Disaster Information」カテゴリーアーカイブ

Day_93: Natural disasters in Thailand – National Disaster Risk Assessement Mapping

Day_18 mentioned, “More must be done to fight climate change” (Bangkok Post)

https://disasterresearchnotes.site/archives/2304

The national risk assessment mapping in Thailand is briefly explained below.

Table 1  Disaster data in Thailand
em-dat_thailand
The target period of these EM-DAT data is from 1900 to 2014. However, the large numbers of deaths, affected people, and damage costs caused by natural disasters are all after the 1970s, as shown in Table 1. The data clarify that the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Chao Phraya River flood disasters have been very influential in Thailand.

riskmapping_thailand
Figure 1 National Risk Assessment Mapping in Thailand

Figure 1 was created using EM-DAT data from Thailand (1900-2014). This risk assessment mapping (Frequency-Impact by each damage type) is very simple, but it allows us to easily grasp the whole picture of the risks.

The following risk matrix options help evaluate each risk.
riskoption1
Figure 2 Risk matrix options (1)

riskoption2
Figure 3 Risk matrix options (2)

From Figure 1, it is clear that the flood is the disaster that requires the most countermeasures in Thailand. Figures 2 and 3, for example, show that extensive management and monitoring are essential, and immediate action must be taken against the floods.

The above explanations are very rough. Detailed descriptions will be discussed later.

The above was already published with explanations as a report for the Japanese Association for Earthquake and Engineering (JAEE).

Day_72 : 1983 Sea of Japan earthquake

The 1983 Sea of Japan earthquake, also known as the 1983 Nihonkai-Chubu earthquake, occurred on May 26. It was 7.8 magnitude and occurred in the Sea of Japan. The tsunami caused 104 deaths, 100 caused by the quake. The tsunami hit communities along the coast, primarily in Aomori and Akita Prefectures and the east coast of Noto Peninsula.
There are three things to share about the tsunami disaster.
The first is the tsunami-generated location, the second is the broadcasting, and the third is the victims of school children. First, there was an ancient tradition that tsunamis never hit the coast of the Sea of Japan. This normalcy bias* exacerbates the damage. The second was the first tsunami disaster broadcast worldwide during that time. The people who had home videos also contributed to the media. The tsunami warning system, which provides wireless tsunami information from the Sea of Japan to the local area to inform local people, was improved after the event. Third, 43 schoolchildren were hit, and 13 passed away. They were on an excursion. The school teacher could not do anything during that time. The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami disaster also had teacher-related issues. Both tsunamis were daytime.

*Normalcy bias

http://disasters.weblike.jp/disasters/archives/2607

Day_65 : 1991 Unzen Fugendake Volcano Eruption

1991 Unzen Fugendake Volcano Eruption Killed 43 people. This disaster has taught a lot of lessons. The key words are media, volunteer firefighters, police officers, and an evacuation area. The people were all dead in the evacuation area. During the volcano eruption, media people tried to get into the area to shoot pictures, videos, and report. They went into the local people’s houses. The residents were worried about their belongings in their houses. So many volunteer firefighters (12) also went into the area to check, and police officer (2) also did that. The taxi drivers (4) bring them into the area. They all died in the area. Katia Krafft and Maurice Krafft, world’s famous French volcanologists were also dead during the disaster.

 

Wikipedia (Katia and Maurice Krafft)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katia_and_Maurice_Krafft

Wikipedia (Unzen Fugendake Pyroclastic flow, Japanese)
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%B2%E4%BB%99%E5%B2%B3#1991.E5.B9.B46.E6.9C.883.E6.97.A5.E3.81.AE.E7.81.AB.E7.A0.95.E6.B5.81

Day_64 : 1985 Nevado del Ruiz Volcano Eruption

One of the most significant volcanic disasters we must know about is the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption. Approx.23000 citizens in Armero city were dead. The cultural aspects were embedded in this disaster. The disaster was predicted. The hazard maps indicate that the city will be affected by a volcanic eruption and lahars. Both priest and mayor told the citizens to stay in the same place because they were afraid of panic before the time, but did not tell them to evacuate. That made tragedy. The people in the city tended to follow both persons because of the culture, which is a religious and vertically structured society. There were also other factors*.

 

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevado_del_Ruiz#Eruption_and_lahars

 

Day_55 : Tsunami Surveys in Hawaii

After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, we started collecting information on the tide gauge records around the Indian Ocean. In 2008, we also discussed the emergency management aspects for future possible tsunamis in the Indian Ocean at Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC)*, International Tsunami Information Center**(ITIC), and Univ. of Hawaii Sea Level Center(UHSLC)***.

*Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
We can confirm the present tsunami warning information.
The PTWC is the world’s core center for tsunami warnings.
As you may know, the tsunami is a Japanese word. The name comes from the Hiro village (many Japanese settlers lived there) in Hawaii, severely affected by the tsunami in 1968. The villagers called the wave “Tsunami.”

DSCN0457

**International Tsunami Information Center
They have important historical tide gauge records.

***University of Hawaii Sea Level Center
http://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/
We can confirm the sea level is rising around the globe.

Extra……..(^^)

The famous Hitachi company’s symbol image tree in Hawaii was found.

DSCN0464

Day_115 : Disaster Technology Websites

I want to introduce you to two disaster technology websites: DRH Asia-Disaster Reduction Hyperbase and Global DRR Technology.

  • The websites below are unavailable today (2024.12.14 confirmed); however, we can still learn the concept and idea as a significant theme.

1) DRH Asia
This site provides qualified information about DRR technology. Its content is easy to grasp, making it possible to transfer DRR technology. The content comes from many Asian countries and has been reviewed by experts. The challenge is the limited number of contents.

The following is an example of the contents.
Earthquake Early Warning and its Application to Mitigate Human and Social Damages (Figure 1)

drh
Figure 1

We can understand the quality and availability of the content.

2) Global DRR Technology
This site focuses on an online Community of Practice(CoP) in Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR). Although the content is limited, the site can be easily accessed. The case study site is incredibly visually appealing.

The site below is an example of a case study site. (Figure 2)

global-drr-tech
Figure 2

 

Day_58: Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) and Kobe Earthquake

ADRC is established in 1998 after the Kobe Earthquake. Kobe city’s population had caught up the same level before the disaster in 9 years. Kobe reinvents itself as a center of disaster reduction policies and activities in the world. There are so many disaster-related organizations in HAT Kobe. The HAT means “Happy and Active” and also “surprised” in Japanese. This is a good example to refer to for the disaster recovery process. We can learn the lessons from Kobe. ADRC contributes to disaster reduction policies and activities for member countries in Asia. We can check member countries disaster management systems, country reports, and others. We can also confirm the updated disasters on the ADRC’s website.

*ADRC member countries information site.

http://www.adrc.asia/disaster/index.php

** Disaster Information
http://www.adrc.asia/latest/index.php

Day_157: Disaster Warning (1)

I will update a column of the NIED e-mail magazine I wrote long ago because the content does not fade with time. (I will do this step by step in Japanese and English.) I will also add comments to update the situation.

Sorry, I am now revising this post because of the translation difficulties. This post will be revised again. Thank you.

Published May 6, 2010
NIED-DIL e-mail magazine: Disaster Warning (1)

■ Disaster Warning (1) ■

In February 2008, a survey provided an opportunity to visit Hawaii’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). In a study, I interviewed the director of the PTWC, and the first thing that caught my attention was the role of the media. The director told me that a public tsunami evacuation alert was required three hours before the event, which was too time-sensitive, but the press was an advantage to do this. However, there were various restrictions for the government organization, such as warnings in an international framework. I remembered the Chilean Navy’s disaster response to the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Chile in February this year.

Next, I was interested in science, technology, and data, which are the basis of alarm decisions. I think regular (flood, etc.) warnings will be judged based on current and past data, but especially for tsunami warnings, there were errors in the original earthquake and the tide gauge data. To judge, we should know that 99.99 percent of the errors could be caused by error. The fact that past data is not very useful because the devices to figure out the data are changing daily, making it difficult to rely on it.

From these facts, it was generally noticed that the disaster warning was based on the combination of the progress of science and technology and the competence of the person in charge. The actual warning also relies on the institution belonging to it. For example, variables such as the recipient of the alert, the psychology of the local people, the social situation, and various systems also needed to be added.

Issued May 6, 2010 No. 4

Day_34 : The meanings of the Typhoon Makurazaki in 1945

After the second world war, Japan was vulnerable, so we had a lot of natural disasters, especially Typhoon disasters from 1945 to 1959. Some call this 15 years a great flood and storm era. The first hit was Typhoon Makurazaki on September 15, 1945*.The typhoon hit Hiroshima city. There were 1229 casualties in the city. This fact reminds us what happened in Hiroshima in the same year. The atomic bomb hit Hiroshima city this August. During the war, we had no weather forecast system because of military’s reasons. The people in Hiroshima were living in vulnerable houses because they were hardly hit by the bomb. They did not have enough information . about the typhoon’s coming, either. Therefore, this typhoon disaster is a complex disaster that consists of natural disasters, technological disasters, and human-made disasters.

*Hiroshima Pref. Website:
http://www.bousai.pref.hiroshima.jp.e.bq.hp.transer.com/www/contents/1318849427179/index.html
http://www.pref.hiroshima.lg.jp.e.bq.hp.transer.com/soshiki/100/makurazaki.html

**A Blank in the Weather Map by Kunio Yanagida

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Blank_in_the_Weather_Map

 

Day_129 : Natural Disasters in China (1) – Two Earthquake Disasters

Overviews

The overviews of Natural Disasters in China are the followings:

1) Death numbers
death_china2
Source: EM-DAT

2) Affected numbers
affected_china
Source: EM-DAT

3) Damage costs
damage_china
Source: EM-DAT

Natural disasters in China are very large scales, reflecting country’s population and geographical size. Also, we need to know that China has a rapidly growing economy. We can confirm the normal historical trends of natural disasters, from human sufferings to economic damages, which this note already mentioned (Day 77). For instance, the top 10 deadliest natural disasters in China are all before 1970s. On the contrary, the top 10 costliest natural disasters in China all occurred after 1990s.

Two Earthquakes
Yang Zhang William Drake et al. (2016)* indicate interesting views on two earthquake disaster recoveries: the 1976 Tangshan earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The point is why the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake recovery was so rapid compared to the 1976 earthquake.
However, the paper could add the total background changes in China, such as the economy and politics. China has changed dramatically since 1976, from historical viewpoints.

A comparison of the two earthquakes will be explained.

Yang Zhang William Drake et al. (2016), Disaster Recovery Planning after Two Catastrophes: The 1976 Tangshan Earthquake and the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 34(2):174–200.