SPATIO-TEMPORAL ANALYSIS OF GASOLINE SHORTAGES IN THE TOHOKU REGION AFTER THE GREAT EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

Abstract

 In this study, we analyzed the actual amount of gasoline transported into the Tohoku region during the first month after the Great East Japan Earthquake. We found that (1) the amount of gasoline supplied in the Tohoku region during the first two weeks was only 1/3 of the normal demand; (2) the shortage of supply in the first two weeks led to a huge “back-log of demand”; (3) it took four weeks for the backlog to be cleared; the lost (suppressed) demand during the period was equivalent to the amount of normal demand for 7 days. (4) the gaps between gasoline supply and demand in the Pacific coast areas were huge, compared with those in the Japan sea coast areas; the gap in each prefecture of the Tohoku region was gradually reduced over time in the following order: Akita, Aomori, Iwate, Yamagata, and finally, Miyagi prefecture.