A Japanese government panel has warned that an tsunami as high as 30 metres could crash in on Hokkaido, an island in Japan if an earthquake of magnitude 9 occurs.
Seismologist Kenji Satake, a University of Tokyo professor and head of the panel on Tuesday expressed that the tsunami and a massive earthquake would definitely take place as it has happened several times in the past 6,000 years.
The panel assumed the “worst-case scenario” and said that an earthquake was imminent around the Japan Trench and the Kuril Trench.
It was also further stated that if an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater struck in the deep-sea trenches, tsunami waves as high as 44 feet could hit the area around the Fukushima plant.
The panel however acknowledged that it is difficult to calculate the probability of such an earthquake but pointed out that, according to research, a massive earthquake takes place every 300-400 years.
The last one occurred in the 17th century.
According to Kyodo News, waves as high as 98 feet could strike the northernmost island of Hokkaido, while other tsunamis may strike in areas along the Sea of Japan.
The panel looked at simulation based on analysis of tsunamis of past 6000 years and covered seven prefectures in Japan which includes Hokkaido, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibarak, Aomori and Chiba.
The Japanese panel further predicted that Iwate to be worst-hit with tsunami of 29.7 metres, followed by Hokkaido with 27.9 metres.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office of Japan has created a working group to estimate the damage that could be caused and to study countermeasures.
Local media in Japan reported that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is assessing this report that highlights the threat of the tsunami wrecking the Fukushima nuclear station.
The company is attempting to clean up the site of its Fukushima Daichi plant that was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
It would be recalled that on April 18, a stong earthquake hit a Japanese island chain located in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo.
According to the Japanese Meteorological Agency, this earthquake did not have much impact as it occurred in the Pacific Ocean west of the Ogasawara Island chain, which is around 1,000 kilometers or 620 miles south of Tokyo.
