ＮＺ大地震 「直下型」の怖さ見せつけた

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Feb. 24, 2011)
N.Z. shows horror of near-field quakes
ＮＺ大地震　「直下型」の怖さ見せつけた（2月23日付・読売社説）

It was a bleak scene that prevailed after Tuesday's earthquake in New Zealand--buildings and other structures were reduced to piles of rubble, including an old British-style brick church.
　英国風の古いレンガ造りの教会、ビルなどが無残に崩れ落ちている。

The disaster that struck Christchurch, the largest city on the country's South Island, has palpably demonstrated the ferocity of quakes that have their focus just below urban areas, known as near-field temblors.
　ニュージーランド南島最大の都市クライストチャーチの被災状況は、都市直下型地震の脅威をまざまざと見せつけた。

The powerful earthquake has caused many casualties, including people crushed under the rubble of houses and other buildings that crumbled to the ground. According to media reports, an office building occupied by about 200 workers collapsed in the quake.
　倒壊したビルの下敷きになるなどして多数の死傷者が出ている。２００人が勤務するオフィスビルも崩れ落ちたという。

More than 3,000 Japanese are believed to have been in the city at the time of the earthquake, including local residents, tourists and students.
　日本人も、在住者に加え、観光客や留学生など計３０００人以上が市内にいたとみられる。

Among them were 23 teachers and students from Toyama College of Foreign Languages, who were visiting Christchurch to attend classes at a local school.
　富山市の富山外国語専門学校からは、教員と学生計２３人が語学研修のため現地を訪れていた。

Reports say the teachers and students from Toyama were in the school cafeteria having lunch when the quake hit and that several members of the group were injured, some when they were trapped under the debris of the collapsed building. There has been no contact with some students.
　地震が起きた時、昼食のためカフェテリアにいたという。崩壊した建物の下に閉じこめられるなどして、負傷者が出た。連絡がつかなくなっている学生らもいる。

We hope the Foreign Ministry, the travel agency responsible for arranging the group's trip to the city and all others connected to the latest disaster will try to confirm the situation of all Japanese victims as soon as possible.
　外務省や旅行会社などは、被災者たちの一刻も早い安否確認に努めてもらいたい。

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City overwhelmed

The earthquake has disturbed road traffic and communication networks in the city. Many local residents have evacuated from the devastated city center. Local medical institutions have found their staff and equipment insufficient to treat a large number of wounded people, and a state of emergency has been declared in the city.
　現地では道路や通信網が混乱している。多くの住民が、被害の大きかった街の中心部から避難している。負傷者が多く、医療機関での治療が追いつかない。市内には非常事態が宣言された。

The Japanese government has sent an advance team to New Zealand to prepare for rescue operations in devastated areas there. Our country must extend swift and sufficient aid to the stricken area.
　日本政府は、救出・救援活動に備えて先遣隊を送った。早急かつ十分な支援が求められる。

New Zealand is an earthquake-prone country, located in the southern Pacific Ocean at the convergence of two gigantic continental plates. Numerous active faults that can cause near-field earthquakes run under the country's inland areas.
　ニュージーランドは、日本と同じ「地震国」だ。地球の表面を覆う巨大なプレート（岩板）同士がぶつかり合う場所にあり、内陸部には、直下型地震を引き起こす活断層がいくつもある。

This latest disaster came months after another major earthquake struck Christchurch in September, injuring more than 100 people. Tuesday's quake--which had a smaller magnitude than last year's temblor--turned out to be more devastating, as its focus was located only five kilometers underground.
　クライストチャーチでは昨年９月にも大きな地震があり、１００人以上が負傷している。今回は前回ほどの規模ではなかったが、震源が５キロ・メートルと浅かったため、被害が大きくなった。

New Zealand sees only one-tenth as many noticeable and major quakes of Japan. Only a few massive earthquakes have ever been recorded in New Zealand, a nation that experienced its first major influx of immigrants from Europe about two centuries ago. Also, little progress has been made in investigating the state of active faults and other seismic elements in the nation.
　ただ、ニュージーランドは、有感地震や大きな地震の発生頻度では日本の１０分の１程度だ。欧州からの移民が本格化して２００年余りのため、過去に起きた大地震の記録は少なく、活断層などの調査も進んでいるとは言えない。

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Quake resistance insufficient

The latest quake has destroyed not only historical structures but many new office and other buildings, including some that were constructed with advanced quake-resistant technology. The degree of damage suffered by these buildings shows their resistance to seismic shocks was less than satisfactory.
　一部の建造物には先進的な耐震技術が使われているが、被害状況を見ると、歴史的建物ばかりでなく新しいビルも崩壊している。耐震性が十分でなかったようだ。

The Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995 was no less illuminating in this respect. The damage caused by that disaster shed light on the lack of sufficient earthquake resistance in many buildings in this country.
　日本も、１９９５年の阪神大震災で、建造物の耐震性の弱さが露呈した。

Efforts have been made to improve the ability of such structures to withstand earthquakes, but there have been delays in anti-seismic reinforcement work on such structures as primary and middle school buildings nationwide.
その後、耐震補強が進められてはきたが、小中学校の校舎などの補強は遅れている。

It is essential to reexamine our preparedness for massive earthquakes, which could occur anywhere in the nation. This is particularly true with a near-field earthquake predicted to strike Tokyo soon, as well as quakes that seismologists say may happen in the Tokai region and some parts of the Kinki district.
　いつ起きてもおかしくない首都直下地震や、東海、東南海、南海地震など巨大地震への備えを改めて点検することが大切だ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 23, 2011)
（2011年2月23日01時12分 読売新聞）