Powerful inland quake in metro area could claim 9,700 lives in Tokyo

A powerful inland earthquake in the Tokyo metropolitan area could claim the lives of up to 9,700 people in the capital, according to an estimate made by the Tokyo Disaster Prevention Council.

Furthermore, the council anticipates that up to 300,000 buildings, or around 10 percent of all structures in Tokyo, will collapse or be burned down by quake-triggered fires.

The estimate has prompted the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to launch efforts to work out an outline of revisions to its regional disaster prevention plan by September.

The Tokyo Disaster Prevention Council had been reviewing its estimate of damage to be caused by a massive Tokyo inland temblor since the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. It is the first time in six years that Tokyo's estimate of damage has been revised. Read More