Japan 2011

Question 1

Key statistics of Japan 2011 Tsunami

Answer 1

Magnitude: 9.0 ~ 9.1
Deaths: 20,000
Economic Cost: $235 Billion
Disproportional amount of elderly casualties

Question 2

What made Japan vulnerable?

Answer 2

• Japan has worlds highest proportion of elderly people (23% over 65). Elderly are slow or unwilling to be evacuated.
• Fukushima nuclear power plant was on the east coast.

Question 3

What was the response from the Japanese government?

Answer 3

• 100,000 members of the “Japanese Self-Defence Force” were rapidly mobilised.
• Further aid from US, India, China and more to get supplies to areas hindered by bad weather.

Question 4

What factors influenced the impacts of the Japan disaster?

Answer 4

• 66% of deaths over the age of 60 as mobility limited the effectiveness of evacuation.
• Radioactive contamination from damage to Fukushima power plant.
• Damage to infrastructure left elderly without health care.

Question 5

What was there in place to modify the vulnerability of the Japan disaster?

Answer 5

K-Net system successfully predicted and warned population.

Question 6

How had the 2011 Japan disaster successfully been modified.

Answer 6

• Earthquake resistant design (87% of Tokyo uses anti-seismic building standards)
• Sea defences (reduced likelihood of evacuation by 30%)
  Land use zoning would not work in such a densely populated city like Tokyo