Tag - disasters

 
 

DISASTERS

Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 14, 2018
'Mega-fires' are the new normal in California
Paradise, California, had long prepared for wildfires. But only in its worst nightmares did it imagine the kind of "mega-fire" that last week destroyed most of the town — and is becoming a common occurrence in the state.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2018
Upper House enacts extra budget worth ¥936 billion for disaster recovery
Lawmakers in the House of Councilors on Wednesday enacted an extra budget worth ¥935.6 billion ($8.3 billion) for fiscal 2018 to fund recovery efforts in the wake of a string of natural disasters across the country earlier this year.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 6, 2018
Household spending in Japan falls first time in three months
Households reduced spending for the first time in three months in September due to the effects of natural disasters, leading the government to lower its overall assessment, official data showed Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2018
Cooperation and information sharing key in disaster response, speakers tell Hiroshima workshop
Given Japan's vulnerability to natural disasters, and with accelerating climate change widely predicted to increase severe weather patterns, increased cooperation and information sharing is more important than ever to meet the needs of victims.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2018
Study finds 80% of rescue hashtags were unrelated to emergencies during July deluge
A vast majority of uses of the hashtag #kyu016bjo — which means rescue in Japanese — posted on Twitter during the deadly flooding last summer were unrelated to calls for help.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2018
Tsunami are a clear and ever-present danger
Complacency is the greatest threat in the face of a natural hazard that knows no time or season.
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2018
NHK expands disaster-related push notifications to include Chinese language
Public broadcaster NHK said Thursday it will now provide push notifications in Chinese for disaster-related information via the NHK World news app amid a growing number of Chinese visitors to Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 31, 2018
Cities seek cash and tech as they plan a safer and greener future
As 1.4 million people move to cities each week, local abilities to keep residents safe can become strained, increasing the risk of disasters, warned the United Nations secretary-general.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 25, 2018
Typhoon Yutu leaves Northern Marianas without power or water
Rescue teams and heavy equipment were mobilized across the Northern Mariana Islands on Thursday after a typhoon hit U.S. Western Pacific territories overnight, causing blackouts and damage to critical infrastructure.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2018
Japanese government submits draft of ¥936 billion supplementary budget primarily earmarked for disaster recovery
On the opening day of the fall Diet session, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe submitted a draft supplementary budget for fiscal 2018 to fund recovery efforts after a string of natural disasters devastated large areas of the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW 2018
Oct 18, 2018
Japan's new reconstruction minister trumpets safety of Tohoku region and pushes plans for 2020 Tokyo Games
New Reconstruction Minister Hiromichi Watanabe wants the world to know that, seven years after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, Fukushima Prefecture and other disaster-struck areas of the Tohoku region are now safe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Oct 15, 2018
Murakami says writing is what he can do for disaster victims
Haruki Murakami says that writing good stories is the best he can do for victims of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 12, 2018
Rethinking the notion that hot weather means increased consumption in wake of Japan's scorching summer
Japan seems to suffer more than its fair share of natural disasters, and this past summer was especially bad. In addition to two earthquakes that resulted in considerable damage, there were strong storms that killed dozens and forced thousands to flee their homes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 11, 2018
Hurricane Michael, fiercest in 80 years, pounds Florida with 250-kph winds
Hurricane Michael, the third-most-powerful ever to strike the U.S. mainland, battered Florida's Gulf coast with roof-shredding winds, raging surf and torrential rains before it was downgraded to a tropical storm as it headed through Georgia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 11, 2018
Scientists blame warm water in the Gulf of Mexico for spawning Hurricane Michael's intensity
When Hurricane Michael barreled into the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday with 155-mph (249-kph) sustained winds, it defied forecasts made just two days beforehand, its wind speeds doubling since Monday and coming in just short of the highest category of intensity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2018
Hokkaido's quake-hit Tomato-Atsuma thermal power plant goes fully operational
The last remaining unit at the plant resumed operations Wednesday, about a month after a deadly earthquake caused a prefecture-wide blackout.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 9, 2018
Students hoping to see friends as they return to school in quake-hit Indonesian city
Children in the Indonesian city of Palu began returning to school on Monday to tidy up their classrooms and hopefully see their friends 10 days after a major earthquake and tsunami struck.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2018
Haruki Murakami says good writing is what he can do to help people in times of trouble
Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami said Saturday writing good stories is the best he can do for victims of terrorist attacks and natural disasters such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 4, 2018
Foreign aid picks up for desperate Indonesian quake survivors
International efforts to help survivors of Indonesia's devastating earthquake and tsunami gathered pace Thursday as concern grew for hundreds of thousands with little food and water, six days after disaster struck.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2018
Japan's government to increase financial aid to regions hit by recent disasters
The central government decided Friday to increase financial aid to quake-hit areas of Hokkaido and regions reeling from typhoons in order to help with reconstruction work.

Longform

Traditional folk rituals like Mizudome-no-mai (dance to stop the rain) provide a sense of agency to a population that feels largely powerless in the face of the climate crisis.
As climate extremes intensify, Japan embraces ancient weather rituals