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A row of portable toiliets. A dreaded major earthquake in Tokyo would set off a crisis of "toilet refugees," with a restroom shortage for nearly 820,000 people, a government study has said.
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A dreaded major earthquake in Tokyo would set off a crisis of "toilet refugees," with a restroom shortage for nearly 820,000 people, a government study said.
An expert panel of the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council came to the conclusion this week while studying the potential impact of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the tremor-prone metropolis.
According to the study, some 817,000 people would find themselves without toilets two hours after such a big tremor, which would cut off 46 percent of Tokyo's water supply.
The wait to use a toilet would be four and a half hours in central Chiyoda ward, home to the headquarters of major companies, government buildings and the imperial palace.
"Besides food and water, shortage of toilets is one of the major issues in post-disaster situations," said Itsuki Nakabayashi, head of the study panel.
The group is advising Tokyo residents always to carry pocket-sized tissue papers or plastic bags for emergency toilet use and urged companies to have portable toilets on standby.
The Japanese government has warned an earthquake with a magnitude of around seven could hit the capital in the coming decades.
Japan is hit by 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes.
Much of Tokyo was destroyed in the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which left 142,807 people dead or unaccounted for.
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(Agencies)
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日本政府日前發布一份研究報告稱，首都東京若發生大地震，將面臨廁所緊缺的危機，屆時將會出現近82萬“廁所難民”。
該報告由日本政府中央災害預防學會的一個專家小組編撰，他們研究了地震多發的東京市若發生7.3級以上的強地震，可能會出現哪些潛在問題。
這份于本周發布的報告稱，大地震發生時，全市46%的水供應將被中斷，約81.7萬人在震后兩個小時將無廁所可用。
東京市中心的千代田區的廁所在四個半小時后才能恢復使用。千代田區是一些大公司的總部、政府辦公樓和皇宮所在地。
專家組負責人中林一樹說：“除了食品和水供應，廁所短缺是災后面臨的一個大問題。”
研究小組建議東京市民隨身攜帶紙巾或塑料袋以備不時之需，并敦促公司預備一些可移動廁所。
日本政府警告說，未來幾十年東京可能會發生7級左右的大地震。
目前全世界20%的強地震發生于日本。
1923年的關東大地震將東京的大部分地區毀于一旦，這次地震的死亡和失蹤人數達142807人。
（英語點津 姍姍 編輯）
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