Photo/Illutration Participants in a major exercise on Feb. 14 depart from a Ground Self-Defense Force helicopter in Satsuma-Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. (Kengo Hiyoshi)

SATSUMA-SENDAI, Kagoshima Prefecture--A three-day evacuation exercise involving nearly 5,000 residents began on Feb. 14 close to a nuclear power plant here.

The drill was the first organized by the central government since a magnitude-7.6 earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024, left residents of rural hamlets living near the Shika nuclear power plant stranded for days.

One objective was reacting to a nuclear emergency at the Sendai plant. Officials also wanted to determine the factors involved in evacuating residents of communities cut off due to impassable roads caused by a major earthquake.

A total of 294 entities feature in the exercise that involves around 4,800 people. They include the central government, the Kagoshima prefectural government, local municipalities and Kyushu Electric Power Co., which operates the Sendai nuclear plant.

The drill simulated conditions for an earthquake with the highest intensity of 7 on the Japanese scale that knocked out the cooling system of one of the two reactors at the Sendai plant, triggering the release of large amounts of radioactive materials.

The scenario is a close match for what happened at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

Activities planned for the exercise include monitoring radiation levels, evacuating residents from isolated communities using boats and helicopters and transporting supplies to the disaster-stricken area.

On Feb. 14, the off-site center outside of the Sendai plant was converted into a local response headquarters and those in charge of emergency situations were called to action. They “gathered” information about the disaster and contacted the relevant government agencies.

The first liaison meeting was held on the assumption that a second most severe situation within a three-stage classification had occurred. Reports were submitted to the liaison meeting about the state of the nuclear reactor and radiation levels.

From Feb. 15, the second day of the three-day drill, evacuation exercises were held to deal with scenarios such as moving residents out of the precautionary action zone (PAZ) within five kilometers of the Sendai nuclear plant. Another exercise was held to “instruct” those living within the urgent protective action planning zone (UPZ) between five to 30 km from the plant to either stay indoors or evacuate.

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