A river writhes along the ridge of Aso caldera until, just above Tateno Gap, it runs out of writhing room. Decades ago, engineers figured they could harness the cascade to drive turbines, creating electricity, so they constructed a large holding pond atop the ridge to regulate flow, big pipes, and a turbine building.
No one envisioned what would happen were the pond to fail, but they found out during the quakes: The torrent was so great as to erase the sole, narrow strip threading Tateno Gap on which ran Route 57, the main conduit between central Western and Eastern Kyushu. Engineers figured a workaround by building a tunnel, but that’s a story for another day.
But what to do with the hydroelectric plant? Geologists are hard at work and have indicated restoration is possible. Kyuden wants the power as it’s cheap and non-polluting. Kumanichi has the details at the link. - William
