Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has started the process of compensating thousands of people forced to evacuate the area around its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

It is believed about 80,000 people were evacuated from the 12.5km zone around the plant after the March earthquake and tsunami.

TEPCO will be compensating business owners for loss of revenue and other costs relating to damaged crops, shipping restrictions, reputation and the loss of land use.

It will pay the transportation costs of individuals to leave the zone as well as expenses related to temporary accommodation, medical costs, incapacity to work and loss of property.

The company hasn’t put limits on the amount of compensation, and will pay some sums without further investigation such as ¥8000 ($98.22) of accommodation per person a night and ¥5000 ($61.38) of transportation costs per person.

TEPCO has set aside ¥400 billion ($4.91 billion) for compensation but it will need Japanese Government support if it is to avoid bankruptcy, as the claims are expected to exceed this figure.

The company initially allocated 700 employees to process the claims paperwork, but has since brought in another 500 consultants.

From September 12, the number of employees working on claims will increase to 3000 and the consultants to 3500.

TEPCO had been criticised for its reluctance to set up a compensation scheme. It has since apologised for “the tremendous inconvenience and anxiety” caused by the nuclear plant meltdown.