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2020 Tokyo Olympics sailing venue would be an evacuation nightmare if a tsunami struck, says Japanese disaster expert
- Nobuaki Shimizu, a professor at Aichi Prefectural University, told local media emergency routes away from the coast were inadequate
- He estimated it would take thousands of spectators ‘at least one hour’ to reach the designated evacuation point for the area
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Athletes taking part in sailing races during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and thousands of spectators could be killed or injured if an offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami that hits the venue, according to one of Japan’s foremost crisis management experts.
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Nobuaki Shimizu, a professor at Aichi Prefectural University, told local media that emergency routes away from the coast were inadequate, particularly for the very young, seniors and people using wheelchairs.
An inspection for an emergency evacuation route revealed it was as challenging as “mountain climbing”, the professor told the Mainichi newspaper.
Shimizu estimated it would take thousands of spectators “at least one hour” to reach the designated evacuation point for the area, and that “buildings along the route could collapse due to a quake”.
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The sailing events are expected to be held at Shonan Port, about 60km south of central Tokyo in Kanagawa Prefecture.
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