Tokyo 2020 organisers cut crowds at sailing events over tsunami risk

Source(s): Guardian, the (UK)

By Justin McCurry

The organisers of next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo have decided to cut the number of spectators for the sailing events by a third so they can be quickly evacuated to higher ground in the event of a tsunami.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics organising committee had initially planned to allow up to 5,000 people to watch the sailing events off Enoshima island, just south of the Japanese capital, according to the public broadcaster NHK.

They lowered the number to 3,300, however, after discussing tsunami evacuation measures with local authorities, NHK added.

Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Its Pacific coast, where the sailing events will take place, is susceptible to powerful tsunamis triggered by earthquakes.

In less than two months’ time the country will mark the eighth anniversary of the March 2011 triple disaster, in which more than 18,000 people were killed by a huge tsunami along the north-east coast.

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