On Mar. 18 the Cabinet Office released its estimates for physical damages and economic losses in the event of a massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough. Experts have said a large earthquake in the trough would cause severe damage along the Pacific coast of Japan from Kyushu to Kanto. Assuming a “once-in-1,000-years” earthquake and tsunami equivalent to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami struck the trough, the government estimated over ¥169 trillion in direct damages to buildings and infrastructure, ¥8.2 trillion of which would be in Kyushu. The economic impact of reduced productivity and transport stoppages is estimated at over ¥220 trillion. Nationwide evacuee numbers were calculated at 9.5 million people across 40 prefectures, with numbers in Kyushu expected to reach 525,000. Based on these estimates, the government will formulate a disaster preparedness plan in fiscal 2013. Estimated damages for the prefectures of Kyushu are as follows: ¥4.8 trillion in Miyazaki, ¥2 trillion in Oita, ¥700 billion in Kagoshima, ¥400 billion in Kumamoto, ¥200 billion in Fukuoka and ¥100 billion each in Saga and Nagasaki. The highest number of anticipated evacuees would be from Miyazaki (350,000) and Oita (140,000). Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, Mar. 19
