The government of Japan is making plans to install toilets in the elevators and provide emergency supply of drinking water for people who are trapped in the elevators. The measure has been considered as the nation is prone to frequent powerful earthquakes.
The move came after about 20,000 elevators were stopped and some of them were stopped for more than an hour in Tokyo after it was hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake last week. However, most of the elevators stopped automatically at the nearest floor and opened their doors but 14 of them were stranded between the floors. Officials from the infrastructure ministry and the elevator industry bodies talked about the issue and agree to provide toilets for use in an emergency.
The idea behind the emergency toilets can include collapsible cardboard structures with waterproof bag or an absorbant material inside. Some of the elevators also have a small seating facility inside for the increasing elderly people. Installation of the facilities underneath such seats can be a possibility. The country has more than 620,000 elevators in public or the commercial buildings and 20% of them are in Tokyo.
The government of Japan has estimated that the next big earthquake is very certain to hit the capital Tokyo and can hit in the coming decades, Such a situation can leave up to 17,000 people stuck in the elevators.
Photo Credits: therakyatpost
