A long-feared massive earthquake hitting the Tokai region in central Japan could result in the deaths of 8,100 people, destruction of 230,000 houses and buildings and daily economic losses of 345.1 billion yen, a government council said Thursday.
It is the first time the Central Disaster Management Council has released a comprehensive estimate of the damage from the so-called Big One.
The long-feared central Honshu earthquake, possibly with a magnitude of 8, is anticipated to strike the region southwest of Tokyo when the Philippine Sea plate buckles due to a pressure buildup caused by the Eurasian plate slipping beneath it.