TOKYO, March 21 (Xinhua) -- A government-appointed panel in Japan said Friday that residents of Tokyo and nearby prefectures should stay home to prevent panic in the event of an eruption of Mount Fuji.
It would not be realistic for residents of densely populated Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures to flee the region at once if Japan's tallest mountain erupts on a massive scale and spews large amounts of ash, according to a report released by the Cabinet Office panel headed by University of Tokyo professor emeritus Toshitsugu Fujii.
The panel broke down possible scenarios into four stages depending on the severity of the ash fall: from Stage 1 when the ash fall is under 3 centimeters to Stage 4 when it exceeds 30 centimeters.
The report said residents in areas receiving less than 30 centimeters of ash should stay home and refrain from nonessential outings and stock up on necessities that would sustain them for two weeks.
Meanwhile, those who reside in wooden houses, or those near such buildings, should evacuate only if the ash fall reaches 30 centimeters or more, as the weight of ash may increase if it rains, possibly causing such structures to collapse.
This was the first time such specific guidelines on how residents should act under possible wide-scale effects of an eruption of Mount Fuji and its subsequent ash fall in the Tokyo metropolitan area have been released.
Mount Fuji last erupted in 1707. Experts said an eruption on a similar scale could blanket wide areas of Tokyo, Kanagawa prefecture and elsewhere with 10 centimeters or more of ash. ■
