Every country should develop strategies for managing low-probability, high-impact extreme events-strategies that reflect their own as well as global experiences with mega-disasters. These strategies should...
A mega disaster will result in an enormous number of evacuees staying in evacuation center for a significantly long time. This note describes how Japan managed its evacuation centers after the Great East...
The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) occurred against the backdrop of a struggling economy and public finance system under stress, implying an exceptional fiscal cost and imposing a fiscal management...
Community evacuation measures should be the centerpiece of disaster risk management (DRM) systems. Because the Sanriku region has suffered from frequent tsunamis, its local communities have passed their...
For more than four centuries Japan has been developing forested green belts to mitigate coastal hazards such as sandstorms, salty winds, high tides, and tsunamis. Although Japan's green belts were severely...
In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) disaster, relief goods were distributed and delivered through prefectural- and municipal-level depots. This delivery system faced several problems...
The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) caused immense damage and congestion in telephone infrastructure, including 1.9 million fixed-line services and 29,000 mobile phone base stations. Government radio...
Reconstruction should include a range of measures to enhance safety: disaster prevention facilities, relocation of communities to higher ground, and evacuation facilities. A community should not, however...
In response to the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), domestic and international assistance initiatives were launched by a large number of public and private sectors organizations; and various emergency...
A business continuity plan (BCP) identifies the potential effects of disruptions to an organization's critical operations if a disaster were to occur, and specifies effective response actions and quick...
As in every disaster, certain groups were more vulnerable than others to the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). Two-thirds of those who lost their lives were over 60 years old. Response...
Risk communication is an important component of disaster risk management (DRM) because it shapes people's perceptions of risk and influences their actions with respect to disaster preparedness and disaster...
Social infrastructure and public utilities are critical for quick and effective disaster response and recovery. Japan's rigorous seismic reinforcement of infrastructure has greatly reduced the effort required...
Public facilities and infrastructure can be built in such a way as to reduce disaster risks and serve as disaster risk management facilities. Roads, expressways, and other public facilities helped reduce...
Hazard and risk assessments are the crucial first step in disaster risk management (DRM) and the basis for formulating DRM policies. They must take into account worst-case scenarios in the event of the...
Although the education sector sustained considerable damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), it also played a key role in protecting lives. Importantly, it provided both civil protection hardware...
Local communities play a key role in preparing for disastrous events such as the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), and are normally the first responders to take action. On March 11, 2011, community-based...
Transitional shelter can play a crucial role in housing reconstruction following a mega-disaster. Reconstruction of permanent housing cannot move forward until a number of complex issues are settled, such...
Some 20 million tonnes of waste resulted from the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE). The amount of debris in Iwate Prefecture was 11 times greater than in a normal year, and in Miyagi 19 times greater...
Following its devastating experience with recent disasters, Japan has been strengthening or drawing up new disaster management plans at the national and local levels. The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE)...