By: Nick Gambino
The Japan Government just released a video that uses AI and other CG to show what would happen if Mount Fuji were to erupt. The video details how this disaster would affect life in Tokyo, a city that boasts over 37 million residents.
The government didn’t make the video to put Japanese citizens into a state of fear. No, they did it to prepare them for the eventuality. You see, Mt. Fuji is not a dormant volcano, which means an eruption is not a matter of if but a matter of when.
The active volcano last erupted in 1707, lasting two weeks, destroying crops and setting off a 10-year famine. At that time it erupted roughly every 30 years, causing havoc in the region. And while that was devastating this was all before electricity and railways and cell towers and everything else that is far from volcano proof.
The Tokyo of today is a completely different city than it was in the 18th century. Located only 60 miles from Mt. Fuji, the bustling metropolis is the most populated in the world with advanced transit systems and jam-packed highways.
In the video, ash rains down on Tokyo merely two hours after the eruption. This volcanic debris is estimated to be 2 mm in diameter in the main city, but the closer you get to the volcano, rocks several cm wide are predicted to fall from the sky.
Unlike rain, the ash will accumulate two to three feet high across the region. This will put strain on nearly everything, cutting access to power, food and other necessities.
The Japanese government wants people to prepare by stocking up on supplies and survival necessities. Apparently there is no warning system in place or even possible. When it erupts it will be without notice.
“We need to arm ourselves with facts and prepare for disaster in our daily lives,” the video narration explains.
Mt. Fuji is not the only active volcano in Japan. It is only 1 of 111 in the Pacific’s aptly named Ring of Fire. So again, a volcanic eruption is only a matter of time.
