Tag - disaster

 
 

DISASTER

Children give a presentation on volcano studies during a workshop at Tairadate Elementary School in Hachimantai, Iwate Prefecture, in February.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 29, 2024
Raising awareness over Mount Iwate eruption urged as memories fade
Interest in preparing for possible volcanic eruptions is difficult to muster in a nation prone to other natural disasters.
A monument for the Great Kanto Earthquake on the premises of the education ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2024
Use of disaster monument symbols expanding five years after launch
As of March, the number of these symbols put on maps maintained by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan has surpassed 2,000 nationwide.
Residents of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, collect supplies in the aftermath of the Jan. 1 earthquake. When it comes to preparing for and responding to disasters in Japan, the specific needs of women are still not being sufficiently met. One way to fix this would be to increase the number of women involved in the area of disaster prevention.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 15, 2024
Women’s needs in disasters are still not accounted for
In Japan, women's needs in disaster situations are not being sufficiently met, as the Ishikawa earthquake shows, partly due to poor female representation.
Noto Airport in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2024
Japan to revise guidelines for airport operators in times of disaster
The BCP revisions come on the heels of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1.
Workers on Thursday inspect a building damaged by an earthquake a day earlier in Hualien, Taiwan.
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 5, 2024
Resilient Taiwan responded fast to earthquake after years honing skills
While past temblors have provided lessons for strengthening coordination, the potential for an attack from China also keeps the island on its toes.
Climate change, with its natural disasters, is putting nuclear facilities and weapons complexes at risk.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2024
Climate change and nuclear waste are a toxic stew
Nuclear power could be a crucial part of a clean-energy transition, but not if it comes with a high risk of multiple Fukushima-like catastrophes.
Cardboard beds at an evacuation center in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31. Because evacuation shelters are operated by municipalities, the quality of disaster relief varies depending on the strength of each local government, one expert points out.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024
Over 8,000 still in evacuation centers three months after Noto quake
The patchy progress of Japan's decentralized disaster relief shows that lessons from past disasters have not been learned, experts say.
As of December 2022, the village of Zamami, Okinawa Prefecture, had in its stockpile six of the nine items listed in a survey as necessary for women and 10 of the 11 items listed as necessary for babies and infants, doing much better than other municipalities in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 1, 2024
Municipalities push gender-inclusive disaster risk management
Some areas in Okinawa involve more women in decision-making and make an effort at stockpiling relevant items.
A worker helps assemble the fuselage of a BK117 helicopter at Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Gifu plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 1, 2024
Kawasaki Heavy’s Gifu plant produces helicopters for disaster aid
The company's BK117 aircraft has been adopted by Gifu Prefecture and many other municipalities for disaster aid.
Commercial and residential buildings are seen on Ishigaki Island, in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2024
Japan to set up new shelters on southwestern islands
The central government has picked five municipalities on the Sakishima southwestern islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
High school students visit seawalls in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday during a weeklong tour of areas hit by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024
Students from wildfire-struck Hawaii learn about disaster recovery in Miyagi
The students visited four municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture to study their efforts to rebuild following the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The outdoor version of an "instant house," developed and set up by architect Keisuke Kitagawa in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2024
'Instant Houses' used widely in Noto quake-hit areas
The structure, which can be erected in an hour, is 4 meters tall with a floor area of 20 square meters.
Satoshi Fujii (second from right), head of a subcommittee of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a news conference on Thursday about the potential costs of an inland quake hitting the Tokyo region.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Economic losses from massive Tokyo-area quake estimated to top ¥1 quadrillion
Engineers predict that indirect losses, including suspended production activities due to broken roads and bridges, will reach ¥954 trillion.
Knives displayed for sale at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Longmont, Colorado, on March 2
WORLD / Society
Mar 11, 2024
Disaster 'prepping' finds broad appeal as climate and politics threaten safety
Researchers say the number of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes has doubled in size since 2017.
Schoolchildren wearing padded hoods to protect themselves from falling debris take part in an earthquake simulation drill at an elementary school in Tokyo in August 2018.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 10, 2024
13 years after 3/11, Japan's readiness for complex disasters remains inadequate
The Noto Peninsula earthquake has highlighted gaps in Japan's preparedness for a complex disaster, experts warn.
Residents of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, participate in a nuclear disaster drill at an evacuation facility in Kurihara on Jan. 20.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024
Nuclear plant restart raises evacuation concerns in Miyagi
Residents near the Onagawa nuclear plant on Miyagi's Oshika Peninsula are concerned about whether they could evacuate swiftly if disaster strikes.
Any mix of the above foods that fit your dietary needs and preferences will make for filling and nutritious meals during an emergency.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 9, 2024
Don’t let the next quake catch you (or your stomach) off guard
There’s a hidden threat in the days of limited power and bare grocery store shelves that follow a natural disaster: nutritional deficiencies.
Located in Ehime Prefecture at the base of the Cape Sada Peninsula, the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant lies about 45 kilometers from the town of Saganoseki within the city of Oita.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Court rejects class action suit opposing nuclear plant in Ehime
Local residents in Oita, less than 50 kilometers from the facility, had called into question the safety of the plant during natural disasters.
An anti-seismic reinforced building at the Keiju Medical Center in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, suffered broken pipes and water leakage following a New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 4, 2024
Hospitals in Japan slow to adopt seismic isolation in their buildings
Facilities severely hit by the New Year's Day quake have not been able to resume surgeries and other medical services.
Residents of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, take part in an evacuation drill in March 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2024
More than decade after 2011 quake, Japan still slow to compile evacuation plans
The nation has failed to make progress in crafting plans to help evacuate elderly people and people with disabilities in the event of natural disasters.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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