Tsunami alert in Japan leaves broad interruptions in transportation
The Tsunami alert issued on a good part of Japan’s Pacific coast this Wednesday following a strong 8.8 earthquake in the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula caused wide interruptions of rail transport, aerial and road transport in the archipelago.
At least 42 lines of 17 rail companies became suspended and the track of the Sendai airport, in the northeast of the country, where an alert by Tsunami remains up to three meters, was closed to prevent contingencies, according to a press conference the spokesman of the Japanese executive, Yoshima Hayashi.
In the Kanto region (East), where Tokyo is located, some private train lines such as the Keiky and others by Japan Railways, located in the metropolitan area, were suspended or experienced delays, especially in coastal areas, such as the Sh_Nan-Shinjuku line, south of the Shinjuku station, or Tokaid line, between the Tokyo and Atami stations (Shizuoka).
These interruptions left chaos scenes and confusion in stations of the aforementioned Tokaido line, one of the busiest that connects the capital with adjacent metropolitan areas, with dozens of stuck passengers in front of the lathes and trying to find out if the service would be restored soon.
The Uchib_ and Sotob_ lines were also suspended in the prefecture of Chiba, to the east of Tokyo, while the company Enoden stopped its full service between the stations of Kamakura and Fujisawa, in the prefecture of Kanagawa.
In Hokkaido, island in northern Japan, where Japanese weather authorities found the arrival of a tsunami of up to 40 centimeters, 20 express trains were canceled that connect Sapporo with Hakodate, Obihiro, Kushiro and Muroran, and 36 local trains, until reaching a total of 56.
Likewise, Sendai’s airport closed its track, which caused the cancellation of some flights between New Chitose and Sendai airports, according to All Nippon Airways data and Japan Airlines collected by the NHK public chain. At the moment, the flights of other airports inside Hokkaido operate normally.
Sections were closed on some highways located on the island of Hokkaido, in addition to suspending the Hakodate tram service in most sections and Ferris services are being canceled or suspended.
Also, on coastal areas – where the Japanese authorities recommended the evacuation of citizens – traffic jams caused by the agglomeration of vehicles trying to get away from the coast, and despite the fact that the use of private cars in these cases is advisable.
In the Tokai region, which extends along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, the Tokaid line between Fuji (Shizuoka Prefecture) and Kakegawa (Shizuoka Prefecture), and between Hamamatsu (Shizuoka Prefecture) and Toyohashi (Prefecture of Aichi) in both directions were suspended. Other private railroads have canceled their services, as well as Ferris services in Tokyo Bay.
Transport interruptions could continue until Japanese authorities lift the tsunami alert activated after the earthquake took place at 8.25 Japanese local time (01.25 Spanish peninsular time) in Kamtachka, and which continues in virtually the entire Pacific Coast. (EFE)
