
Under the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s Guide for Emergency Preparedness and Response, residents in the urgent protective action planning zone (UPZ) within five to 30 km from a nuclear plant are advised to first stay indoors and evacuate outside the zone if radiation levels rise.
However, it would be difficult to remain indoors if there is insufficient electricity, water and food or if houses collapse. It would also be difficult to flee if roads are cut off.
The Cabinet Office plans to bolster support for evacuation centers and other facilities located in the UPZs nationwide based on input from local governments to enhance nuclear emergency preparedness.
The Cabinet Office has so far prioritized the precautionary action zone (PAZ) within five km from a nuclear plant and helped install protective equipment and emergency power systems.
“We will strengthen support for local governments to enable residents to continue to stay indoors for an extended period,” Shintaro Ito, minister of state for nuclear emergency preparedness, said at a news conference on Jan. 19.
Under the NRA’s guide, residents in the PAZ are expected to evacuate to outside the 30-km zone before nuclear substances spread in the event of a nuclear accident.
No residents were stranded within a five-km radius of the Shika nuclear plant following the Jan. 1 earthquake.
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