Main Features of Government’s Initial Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Koresawa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Initial Response ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Management Council ◽  
Design Council

This paper reviews approximately the first nine months of the Japanese Government’s response to the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that hit the Pacific coast of Northeastern Japan and devastated many coastal communities. By examining various forms of governmentwide initiatives i.e., the Extreme Disaster Management Headquarters, the Reconstruction Design Council, the Headquarters for Reconstruction, the Reconstruction Agency and the Central Disaster Management Council, this paper tries to clarify the specific functions and main achievements of those institutions It also highlights the main features of the Japanese Government’s disaster response and underlies major changes from past practices due to the unprecedented scale and nature of the disaster.

Government’s Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (sp) ◽  
pp. 517-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Koresawa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Japanese Government ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Hyogo Framework For Action ◽  
One Year

This paper analyzes how the Japanese government has responded to the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunamis that devastated cities and towns along the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan claiming many precious lives and causing extremely extensive destruction. The resilience of a society depends largely on how it identifies existing gaps, how it addresses them in the recovery process, and how it integrates solutions in the existing disastermanagement system as a result. From such a perspective, this paper examines the government’s response to the disaster for approximately the first one year following it by taking stock of progress made versus the priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015.

scholarly journals Seawater-leaching Testing for Arsenic and Heavy Metals in Tsunami Deposits Produced by the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, Northeastern Japan

2014 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 835-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro WATANABE ◽  
Noriyoshi TSUCHIYA ◽  
Shin-ichi YAMASAKI ◽  
Ryoichi YAMADA ◽  
Nobuo HIRANO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Tohoku Earthquake ◽  
Tsunami Deposits ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific

Nutrient status of Otsuchi Bay (northeastern Japan) following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideki Fukuda ◽  
Ryosuke Katayama ◽  
Yanhui Yang ◽  
Hiroyuki Takasu ◽  
Yuichiro Nishibe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Tohoku Earthquake ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Otsuchi Bay ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific

scholarly journals Crustal structure in a profile off the pacific coast of Northeastern Japan by the refraction method with ocean bottom seismometers.

1981 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuzo ASANO ◽  
Toshihiko YAMADA ◽  
Kiyoshi SUYEHIRO ◽  
Toshikatsu YOSHII ◽  
Yoshibumi MISAWA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crustal Structure ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Refraction Method ◽  
Ocean Bottom Seismometers

scholarly journals Pre-, Co-, and Post-Seismic Deformation of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake and its Implication to a Paradox in Short-Term and Long-Term Deformation

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuya Nishimura ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Postseismic Deformation ◽  
Plate Interface ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Constant Rate ◽  
Geologic Time Scale ◽  
Seismic Deformation ◽  
Coseismic Subsidence

The 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake caused large eastward displacement and subsidence along the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. This earthquake partly solved a well-known paradox holding that sense and rate of deformation differ greatly between geologic and geodetic estimates. A paradox remains, however, in explaining long-term uplift along the Pacific coast on a geologic time-scale. Geodetic data show that coastal subsidence continued at a nearly constant rate of ∼5 mm/yr with small fluctuations associated with M7-8 interplate earthquakes for ∼120 years before the Tohoku-oki earthquake. In an area near the Oshika Peninsula where coseismic subsidence is largest, extrapolation of a logarithmic function fitting observed postseismic deformation suggests that coseismic subsidence may be compensated for by the postseismic uplift for several decades but it is difficult to expect the postseismic uplift exceeding 2 meters, so it is implausible that the observed rapid subsidence continued throughout an entire interseismic period in a great megathrust earthquake cycle. We propose a hypothetical model in which the sense of vertical deformation changes from uplift to subsidence during the interseismic period. Using simple elastic dislocation theory, this model is explained by the shallow coupled part of a plate interface in an early interseismic period and the deep coupled part of a late interseismic period.

scholarly journals Response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster

2015 ◽  
Vol 373 (2053) ◽  
pp. 20140373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunichi Koshimura ◽  
Nobuo Shuto
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Management ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Coastal Communities ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Coastal Protection ◽  
Tsunami Disaster ◽  
Structural Measures ◽  
Potential Losses ◽  
Level 1 ◽  
Level 2

We revisited the lessons of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami disaster specifically on the response and impact, and discussed the paradigm shift of Japan's tsunami disaster management policies and the perspectives for reconstruction. Revisiting the modern histories of Tohoku tsunami disasters and pre-2011 tsunami countermeasures, we clarified how Japan's coastal communities have prepared for tsunamis. The discussion mainly focuses on structural measures such as seawalls and breakwaters and non-structural measures of hazard map and evacuation. The responses to the 2011 event are discussed specifically on the tsunami warning system and efforts to identify the tsunami impacts. The nation-wide post-tsunami survey results shed light on the mechanisms of structural destruction, tsunami loads and structural vulnerability to inform structural rehabilitation measures and land-use planning. Remarkable paradigm shifts in designing coastal protection and disaster mitigation measures were introduced, leading with a new concept of potential tsunami levels: Prevention (Level 1) and Mitigation (Level 2) levels according to the level of ‘protection’. The seawall is designed with reference to Level 1 tsunami scenario, while comprehensive disaster management measures should refer to Level 2 tsunami for protection of human lives and reducing potential losses and damage. Throughout the case study in Sendai city, the proposed reconstruction plan was evaluated from the tsunami engineering point of view to discuss how the post 2011 paradigm was implemented in coastal communities for future disaster mitigation. The analysis revealed that Sendai city's multiple protection measures for Level 2 tsunami will contribute to a substantial reduction of the tsunami inundation zone and potential losses, combined with an effective tsunami evacuation plan.

Special Issue on the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster: Part IV

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (sp) ◽  
pp. 709-709
Author(s):  
Katsuki Takiguchi
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Current Issue ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Earthquake Disaster ◽  
Kanto Earthquake ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Many

The basic policy of the Journal of Disaster Research (JDR), as a multidisciplinary academicjournal, is to cover all types of disasters ? except for war ? through a broad comprehensive perspective. Since its inaugural issue in August 2006, the JDR has been published bimonthly,with six issues a year. 2015 marks the tenth year since the JDRfs first issue. Among the many events happening during this decade is the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster which was induced by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake.This event had two major features ? that the tsunami accompanying the earthquake caused the main damage and that it triggered a nuclear hazard accident at a nuclear power plant. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster was a unprecedented earthquake disaster called catastrophic hazard following two others ? the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake Disasterthat leveled Tokyo and the 1995 Hanshin Awaji Earthquake Disaster that destroyed parts of Osaka and Kobe. In view of this catastrophic hazardfs scale, the JDR decided to publish special annual issues on the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster for five years since 2012 in addition to its regularissues. No publication fee was charged to contributors and support was asked from corporations. Papers on the special issues are published mainly online as an e-journal though printed editions are published for archival purposes. The current issue is the fourth of these special issues, and contributors have covered the 2011 disaster from many a wide range of perspectives. 21 papers were submitted and 8 papers are accepted for publication after peer review. The editors are confident that, like the previous three issues, this issue fully measure up to the quality that was expected for the special issue. I wish to express my gratitude to the contributors and reviewers and to thank corporations for their invaluable support.

Damage Assessment on Electric Power Failures During the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (sp) ◽  
pp. 491-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaku Shoji ◽  
◽  
Dai Takahashi ◽  
Takuya Tsukiji ◽  
Satoshi Naba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Power ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Tohoku Earthquake ◽  
Damage Functions ◽  
Power Company ◽  
Northeastern Japan ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Branch Office ◽  
Office Personnel

We collected data on the March 11, 2011, Great East Japan Earthquake by surveying web sites related to power failures during 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku (northeastern Japan) and, in addition, by interviewing local government sectors and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) branch office personnel. We quantify two damage ratios for power failures for subject municipalities defined by the ratio of the number of affected households and houses in a city to the number of related households and houses. This revealed the dependence of damage ratios on seismic intensities induced in subject municipalities. Damage functions related to power failures are then developed.

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