NTT East’s Steel Tower Damaged in Aomori Earthquake

Hachinohe, Aomori Pref., Dec. 11 (Jiji Press)–A 70-meter-high steel tower of NTT East Inc. in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, has been found damaged after a powerful earthquake that struck Monday night, prompting the government of the city to order 48 nearby households to evacuate Thursday. According to NTT East, there are also damage to walls of and water leakage at the telecommunications carrier’s building that hosts the tower. “We are currently investigating the damage situation,” the company said. “We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience.” The earthquake occurred off the east coast of the northeastern Japan prefecture, registering upper 6, the second-highest level on the country’s seismic intensity scale, in Hachinohe. The Hachinohe city government issued the evacuation order at midnight after it was informed by NTT East that there is a possibility of the tower collapsing in the event of another strong earthquake. City government officials and NTT East employees visited the houses subject to the order, urging residents to evacuate to facilities such as a local community center. Also, local authorities closed a section of about 1 kilometer of National Route 45, which runs in front of the building, at 12:30 a.m. Thursday. When the section will be reopened has not been decided. According to NTT East, a unit of NTT Inc., formerly Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the steel tower was built in 1970. One of its four supports was damaged, and 19 of about 1,000 bolts used to secure the steel frames were damaged. There is no issue with the foundation of the tower, the company said. Repair work is expected to take about three weeks. NTT East will cover accommodation and other costs for the evacuated residents. NTT East and NTT West Inc., another NTT subsidiary, have a total of about 950 similar steel towers. The 1995 powerful earthquake in the western Japan city of Kobe and surrounding areas was the only previous incident in which steel tower damage occurred, according to officials. NTT East is considering methods for employees to work safely in the building by temporarily restricting operations. The company is also talking with the Aomori prefectural government and others on measures to ensure the safety of nearby residents and roads. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]