Kathmandu. Japan’s economy could suffer losses of up to $181 billion if a long-anticipated mega-earthquake hits its Pacific coast, a government report said Monday, adding that it could trigger a devastating tsunami and kill nearly 300,000 people. Hundreds of buildings could be reduced to rubble by the potential quake.
According to Reuters, a Cabinet Office report showed that the new forecast, adjusted for inflationary pressures and updated terrain and land data, expands the estimated flood zones, resulting in losses of 270.3 trillion Japanese yen, or almost half of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries, and the government has seen an 80% chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 earthquake in the area of the seafloor known as the Nankai Trough.
In this area In a worst-case scenario based on a possible magnitude 9 earthquake, Japan is likely to see 1.23 million displaced people, or 10% of its total population. If the quake hits late at night in winter, a tsunami and building collapse could kill 298,000 people, the report found.
A magnitude 9 earthquake in 2011 triggered a devastating tsunami and killed more than 15,000 people when three reactors at a nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan melted down.
