LPG comes to the rescue after natural disasters
When trying to rapidly restore the basic necessities of life after natural disasters such as earthquakes, LPG has repeatedly proven its value as a fuel for cooking, heating, boiling water or generating electricity.
Speaking at GasNZ’s recent conference, Albert de Geest, chief executive of Liquigas, gave the recovery from Japan’s devastating 1995 earthquake in Kobe as an example (pictured).
With a total of nearly 6,500 deaths and over 400,000 housing units damaged, de Geest said he hadn’t realised just how much of the city burnt after the earthquake, with fires often caused or fuelled by ruptured gas lines.
There were over 300,000 people left homeless and over 1100 shelters set up to house them.
The natural gas supply was out of action for three months. “It was massively challenging for everyone there,” De Geest said.
During this time, LPG was used to provide an immediate energy supply. “LPG can be delivered really easily by various means.
“It’s transportable, its resilient, it’s an available energy when grid systems collapse.”
As well as providing residents with fuel for cooking, heating and lighting, and making water safe for drinking with water supplies either broken or contaminated, it was also used to power electricity generators for shelters and field hospitals, and power refrigerators to allow storage of essential medical supplies.
LPG was also used to produce synthetic natural gas while pipelines were out of action – with standalone units put in place to dilute LPG with air – providing a temporary, fully compatible replacement for reticulated natural gas.
The many features and benefits of LPG “make it an essential fuel in emergency response”, de Geest said.