Large amounts of volcanic pumice rocks thrown from the Fukutokuokanoba undersea volcano in the Pacific Ocean are piling up on Southern Japanese coasts. These pumice pebbles are causing damage to ports and fishing boats. The government has established a task force to deal with the problem as a natural disaster.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko reported that 11 ports in Okinawa Prefecture and 19 in Kagoshima Prefecture have been affected so far. Forty fishing boats have been damaged and ferry services connecting remote islands in Okainawa and Kagoshima have been suspended.
At their first meeting the government task force decided to provide support for the local municipalities. The cost of the damage is not yet known. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said there has been a huge impact on the fisheries and tourism industries as well as the environment.
Pamela: I hope this does not effect the area where you live, I hope no one else has damage to their boats, I know that many rely on their fishing boats for a living.
Maybe the pumice could be gathered and sold as a foot scrub product! (she says tongue in cheek!) We used to gather pumice stone for that purpose in NZ, not to sell just to use!
Pamela: I hope this does not effect the area where you live, I hope no one else has damage to their boats, I know that many rely on their fishing boats for a living.
ReplyDeleteCatherine
"What next?", indeed!
ReplyDeleteI often ask myself that question. Before one problem has been solved, we've got another one to deal with.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the pumice could be gathered and sold as a foot scrub product! (she says tongue in cheek!) We used to gather pumice stone for that purpose in NZ, not to sell just to use!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds scary. I hope it's the last in this string of disasters we're dealing with!
ReplyDelete