(GOD IS GREAT)
INTRODUCTION:
In this paper the country about which the discussion is
going to be happened is Japan. Ancient name of Japan was “Nippon”. The country is situated in eastern Asia,
demarcating the easternmost limit of Asia continent. Japan is one of the
smallest countries of the world. This is a first world country and tremendously
developed in technologies and modernization. Japan has world’s fastest economy.
This tiny island country is 1/10th of the size of India, but
hundreds times developed than our country. But in spite of this tremendous
development in technologies and other fields Japan is not free from devastating
natural hazards, severe calamities caused by both nature and human. These natural
hazards harm Japan very much in several surges of attack with the passage of
time. There are several forms of these disasters in different times. Nowadays,
human driven disasters are happening more rather than natural hazards. No doubt
Japan is very much developed but somehow it is felt that nature sometimes
teaches some lessons to the inhabitants of this that, whatever the development
comes humans are always the jokers to her; she can both construct and destruct
their deeds on the dint of her own hegemony. Here the main discussion is going
to be on the natural hazards of Japan and human interventions. So in short, Japan is a country of natural
hazards rather than a country of technologies. Japan is
located in an area where three or four plates forming the earth’s crust overlap
and earthquakes tend to occur frequently. Thus, the country is a part of the
circum-Pacific seismic zone.
After the
great Kanto earthquake in 1923, which is described later, an earthquake
research institute was set up at the University of Tokyo. Roadside trees were
planted to prevent fires from spreading. Earthquake-resistant construction and
the latest damage-prevention techniques were employed in high-rise buildings.
The
Niigata earthquake in 1964 was characterized by a liquefaction phenomenon. In
one well-known case, a four-story apartment building at Kawagishi in Niigata
literally toppled over on to its side (United Nations, 1989).
Following
an earthquake off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture on June 12, 1978, the building
standards for concrete block walls were strengthened. By installing submarine
seismometers and strain gauges, research on precursory phenomena of big
earthquakes is being conducted. Perhaps most importantly, in the Toukai
district where a severe earthquake with a magnitude of grade 8 is predicted
sometime in the future, a 24-hour monitoring network utilizing
densely-installed submarine seismometers has been set up, and a system for
declaring a state of emergency has been established. It is also possible that
an earthquake with a hypocenter just below the southern Kanto district might
occur before that expected in the Toukai. The magnitude of this earthquake is 7.
Because detecting precursory phenomena of a tremor of this size is difficult,
the prediction system is behind that in the Toukai area.
LITERATURE
REVIEW:
1.
Earthquake
2011 Tohoku; NOAA; 2011; pp- 1 to 28.
2. Sasaki
Hiroshi, Yamakawa Shuji; Natural Hazards in Japan; Chapter 8; Department of Geosystem Sciences; College of
Humanities and Sciences; Nihon University; and National Institute of
Agro-Environmental Science; 2010;Japan.
3.
Nanayama Futoshi,
Shigeno Kiyoyuki; Inflow & outflow facies from the 1993 tsunami in
southwest Hokkaido;
Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Site 7, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki,
305-8567, Japan; received 26 October 2004; received in revised form 7 December
2005; accepted 13 December 2005.
4.
Roberts. D. Richards, Waiser. J. Marley,
Hadas Ora, Macintyre Sally; Relaxation of Phosphorus Limitation Due to Typhoon-Induced
Mixing in Two Morphologically Distinct Basins of Lake Biwa, Japan; Limnology
& Oceanography; Volume 43; pp- 1023 to 1036; 1998; Japan.
5.
Kim Hong Joo, Ho Hoi Chang, Sui Hsiung Chung;
Circulation features associated with the record-breaking typhoon landfall on
Japan in 2004; Geophysical Research Letters; Volume 32, L14713,
doi:10.1029/2005GL022494; Japan; 2005.
6.
Sasakawa Kinto; Japan Natural Disaster; NOAA;
Japan; 2006.
7. Onda
Yuchi; Seepage Erosion & Its
implication to the formation of amphitheatre valley heads: A CASE STUDY AT
OBARA, JAPAN; Laboratory of Forest
Hydrology and Erosion Control Engineering, School of Agricultural Sciences,
Nagoya University; volume 19; pp- 627 to 640; Japan; 1994.
8. Trenhaile . S. Alen; The width of shore
platform in Britain, Canada & Japan; Journal of Coastal research; Volume
15; pp- 355 to 364; 1999.
9. Petts. G. E; Water management in Japan- Case
of Biwa Lake; The Geographical Journal; Volume 154; pp- 367 to 376; 1988.
10.
Hatori
Tokutaro; Dimensions and Geographic Distribution of Sources of Tsunami near
Japan; Bulletin of earthquake research centre; Volume 47; pp- 185 to 214; 1969.
11.
Sawada.
Yuki, Ono. Yugo; Thermal
regime of sporadic permafrost in a block slope on
Mt. Nishi-Nupukaushinupuri, Hokkaido Island, Northern Japan;
Laboratory of Geoecology; Division of Geoscience; Graduate School of
Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University,N10, W5, Sapporo, Hokkaido
060-0810; 2006.
12.
Mitsuta Yasushi, Fujii Takeshi;
Analysis and Synthesis of Typhoon Wind Pattern over Japan; Kyoto
University Research Information Repository; Bulletin of the
Disaster Prevention Research Institute (1987), 37(4); pp-169 to 185; 1987.
13.
Yonemoto Marcia; maps of metaphors;
geographical review; volume 89; pp- 169 to 187; 1999.
14.
Borovoy Amy; Recovering from co
dependence in Japan; American ethnologist; volume.
Japan has delicate attributes.
These are described after the map given in next page:
(PTO)
(A delicate map of Japan, with scale)
ATTRIBUTES OF
JAPAN:
|
Title of attribute
|
Characteristic
|
|
Name
|
Japan
|
|
National
flag name
|
Nishokki or
Hinomaru
|
|
Currency
|
Yen
|
|
Capital
city
|
Tokyo
|
|
Largest
city
|
Tokyo
(45 million)
|
|
No.
Of islands
|
4 major,
3900 minor
|
|
Largest
island
|
Honshu
|
|
Highest
point
|
Mt. Fuji
(3776 m)
|
|
Membership
|
ASEAN,
LAIA, G20, APEC, CE, G8, G10, OAS, OECD, SAARC, WTO
|
|
No.
Of prefectures
|
47
|
|
GDP
|
6.40
trillion US$
|
|
Area
|
3,77,737 sq
km.
|
|
Population
(2011)
|
16,40,000,00
|
|
Pop.
Density
|
423
persons/sq km.
|
|
Terrain
|
Mountainous,
rugged.
|
|
Vegetal
coverage
|
81%
|
|
Literacy
rate
|
99%
|
|
Government
|
Const.
Monarchy; parliamentary govt.
|
|
Religion
|
Buddhism,
Shintoism, Christianity.
|
|
Language
|
Japanese
|
|
Ethnicity
|
99%
Japanese
|
|
Natural
resources
|
Few
minerals, fishes
|
|
Economic
activities
|
Automobiles,
Agriculture, Fishing, Nuclear energy, Electronics, Shipbuilding, Software,
Forestry, Metallurgical industries, Machineries etc.
|
|
Climate
|
Humid
tropic, temperate, sub arctic.
|
|
Some
renowned brands
|
Mitsubishi,
Mazda, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Suzuki, Isuzu, Canon, Mitashi, Add, Kawasaki, Funskool,
Subaru, Kinsmart, Datsun, Asus, Nikon, Kyoto etc.
|
|
Avg.
Life expectancy
|
79 for male
& 84 for female
|
|
Avg.
Cal. Consmp.
|
Over
6340 cal/ person
|
|
Main
competitor
|
United
States Of America
|
|
Exports
|
Automobiles,
Pens, Electronics, Car parts, gadgets,
Laptops, Software, Canned fishes, Mobile phones, Ships, Machineries, Trains,
Toys etc.
|
|
Special
culture
|
Martial
art, Judo, Kung Fu, Tykondo, Karate etc.
|
(source: encyclopedia of world, pp- 160,
paragon publisher, London, UK)
These
were some unique features of the country of Japan. Here our main concern is to
discuss about the natural hazards of Japan and human interventions.
PREFECTURES:
|
NO
|
NAMES
|
ISLAND
|
CAPITALS
|
|
1
|
Hokkaido
|
Hokkaido
|
Sapporo
|
|
2
|
Aomori
|
Honshu
|
Aomori
|
|
3
|
Akita
|
Honshu
|
Akita
|
|
4
|
Iwati
|
Honshu
|
Morioka
|
|
5
|
Yamagata
|
Honshu
|
Yamagata
|
|
6
|
Miyagi
|
Honshu
|
Sendai
|
|
7
|
Fukushima
|
Honshu
|
Fukushima
|
|
8
|
Ibaraki
|
Honshu
|
Mito
|
|
9
|
Tochigi
|
Honshu
|
Utsunomiya
|
|
10
|
Gunma
|
Honshu
|
Maebashi
|
|
11
|
Saitama
|
Honshu
|
Urawa
|
|
12
|
Chiba
|
Honshu
|
Chiba
|
|
13
|
Tokyo
|
Honshu
|
Tokyo
|
|
14
|
Kanagawa
|
Honshu
|
Yokohama
|
|
15
|
Shizuoka
|
Honshu
|
Shizuoka
|
|
16
|
Yamashi
|
Honshu
|
Kofu
|
|
17
|
Nagano
|
Honshu
|
Nagano
|
|
18
|
Niigata
|
Honshu
|
Niigata
|
|
19
|
Toyama
|
Honshu
|
Toyama
|
|
20
|
Ishikawa
|
Honshu
|
Kanazawa
|
|
21
|
Fukui
|
Honshu
|
Fukui
|
|
22
|
Gifu
|
Honshu
|
Gifu
|
|
23
|
Aichi
|
Honshu
|
Nagoya
|
|
24
|
Mie
|
Honshu
|
Tsu
|
|
25
|
Shiga
|
Honshu
|
Otsu
|
|
26
|
Kyoto
|
Honshu
|
Kyoto
|
|
27
|
Nara
|
Honshu
|
Nara
|
|
28
|
Osaka
|
Honshu
|
Osaka
|
|
29
|
Wakayama
|
Honshu
|
Wakayama
|
|
30
|
Hyogo
|
Honshu
|
Kobe
|
|
31
|
Tottori
|
Honshu
|
Tottori
|
|
32
|
Okayama
|
Honshu
|
Okayama
|
|
33
|
Hiroshima
|
Honshu
|
Hiroshima
|
|
34
|
Shimane
|
Honshu
|
Matsue
|
|
35
|
Yamaguchi
|
Honshu
|
Yamaguchi
|
|
36
|
Kagawa
|
Shikoku
|
Takamatsu
|
|
37
|
Tokushima
|
Shikoku
|
Tokushima
|
|
38
|
Kochi
|
Shikoku
|
Kochi
|
|
39
|
Ehime
|
Shikoku
|
Matsuyama
|
|
40
|
Fukuoka
|
Kyushu
|
Fukuoka
|
|
41
|
Saga
|
Kyushu
|
Saga
|
|
42
|
Nagasaki
|
Kyushu
|
Nagasaki
|
|
43
|
Kumamoto
|
Kyushu
|
Kumamoto
|
|
44
|
Oita
|
Kyushu
|
Oita
|
|
45
|
Miyazaki
|
Kyushu
|
Miyazaki
|
|
46
|
Kagoshima
|
Kyushu
|
Kagoshima
|
|
47
|
Okinawa
|
Okinawa
|
Naha
|
WHY JAPAN IS
SO MUCH HAZARDPRONE?
The
answer of the above question is quite difficult. Because not only one or two
facts are responsible for these hazards, there are several causes of these
hazards. Japan is a tiny island country. The location of Japan reveals the
mysteries that why Japan is so much unstable. The positioning of Japan is really
dangerous. It lies over two tectonic plates’ margin. These two massive plates
are Pacific plate & Eurasian plate. Thus as a result, tectonic instability
is frequent there and thus tremors loom the country again and again through
Typhoon, Tsunamis etc. These ocean giants spring up due to underwater
volcanism, underwater earthquake, tectonic movements, plate collisions etc.
TOHOKU
EARTHQUAKE 2011 & TSUNAMI:
Recently
in 2011 a terrible underwater earthquake cum devastating Tsunami gave a tremor
to the country. The Richter scale reading was 7.7 initially to the earthquake,
but rapidly it leaped to 8.8, the 8.9 and finally it reached to 9.0 Richter.
Japan witnessed first such destructive and expensive destruction in her life.
This was due to the underwater instability. The earthquake is known as “Tohoku
earthquake 2011”. There are some details of this giant provided below:
|
Event
|
Description
|
|
Date
|
11/03/2011
(Friday)
|
|
Time
|
14:46:23
JST
|
|
Duration
|
6
minutes
|
|
Magnitude
|
9.0
|
|
Depth
|
32
km
|
|
Epicentre
|
38.322°N;
142.369°E
|
|
Type
of quake
|
Mega
thrust earthquake
|
|
Country(s)
influenced
|
Japan,
Pacific rim
|
|
Total
damage
|
Tsunami wave, flooding, landslides, fires, building and
infrastructure damage, nuclear incidents including radiation releases
|
|
Max.
Intensity
|
9.0
|
|
Peak
acceleration
|
3.0
g
|
|
Tsunamis
|
Yes, 133
ft; Tohoku, Iwate, Miyako
|
|
Landslides
|
Yes
|
|
Foreshock(s)
|
7
|
|
Aftershock(s)
|
1,235
|
|
Casualties
|
15,844
deaths; 5,890 injured; 3,451 missing.
|
(Source: Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Site 7,
Chuou-ku, Sapporo, 064-0807, Japan)
Most of all types of sources of the hazards most
important is earthquake (both terrestrial & maritime), followed by human
created hazards. Japan forms the boundary of “Pacific ring of fire”, which is
big reason to concern. 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused massive destruction,
nuclear explosion and thus pushed the country towards irreparable damage ever
seen. Primarily the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima I
Nuclear Power Plant complex were happened and the associated zones were
evacuated hundreds of thousands of residents. Many electrical generators were
taken down, and at least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen
gas. Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power
Plant and a 10 km (6.2 mi) radius of the Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant were
evacuated.
(Tohoku
earthquake 2011: a nightmare)
The 9.0-magnitude (MW) undersea
mega thrust earthquake occurred on 11 March 2011 at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) in
the north-western Pacific Ocean at a relatively shallow depth of 32 km (19.9
mi), with its epicentre approximately 72 km (45 mi) east of the Peninsula of
Tohoku. It lasted approximately six minutes. The earthquake was initially
reported as 7.7 MW by the USGS before it was quickly upgraded to 8.8 MW, then
to 8.9 MW, and then finally to 9.0 MW. Sendai was the nearest major city to the
earthquake, 130 km (81 mi) from the epicentre; the earthquake occurred 373 km
(232 mi) from Tokyo.
The main earthquake was preceded
by a number of large foreshocks, with hundreds of aftershocks reported. The
first major foreshock was a 7.2 MW event on 9 March, approximately 40 km (25
mi) from the epicentre of the 11 March earthquake, with another three on the
same day in excess of 6.0 MW. Following
the main earthquake on 11 March, a 7.0 MW aftershock was reported at 15:06 JST.
Over eight hundred aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 MW or greater have occurred
since the initial quake. Aftershocks
follow Omori's Law, which states that the rate of aftershocks declines with the
reciprocal of the time.
(Nuclear disaster, 2011,
Fukushima, Japan)
One
minute before the earthquake was felt in Tokyo, the Earthquake Early Warning
system, which includes more than 1,000 seismometers in Japan, sent out warnings
of impending strong shaking. It is believed that the early warning by the Japan
Meteorological Agency (JMA) saved many lives. The warning for the general
public was delivered about 8 seconds after the first P wave was detected, or
about 31 seconds after the earthquake occurred. This was thought to be because
of smaller estimated earthquake. There were also cases where large differences
between estimated intensities by the Earthquake Early Warning system and the
actual intensities occurred in the aftershocks and triggered earthquakes.
(Fukushima
nuclear disaster, Japan, 2011 earthquake)
The terrible earthquake gave birth to a devastating
Tsunami which left Japan nothing to do, nothing to think, nothing to eat,
nothing to wear, nothing to drink, nothing to communicate, nothing to
transport, even nothing to repent.
The tsunami warning issued by the
Japan Meteorological Agency was the most serious on its warning scale; it rated
as a "major tsunami", being at least 3 m (9.8 ft) high. The actual
height predicted varied, the greatest being for Miyagi at 6 m (20 ft) high. The
tsunami inundated a total area of approximately 561 sq km (217 sq mi) in Japan.
The earthquake took place at 14:46 JST around 67 km (42 mi) from the nearest
point on Japan's coastline, and initial estimates indicated the tsunami would
have taken 10 to 30 minutes to reach the areas first affected, and then areas
farther north and south based on the geography of the coastline. Just over an
hour after the earthquake at 15:55 JST, a tsunami was observed flooding Sendai
Airport, which is located near the coast of Miyagi Prefecture, with waves
sweeping away cars and planes and flooding various buildings as they travelled
inland. The image of the tsunami sweeping cars on the street in Sendai was
caught by an in-car camera. A 4m high tsunami hit Iwate Prefecture. Wakabayashi
Ward in Sendai was also particularly hard hit. At least 101 designated tsunami
evacuation sites were hit by the wave. Among several factors causing the high
death toll from the tsunami, one was the unexpectedly large size of the water
surge. The tsunami walls at several of the affected cities were based on much smaller
tsunami heights. On 13 March 2011, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
published details of tsunami observations recorded around the coastline of
Japan following the earthquake. These observations included tsunami maximum
readings of over 3 m (9.8 ft) at the following locations and times on 11 March
2011, following the earthquake at 14:46 JST.
(Energy map of Tsunami, NOAA,
2011 Tohoku)
Land subsidence and soil
liquefaction were resultant in several parts of the country.
Geospatial Information Authority
of Japan reported land subsidence on the height of triangulation station
measured by GPS from previous value on 14 April 2011. Scientists say that the
subsidence is permanent. As a result, the communities in question are now more
susceptible to flooding during high tides.
(The water monster, 2011 Tsunami
is rushing to gobble everything, Sendai, Japan)
It is reported that as many as
100,000 children were uprooted from their homes, some of whom were separated
from their families because the earthquake occurred during the school day.
Two-hundred and thirty-six children were orphaned by the disaster. The quake
and tsunami killed 378 elementary, middle-school, and high school students and
left 158 others missing. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has confirmed the deaths
of nineteen foreigners. Japanese funerals are normally elaborate Buddhist
ceremonies which entail cremation. The thousands of bodies, however, exceeded
the capacity of available crematoriums and morgues.
Many
of them damaged, and there were shortage of kerosene & each cremation
requires 50 litres—and dry ice for preservation. Governments and the military
were forced to bury many bodies in hastily dug mass graves, although relatives
of the deceased were promised that they would be cremated later. The tsunami is
reported to have caused several deaths outside of Japan. Men were killed in Japura,
Papua, Indonesia after being swept out to sea. A man who is said to have been
attempting to photograph the oncoming tsunami at the mouth of the Klamath
River, south of Crescent City, California, was swept out to sea. His body was
found on 2nd April along
Ocean Beach in Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, some 330 miles (530 km) to the
north. As of 27 May 2011, three Japan Ground Self Defence Force members had
died while conducting relief operations in Tohoku. As of 16 December 2011, the
Japanese government had recognized 922 deaths as indirectly related to the
earthquake, such as caused by harsh living conditions after the disaster.
(Tsunami, 2011, Tohoku, Japan)
In this image numbers
of cars are being floating on the water as well as small air crafts. These are
all due to the massive destruction of the earthquake and resultant tsunami. The
scene is of Sendai, 2011; on 11/03/2011, Japan.
(massive giant tsunami)
The degree and extent of damage
caused by the earthquake and resulting tsunami were enormous, with most of the
damage being caused by the tsunami. Video footage of the towns that were worst
affected shows little more than piles of rubble, with almost no parts of any
structures left standing. Estimates of the cost of the damage range well into
the tens of billions of US dollars; before-and-after satellite photographs of
devastated regions show immense damage to many regions.
(Mass destruction by the Tsunami)
(21,593
mi) coastline and stand up to 12 m (39 ft) high, the tsunami simply washed over
the top of some seawalls, collapsing some in the process.
A fire which broke out in Tokyo
after the earthquake
Japan's National Police Agency
said on 3 April 2011; 45,700 buildings were destroyed and 144,300 were damaged
by the quake and tsunami. The damaged buildings included 29,500 structures in
Miyagi Prefecture, 12,500 in Iwate Prefecture and 2,400 in Fukushima
Prefecture. Three hundred hospitals with 20 beds or more in Tohoku were damaged
by the disaster, with 11 being completely destroyed. The earthquake and tsunami
created an estimated 24–25 million tons of rubble and debris in Japan.
An estimated 230,000 automobiles
and trucks were damaged or destroyed in the disaster. As of the end of May
2011, residents of Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures had requested
deregistration of 15,000 vehicles, meaning that the owners of those vehicles
were writing them off as irreparable or unsalvageable.
All of Japan's ports were briefly
closed after the earthquake, though the ones in Tokyo and southwards soon
re-opened. Fifteen ports were located in the disaster zone. The north-eastern
ports of Hachinohe, Sendai were destroyed, while the Port of Chiba (which
serves the hydrocarbon industry) and Japan's ninth-largest container port at
Kashima were also affected though less severely. A total of 319 fishing ports,
about 10% of Japan's fishing ports, were damaged in the disaster.
The
Port of Tokyo suffered slight damage; the effects of the quake included visible
smoke rising from a building in the port with parts of the port areas being
flooded, including soil liquefaction in Tokyo Disneyland's car park.
Eight people were missing and four bodies were
discovered by the morning due to dam failure.
Reportedly, some locals had attempted to repair leaks in the dam before
it completely failed. On 12 March, 252 dams were inspected and it was
discovered that six embankment dams had shallow cracks on their crests. The
reservoir at one concrete gravity dam suffered a small non-serious slope
failure. All damaged dams are functioning with no problems. Four dams within
the quake area were unreachable. When the roads clear, experts will be
dispatched to conduct further investigations.
In the immediate aftermath of the
calamity, at least 1.5 million households were reported to have lost access to
water supplies. By 21 March 2011, this number fell to 1.04 million.
According to Tohoku Electric
Power (TEP), around 4.4 million households in north eastern Japan were left
without electricity. Several nuclear and conventional power plants went offline
after the earthquake, reducing TEPCO's total capacity by 21 GW. Rolling black
outs began on 14 March due to power shortages caused by the earthquake. The
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which normally provides approximately 40
GW of electricity, announced that it can currently provide only about 30 GW.
This
is because 40% of the electricity used in the greater Tokyo area is now
supplied by reactors in the Niigata and Fukushima prefectures. The reactors at
the Fukushima plants were automatically taken offline when the first earthquake
occurred and have sustained major damage related to the earthquake and
subsequent tsunami. Rolling blackouts of three hours are expected to last until
the end of April and will affect Tokyo, Kanagawa, Eastern Shizuoka, Yamanashi,
Chiba, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tochigi, and Gunma prefectures. Voluntary reduced
electricity use by consumers in the Kanto area helped reduce the predicted
frequency and duration of the blackouts. By 21 March 2011, the number of
households in the north without electricity fell to 242,171. Tohoku Electric
Power cannot currently provide the Kanto region with additional power, because
TEP's power plants were also damaged in the earthquake. Kansai Electric Power
Company cannot share electricity, because its system operates at 60 hertz,
whereas TEPCO and TEP operate their systems at 50 hertz; this is due to early
industrial and infrastructure development in the 1880s that left Japan without
a unified national power grid. Two substations, one in Shizuoka Prefecture and
one in Nagano Prefecture, can convert between frequencies and transfer
electricity from Kansai to Kanto and Tohoku, but their capacity to do so is
limited to 1 GW. In effort to help alleviate the shortage, three steel
manufacturers in the Kanto region are contributing electricity produced by
their in-house conventional power stations to TEPCO for distribution to the
general public.
(Tohoku earthquake, spreading through passage of time, Japan,
2011)
Sumitomo
Metal Industries can produce up to 500 MW, JFE Steel 400 MW, and Nippon Steel
500 MW of electric power auto and auto parts makers in Kanto and Tohoku agreed
in May 2011 to operate their factories on Saturdays and Sundays and close on
Thursdays and Fridays to assist in alleviating the electricity shortage during
the summer of 2011.
TYPHOON
(2004):
The year of 2004 was a year of great experience and
imprints of natural disasters in Japan. In this year Japan experienced several
surges of typhoons, tsunamis which gave the entire country terrible shakes and
tremors. Habitation of Japan was disturbed unbelievably. Ten typhoons struck Japan in 2004, which was
an all time high. The characteristics of typhoon activity are the unusually
high number of typhoons approaching Japan in the early summer (June) and fall
(September and October) and the frequent landfalls in the middle summer (July
and August). Seasonal mean large-scale circulation in 2004 was characterized by
a split of the North Pacific subtropical high, east of Taiwan and persistent
anti cyclonic anomalies to the southeast of Japan, enabling typhoons to
penetrate and move to Japan.
In the western North Pacific (WNP), about 3/4th
of the annual number of tropical cyclones occur during the typhoon season (June
to October). During this season, the WNP warm pool is expanded to the north and
the axis of the monsoon trough also migrates further north than in other
periods, giving rise to favourable conditions for typhoon development over the
vast area of the tropical WNP basin. The North Pacific subtropical high (NPSH),
bounded to the north of the monsoon trough also experiences seasonal migration
showing its annual northernmost position in August.
(Typhoon 2004; Japan)
(Typhoon 2004; Japan)
There
are some tables based on the typhoon landfall data & landfall formation are
given in next page, (PTO)
TABLE
1: NUMBER OF LANDFALLS
|
No. Of landfalls
|
No. Of Years
|
Total
|
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
|
1
|
7
|
7
|
|
2
|
13
|
26
|
|
3
|
14
|
42
|
|
4
|
10
|
40
|
|
5
|
5
|
25
|
|
6
|
1
|
6
|
|
Sum
|
|
146
|
|
Mean
|
|
2.8
|
|
SD
|
|
1.4
|
(Source: GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH LETTERS, Vol. 32, L14713, doi: 10.1029/2005GL022494, 2005)
TABLE 2: Monthly number of typhoon landfalls on Japan:
Landfall/Approach/Formation
2004
1951-2003
|
Early summer, Jun /Middle
summer
|
2/3/5
|
0.2 ± 0.4/0.9 ± 0.9/1.7 ± 0.9
|
|
Jul,
Aug, Mid-summer, total
Fall
|
1/2/2, 3/6/8, 4/8/10
|
0.5 ± 0.5/2.2 ± 1.4/3.9 ± 1.8,
1.0 ± 0.7/3.5 ± 1.8/5.6 ± 1.9, 1.5 ± 1.1/5.6 ±2.3/9.6 ± 2.8
|
|
Sep,
Oct, Fall total,
total
|
2/3/3, 2/3/3, 4/6/6; 10/17/21
|
0.9 ± 0.8/2.7 ± 1.4/5.0 ± 1.6, 0.2
± 0.3/1.5 ± 0.8/3.9 ± 1.4, 1.1 ± 1.1/4.2 ± 1.6/8.8 ± 2.0; 2
.8 ± 1.4/10.7 ± 3.1/20.22± 4.3
|
(Source: GEOPHYSICAL
RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 32, L14713, doi: 10.1029/2005GL022494, 2005)
CHARACTERISTICS OF 2004 TYPHOON:
21 typhoons formed during the typhoon season in 2004. Ten
typhoons among them made landfall on Japan. These landfalls typhoons, except
two, all underwent a recurving path in the region 20-30° N, 125-135° E and
approached Japan with a north eastward movement. Interestingly, none of them
landed on Korea. Also, all typhoons except Ma-on (0422) landed on the western
territory of Japan. The genesis locations (starting points) of the 10 typhoons
are scattered, consisting of nine in the North Pacific Ocean, and one in the
South China Sea. According to the ENSO monitoring by the Climate Prediction
Centre/NCEP, positive sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) persisted in the
Nino4 region during the typhoon season of 2004, which is representative of the
early stage of a warm (El Nino) episode. As a result, equatorial westerlies
extended further east so that the relative velocity in the south eastern region
of WNP was stronger. This provided a higher potential for typhoon formation in
the WNP.
Table 2 shows the monthly distribution of typhoon landfalls
and approaches to Japan, relative to total formation during the typhoon season.
According to the variation of the large-scale mean flows, typhoon seasons are
divided into three periods, i.e. early summer (June), middle summer (July and
August), and fall (September and October). In the early summer, five typhoons
formed in the WNP, three of them approached Japan, and two made landfall on
Japan. During the middle summer, while total formation was near normal, the
number approaching Japan was more frequent than the climatology, resulting in
an unusually high number of landfalls. During the fall, again Japan experienced
an unusually high number of typhoon landfalls (4) even though the typhoon
formation was relatively suppressed in the WNP.
In fact, most typhoons formed during the fall of 2004 headed
for Japan.
(satellite
image of Japan)
TSUNAMI:
A large-scale submarine earthquake is usually responsible
for disruption of the sea surface, which swells and results in high waves that
strike coastal areas. This phenomenon is referred to as a tsunami (surge wave).
In particular, rhea coastlines (numerous estuaries along an embayed coast),
which run deep into the land, are in great danger of being hit by tsunami waves
because the waves become concentrated and higher as they are channelled into
the shallower and narrower waters of the rhea. Japan has numerous rhea
coastlines vulnerable to tsunami events. A typical example of an area affected
by tsunamis is the Sanriku coast in Iwate prefecture.
In 1896, despite only slight damage from an earthquake
with a magnitude of 7.1, 27,000 people were killed by the tsunami. The tsunami
in 1933 achieved a maximum height of 28.7 meters at Ryori, Iwate; caused by an
earthquake with a magnitude of 8.3. The tsunami claimed a total of 3,800 lives.
After this an emergency warning system was established,
and measures were taken to construct embankments and floodgates against future
tsunamis to assure the security of the population.
The term tsunami is the Japanese word for the seismically
generated ocean surges that affects coastal areas. Japan is affected by nearly
one-third of the tsunamis that range across the Pacific in a given year, far
more than most other countries.
Their regularity and intensity have resulted in major projects
as well as widespread educational programs to alert the residents of low-lying coastal
areas to the potential for tsunamis and to respond quickly when a tsunami warning
is issued. Increased training and educational opportunities are available within
tsunami risk regions from international organizations such as the International
Tsunami Information Centre.
(Hypocenters of earthquakes that triggered tsunamis
and the propagation
times across the Pacific. (a) An earthquake off the coast of Japan on
March 3, 1933.
(b) An earthquake off the coast of Chile on May 23, 1960. Source: After
Japan
Meteorological Agency (1933, 1960).)
KYOTO UNIVERSITY’S WORK OVER THE
PATTERN OF TYPHOONS:
The
present status of the studies on analysis and synthesis of surface wind pattern
of severe typhoons over the main islands of Japan made by the group of the
present authors by the aid of Grant-in-Aid of Research on Natural Disasters is
reviewed in the present paper. Forty nine severe typhoons in the period from 1951
to 1984 were analyzed and a statistical character of severe typhoons hitting
the Japanese archipelago was obtained. Numerical simulation of a typhoon with
the pressure pattern statistically consistent with the result was attempted to
estimate severe wind conditions of a point. In most parts of Japan the
strongest wind to be considered in disaster prevention works may be that caused
by a typhoon. Estimation of the highest expected typhoon wind speed at a given
location is one of the most important tasks in applied meteorology. For this
purpose, there may be a few approaches. One is the direct processing of the
past wind records at the point following the extreme theory. However, the
number of existing wind observation sites with along history of recorded data
is too small to estimate wind distribution over the complex topography of
Japan. The longest observation period is over 100 years or so. The second
method is estimation of wind severity by the multi correlation of various
parameters such as geographic position, inclination of the ground, height,
distance from the sea or mountain, and so on. The third approach is wind
estimation from pressure patterns. The relation between pressure pattern and
wind is well established since the beginning of modern meteorology with weather
maps long consisting of isobars in the middle latitudes, because an isobar is stable
and easy to trace. The parameters ascribing the pressure pattern of a typhoon
are stable and suited to delineate the character of the typhoon. Based on certain
empirical relation, the determination of the relation between FFW and surface
wind distribution will be attempted.
The third
approach is considered to be the most practical by the present authors. The analysis
of typhoon winds can be reduced into analysis of the typhoon pressure pattern
and the relation between the pressure pattern and the surface wind distribution.
TYPHOON AREA IN JAPAN:
Hokkaido,
Tohoku and some parts on the Japan Sea coast in which storms of extra-tropical cyclones
in cold seasons are more severe than typhoons. The Pacific and the East China
Sea coasts in middle and western Japan is the highest wind zone which may
correspond to the zone of typhoon landing. The other high wind zone is in
Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan where the highest wind speeds are as
high as 30 to 40 m/s, comparable to typhoon winds in south-western Japan.
ANALYSIS OF A TYPHOON PRESSURE
PATTERN:
For the
purpose of analysis of pressure patterns of severe typhoons that have landed on
the Japanese main islands, the hourly data of the typhoon observations at
weather stations of Japan Meteorological Agency ( JMA) within a range of 200 km
from the typhoon tracks were collected and stored as a data-base. The data of the total number of
49 severe typhoons, of which central pressures are lower than 980mb at the time
of landing, are collected in the period from 1951 to 1984.
The hourly
sea-level pressure data at stations were analyzed by the objective method developed
by the present authors. In the course of analysis, the surface pressure pattern
of a typhoon is assumed to be represented by concentric circular isobars with
an exponential profile proposed by Schloemer, after preliminary studies on
pressure profiles, as follows
P = Pc+
41)e—(11 x), where pc is the central pressure, zip the central pressure depth
(=p.—pc), p. The peripheral pressure, and x=r1r,„, r the distance from the
centre. Assuming this pressure profile, the best fit typhoon centre and
pressure pattern were chosen from the hourly data by the least
sq error
method independent of the previous time.
The
statistical analysis was made, dividing the Japanese main islands into three
parts. The central pressure depth, speed and direction of forward motion are
described by log-normal distribution. The direciton of motion is well fitted to
this distribution when the angle is measured counter-clockwise from the east.
The radius of the maximum cyclostrophic wind speed, the other important typhoon
parameter, is the function of the central pressure depth without respect to the
areal division.
NUMERIC SIMULATION OF TYPHOON OVER JAPAN:
Once
statistical characteristics have been obtained, one can estimate probable storm
wind speed and direction based on the numerical simulation of typhoon pressure
pattern statistically consistent with the experienced typhoon characteristics.
The occurrence and translation path of typhoons that hit the main islands of Japan
in 10,000 years are simulated together with central pressure and radius of
maximum cyclotropic wind speed by the use of Monte Carlo technique, following
the statistical characteristic of the typhoon. In employing the Monte-Carlo
method, the occurrence of the phenomenon was limited within 1 to 99% of the
occurrence probability, which means the existence of upper and lower limits of
the parameter.
PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATING FFW INTO SURFACE WINDS:
The largest problem in translating FFW into
surface wind (defined as 10 min mean wind speed and direction at 10 m high from
the surface) is the effects of topography or the surface roughness conditions,
because wind is largely dependent on them.
Table 3:
The
average values and the standard deviation ( S.D.) of the deflection angle of
the surface wind and those of the ratio of the speed of surface wind and the
friction free wind (FFW).
|
STATIONS NAME
|
W.D
|
No.
Of case
|
Deflection
of wind dir. (in°)
(mean) (SD)
|
Ratio
of wind speed (in°)
(mean) (SD)
|
||
|
FUKUOKA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
17
45
-
6
68
|
20
60
-
1
45
|
23
18
-
47
33
|
.75
.58
-
.45
.61
|
.23
.18
-
.15
.21
|
|
KUMAMOTO
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
30
40
4
19
93
|
35
65
80
32
49
|
18
16
28
30
26
|
.43
.31
.54
.39
.38
|
.13
.10
.36
.17
.16
|
|
MIYAZAKI
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
-
-
42
52
94
|
-
-
39
34
36
|
-
-
11
16
14
|
-
-
.56
.54
.55
|
-
-
.17
.16
.17
|
|
KAGOSHIMA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
5
2
7
62
76
|
20
30
30
17
19
|
7
3
32
15
18
|
.58
.97
.40
.48
.49
|
.09
.12
.09
.13
.15
|
|
HIROSHIMA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
9
23
18
4
54
|
12
75
67
36
61
|
20
22
23
33
32
|
.56
.54
.42
.48
.50
|
.31
.15
.15
.14
.19
|
|
KOCHI
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
11
4
29
18
62
|
57
44
49
31
45
|
21
3
19
15
20
|
.27
.54
.50
.39
.43
|
.11
.15
.17
.12
.17
|
|
OSAKA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
4
8
30
10
52
|
44
68
81
43
69
|
11
12
21
11
24
|
.44
.66
.34
.51
.43
|
.07
.14
.16
.09
.18
|
|
SHIONOMIAKI
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
-
-
19
24
43
|
-
-
16
12
13
|
-
-
13
16
15
|
-
-
.76
.70
.73
|
-
-
.18
.10
.15
|
|
NAGOYA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
4
2
21
7
34
|
19
96
33
34
35
|
23
29
14
50
32
|
.56
.39
.51
.52
.51
|
.12
.14
.10
.13
.13
|
|
SHIZUOKA
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
6
-
14
6
26
|
41
-
29
47
36
|
37
-
17
18
25
|
.31
-
.40
.40
.38
|
.16
-
.09
.10
.11
|
|
TOKYO
|
N
E
S
W
TOT
|
-
2
15
2
19
|
-
19
40
17
36
|
-
26
23
35
23
|
-
.52
.46
.31
.45
|
-
.05
.10
.19
.12
|
|
TOTAL
|
|
621
|
41 17
|
.50 .19
|
||
(Bull, Disas; Prev. Res. Inst., Kyoto
Univ., Vol. 37, Part 4, No. 329, December, 1987)
(volcano
unzen, Japan)
(Devastation of 2004 typhoon,
Japan)
In
the year of 2004, the typhoon of Japan was originated due to the temperate
cyclone. Gigantic temperate cyclone formed over the entire sky of Japan and
influenced the ocean water to flood the country.
(Temperate cyclone formed over Japan,2004)
1993 HOKKAIDO
TAISEI EARTHQUAKE & TSUNAMI:
At 10:17 p.m. on 12 July 1993, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake
occurred with epicentre approximately 200 km northwest of Okushiri Island
(42°46.8′N, 139°11.1′E). This Hokkaido–Nansei-oki earthquake caused a tsunami
that flooded not only Okushiri Island but also parts of the western side of
Oshima Peninsula in south western Hokkaido including Taisei town. Afterwards it
was found that 230 people had been killed or were unaccounted for. Since the
tsunami arrived at night, only a few residents could provide detailed
descriptions of the tsunami at Taisei. According to these residents, two or
three tsunami flood waves struck the Taisei area causing widespread
destruction. The first tsunami wave arrived at ca. 10:28 p.m., and the second
wave arrived 3 min after the first, at ca. 10:31 p.m. It is not clear whether
there was a third wave. If so, this wave was much smaller than the first two.
(Photographs showing (a) the mouth of the Usubetsu River, (b) the
Miyano coast, and the seabed (c) at 0.5 m (d) and at 1 m depth off the river
mouth. These photographs were taken 5 years after the 1993 tsunami. Ellipses
indicate wave ripples)
According to a post-tsunami survey, the tsunami height
near Taisei was 5.3–8.8 m. The alluvial plain at Taisei is 3 to 7 m above mean
sea level, and the inundation area of the 1993 tsunami extended 300 m from the
shoreline across highway R-229 and 400–450 m from the shoreline along the
Usubetsu and Ogawa rivers, because there were no breakwater systems at the
river mouths.
The tsunami ran up onto the land from the west to
west–southwest at Taisei, as estimated from the collapse directions of
herbaceous plants and utility poles, and from the displacement of tetrapods,
observed on aerial photographs taken after the tsunami . The backwash waves
converged along the Ogawa and Usubetsu rivers. In the Usubetsu-bashi area, the
first wave had a maximum height of 7.0 m, and the second wave was even higher,
at 8.6 m. Observations based on aerial photographs indicated that the tsunami
invasion extended 450 to 460 m inland from the shoreline at the
Usubetsu River, as estimated by plant debris on the flood
plain. The backwash waves were channelled by the low watercourse and were also
controlled by the microtopography previously reported the results of a trench
survey of the 1993 tsunami deposit on the Hirahama coast.
(tsunami 2004)
STATISTICS
OF DISASTERS:
The following Table 4 depicts the overview of
the natural disasters from 1980-2010. The table will tell that, from only 30
years back Japan has become victimized with several surges of dangerous natural
calamities. These natural calamities have left their imprints on the country as
well as on the inhabitants of Japan.
Table 4:
|
Facts
|
Details
|
|
Number of events
|
157
|
|
Number of people killed
|
8,568
|
|
Average killed/ year
|
276
|
|
Number of people affected
|
3,361,979
|
|
Average affected/ year
|
108,451
|
|
Economic damage
|
208,230,800 US$*1000
|
|
Average economic damage
|
6,717,123
US$*1000
|
(Source:
statistical yearbook, Japan, 2011, pp-1033)
The following table depicts the statistics of
average disaster per year:
Table 5:
|
Types of hazards
|
Rate of occurrence
|
|
Draught
|
-----
|
|
Earthquake
|
1.00
|
|
Extreme
temperature
|
0.03
|
|
Epidemics
|
0.10
|
|
Flood
|
0.71
|
|
Insect
infection
|
-----
|
|
Mass
movement dry
|
-----
|
|
Mass
movement wet
|
0.45
|
|
Volcano
|
0.26
|
|
Storm
|
2.48
|
|
Wildfire
|
0.03
|
(Source:
statistical yearbook, Japan, 2011, pp-1099)
Here
it is clear that the most affecting natural calamity for human death is storm
followed by earthquake in Japan.
The following table will show the number of
disaster affected people in different years with different types of natural
hazards.
Table
6:
|
Type of disaster
|
Year
|
No. Of people affected
|
|
Earthquake
|
1995
|
541,636
|
|
Flood
|
2000
|
360,110
|
|
Storm
|
2005
|
270,140
|
|
Storm
|
2004
|
180,050
|
|
Storm
|
2000
|
180,041
|
|
Flood
|
1986
|
162,000
|
|
Storm
|
1982
|
140,000
|
|
Storm
|
2002
|
100,018
|
|
Storm
|
1991
|
91,128
|
|
Storm
|
1990
|
87,778
|
(Source: statistical yearbook, 2011, Japan)
In the country like Japan these death tolls
in several surges are not meagre from 80s to till date.
In the following table shown is the number of
killed persons due to natural hazards in different years. See Table 7 (PTO)
Table
7:
|
Types of calamity
|
Year
|
No. Of death
|
|
Earthquake
|
1995
|
5,297
|
|
Flood
|
1982
|
345
|
|
Earthquake
|
1993
|
239
|
|
Storm
|
1983
|
131
|
|
Mass movement(w)
|
1983
|
117
|
|
Earthquake
|
1983
|
102
|
|
Storm
|
1982
|
100
|
|
Storm
|
2005
|
100
|
|
Storm
|
2004
|
89
|
|
Storm
|
2004
|
88
|
(Source: statistical yearbook, 2011, Japan)
There
is another table here presenting the magnitude of economic disasters due to the
natural hazards in different years in terms of dollars with *1000 magnitude.
Table 8:
|
Disaster
|
Date
|
Cost ($*1000)
|
|
Earthquake
|
1995
|
100,000,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
2004
|
28,000,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
2007
|
12,500,000
|
|
Storm
|
1991
|
10,000,000
|
|
Storm
|
2004
|
9,000,000
|
|
Flood
|
2000
|
7,440,000
|
|
Storm
|
1999
|
5,000,000
|
|
Storm
|
1990
|
4,000,000
|
|
Storm
|
1998
|
3,000,000
|
|
Storm
|
2006
|
2,500,000
|
(Source:
statistical yearbook, 2011, Japan)
These irreparable economic damages have
harmed Japan much and more. But Japan, world’s most hi tech country coped up
soon and came back within short.
VOLCANISM:
Japan is covered in mountainous arcs.
Volcanoes are common in Japan. The volcanoes throughout the Kuril Islands,
north eastern Honshu and down to the Bonin Islands form one big island arc
which forms the north eastern Japan. The arcs of south eastern Honshu and the
Ryukyu Islands form the oldest part of south western Japan.
Japan has about one-tenth of the world’s
active volcanoes and hundreds of inactive volcanoes. Mount Fuji is the highest
mountain and most famous mountain in Japan. This mountain is still active as
are Asama, Aso, Banai, Miharaand and Sakurajima. There are actually more than
40 active volcanoes out of a told of 180.
(volcanic explosion in Japan)
Once a year, usually in January, Japanese have
volcano evacuation drills.
They will actually practice using helicopters
to fly people out of the villages.
Scientists measure every change in the
volcanoes' activity and record and study this information. They hope to be able
to give enough advance notice so people can escape. The Sakurajima Volcano is
one volcano that I will be talking about. This volcano has erupted 42 times in
January, 1996, thirty-one times in February and 69 times in March. 69 time is
the fifth largest record out of all the months in 1996. All together the
volcano erupted 200 times throughout that whole year! In the year 1995, it
approximately erupted 3-4 million tons of material according to the Sakurajima
Volcanological Observatory of Kyoto University. In January 1996 an eruption
column rose three kilometers. It covered Kagoshima city causing heavy traffic.
They are expecting a big eruption in the near future. Sakurajima Volcano
Eruption of Sakurajima Volcano with lightning May 18, 1991 The Komaga-take was
another bad volcano.
(Mount Fuji)
On the
night of March 5, 1996, Usu Volcano Observatory recorded that there was a
volcanic eruption. Volcanoes abound in Japan. There are
250 major volcanoes, 94 of which (about 10% of all those in the world) are
active. Volcanism causes extensive damage to its surroundings, sometimes
depriving humans of their land, homes, and livelihood. A deep accumulation of
volcanic matters seriously affects social life, agriculture, and forestry.
Pyroclastic
flows and phreatomagmatic explosions are most destructive and cause damages
over a wide area.
Volcanic
eruptions also exert an indirect influence on human life. Volcanic ash floating
in the stratosphere prevents solar radiation from reaching the earth’s surface
(the parasol effect), thus causing a drop in the air temperature of the
troposphere and inclement weather. In the vicinity of the active Sakurajima
volcano, its volcanic ash sometimes leads to breathing problems for people in
Kagoshima, southern Kyushu. Volcanoes, however, do not necessarily harm
humanity in the long run. Volcanoes also create beautifully scenic regions and
many hot springs around which popular resorts are built. Geothermal energy in
volcanic areas is increasingly being utilized as a clean source of energy.
In the
short term, however, volcanoes can disrupt people’s lives. Two recent examples
of volcanic eruptions that required evacuation are those in 1987 and 2000.
(Gasping Mt. Fuji)
There were also some small quakes that
happened. The morning of March 6, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported a
five hundred foot high white plume rising above the centre of the volcano.
(Shinmoedec
volcano, Japan)
RISK PROFILE OF JAPAN:
The risk is the combination of
the probability of an event and its negative consequences.
This risk profile is an analysis of the mortality and economic loss risk for three weather-related hazards: tropical cyclones, floods and landslides. In addition new insights have been gained into other hazards such as earthquakes, tsunami and drought.
Human Exposure:
This risk profile is an analysis of the mortality and economic loss risk for three weather-related hazards: tropical cyclones, floods and landslides. In addition new insights have been gained into other hazards such as earthquakes, tsunami and drought.
Human Exposure:
Modelled number of people
present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential losses.
Table 9:
|
Hazard type
|
Population
exposed |
Percentage of population
|
Country ranking
|
|
22,548,120
|
|
1st out of 89
|
|
|
3,888,340
|
17th out of 184
|
||
|
115,355
|
23rd out of 162
|
||
|
37,030
|
8th out of 162
|
||
|
|
|||
|
13,404,870
|
|
1st out of 153
|
|
|
4,497,645
|
2nd out of 76
|
||
(Source: statistical yearbook, Japan, 2011)
Legend:
Tropical Cyclones (Saffir-Simpson categories)
Earthquake (modified Mercalli scale classes)
Tropical Cyclones (Saffir-Simpson categories)
Earthquake (modified Mercalli scale classes)
Economic Exposure
Modelled amount of GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential
losses.
|
Hazard type
|
GDP exposed (billions-US$)
|
Percentage of GDP
|
Country ranking
|
|
889.64
|
1st out of 89
|
||
|
4.56
|
6th out of 162
|
||
|
13.32
|
2nd out of 162
|
||
|
|
|||
|
3,407.71
|
1st out of 153
|
||
|
142.2
|
|||
(Source: Survey Authority of Japan; statistical yearbook, 2011, Japan)
Table 10: (main natural disaster of Japan)
|
Name
|
Year
|
Affected pop.
|
|
Flood
|
1965
|
3,000,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
1978
|
2,500,000
|
|
Epidemic
|
1978
|
2,000,000
|
|
Flood
|
1953
|
1,866,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
1995
|
1,836,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1959
|
1,500,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1945
|
1,340,000
|
|
Flood
|
1961
|
1,300,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1953
|
1,000,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1950
|
6,42,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
1923
|
1,43,000
|
|
Earthquake
|
1995
|
5,500
|
|
Earthquake
|
1948
|
5,100
|
|
Windstorm
|
1959
|
5,100
|
|
Windstorm
|
1917
|
4,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1945
|
3,700
|
|
Earthquake
|
1933
|
3,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1934
|
3,000
|
|
Surge
|
1933
|
3,000
|
|
Windstorm
|
1923
|
3,000
|
(Source: EM-DAT,
2004)
SEEPAGE EROSION:
This is also a type of natural hazard in
Japan, though its impact is not so devious like the aforesaid hazards. But it
has slow but steady negative impact which can’t be neglected. There are serious
problems of seepage erosion in Japan parallel to other natural hazards.
The study area is situated in Obara, near
Nagoya, Japan, where hills 300-500m are underlain by Cretaceous medium-grained
diorite (Nakai, 1974). This area is characterized by a low drainage density.
Valley heads are semi-circular with convex slope profiles and flat valley
bottoms. The size of valley bottoms varies from place to place, but slope
profiles are highly equivalent, especially for lower slope angles (45-55°).
The valley floor has an area of 406 sq mt and is always
wet. Subsurface outflows occur at the boundary between a steep slope and a flat
valley bottom and form pipe flows. The mean diameter of the pipe outlets is
approximately 3 cm. Mean annual rainfall was 1591 mm during the period of 8
years from 1979 to 1987, and the yearly average precipitation during the rainy
season (June to July) of this period was 443 mm.
FOSSA MAGNA:
Fossa Magna is a deep central trench stretching through
the central Japan from Japan sea in the west to Pacific ocean in the east. This
Fossa Magna is an important region of instability in Japan. But the trench is
not detectable because with the passage of time the trench has been filled up.
Fossa magna disturbs the general trends of mountains and rivers of central
Japan.
The
northern Fossa Magna (NMF) is a Miocene rift basin formed in the final stages
of the opening of the Sea
of Japan.
The northern part of Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line (ISTL) bounds the western
part of the NMF and forms an active fault system that displays one of the
largest slip rates in the Japanese islands. Reflection and
refraction/wide-angle reflection profiling and earthquake observations by a
dense array were undertaken across the northern part of ISTL in order to
delineate structures in the crust, and deep geometry of the active fault
systems. The balanced geologic cross-section based on the reflection profiles
suggests that
the
shortening deformation since the late Neogene was produced by the basin
inversion of the Miocene low-angle normal fault.
To
construct a realistic model to explain crustal deformation processes in the
short term (<100 years) to
long term is important for a better understanding of the occurrence of crustal
devastative earthquakes and seismic hazards.
The
northern part of the ISTL is defined as the western boundary fault of the
Neogene sedimentary basin, named
Fossa
Magna. Judging from the basin fill, the formation
of the northern part of the ISTL and northern Fossa Magna is closely related to
the formation of the Sea of Japan and northern Honshu rift system. In the
southern Fossa Magna region, the fore-arc sediments of Honshu arc and the sediments
deposited on the Izu-Bonin arc are strongly deformed by the collision of the
two arcs. The northern Fossa Magna was formed as a rift basin located in the
southern end of the northern Honshu rift system. In the northern part of the
basin, more than 6 km of marine sediments have accumulated The Neogene basin
fill is strongly folded with NE trending axial trace.
(Fossa Magna)
The
Central Uplift Zone trends parallel to the northern Fossa Magna basin and
consists of gently dipping lower Miocene submarine mudstone and volcanic rocks.
MAN MADE DISASTERS IN JAPAN: (H.I)
Disasters caused by human beings are very much
common in Japan rather than the natural hazards. Every year, it is artificial
disaster which harms the country rather than natural disasters. Most of these
are cases of fire, high voltage short circuits, nuclear radiation, undesired
nuclear surges, explosions in atomic centres, nuclear testing.... so on so
forth. These accidents are caused due to irresponsible attitude of human beings
and their reckless testing and experiments with devious radioactive materials. These
take heavy toll of lives and keep on it, because these artificial disasters
have long run consequences unlike the natural disasters. Nuclear disasters are
noteworthy and most detrimental among all. Some unforgettable nuclear accidents
are as follows:
Nuclear accidents
in Japan include the following major
cases:
The fast breeder Monju Nuclear Power Plant sodium leak
in December 1995 (the reactor is still shut-down), the Tokai reprocessing waste
explosion in March 1997, the criticality accident at the Tokai fuel fabrication facility in September 1999 and a widespread falsification
scandal starting in August 2002 that lead to shut down all of Tokyo Electric
Power Company's 17 nuclear reactors. The following diagram will show the
different alerts of incidents and accidents with help of different colour
tones.
First 3 bars (from bottom) are
not categorized as accidents. But if it is yellow alert then it is accident
with local consequences, if orange alert then it is accident with wider
consequence, if red then alert it means serious accident and if violet alert
then it denotes major accidents with the risk of level 7; which means more risk
than a terrorist attack over the nation.
On 9 August 2004, five workers were killed
after a steam leak at the Mihama Nuclear
Power Plant-3 station. The subsequent investigation revealed a serious
lack in systematic inspection in Japanese nuclear plants, which led to a
massive inspection program.
On 16 July 2007, a severe
earthquake (measuring 6.8 on the Richter
scale) hit the region where Tokyo
Electric's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear
Power Plant is located. The plant with seven units is the largest single
nuclear power station in the world. All of the reactors were shut down and are
expected to remain closed for damage verification and repairs for at least one
year.
(nuclear testing)
The dangerous explosion in the
nuclear centres in Japan caused massive killer radiation. But the most
interesting thing is that, this effect of radiation affected the North America,
its entire western part, but didn’t touch the Asia, Europe, Africa &
Australia. This is a very interesting phenomenon. This was happened due to the
movement of Jet Streams over Pacific Ocean from Asia towards North America at
higher altitude at very high speed (120km/h).
The motion of Jet Stream is
more favourable towards US from Japan rather than US to Japan direction. In a
picture given later will show the effect of radiation from Japan towards North
America.
Following an earthquake, tsunami, and failure of cooling systems at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Station in Japan on March 11, 2011, a nuclear emergency
was declared. This was the first time a nuclear emergency had been declared in
Japan, and 140,000 residents within 20km of the plant were moved out.
Explosions and a fire resulted in dangerous levels of radiation, resulting in a stock
market collapse and panic-buying in supermarkets.
(Fukushima
nuclear accident, 2011)
(Nuclear explosion in Miyagi,
2006, Japan)
( Sendai nuclear
disaster, 2011, Japan)
(Fukushima nuclear reactor)
(Nuclear meltdown, Fukushima,
Japan)
In November 1974,
33 crew members died in a huge explosion and fire on a tanker carrying liquid
petroleum gas and naphtha when the tanker collided with a cargo ship in Tokyo
Bay. The tanker was towed outside the bay and struck with torpedoes fired from
a submarine and destroyer and still continued to burn for more 20 days.
(Effects of radiation from
Japan, 2011)
(Nuclear explosion)
In October 2007, a 9 year old boy
went into a coma after leaning over the handrail of an escalator and getting his
neck caught between a handrail and safety barriers in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa
Prefecture. In September 2007, three people were killed and four were injured
when an 800 tonne shipbuilding crane collapsed at a shipyard in Kobe. A 50
metre arm on the crane fell off while it was being repaired. Nine workers were
working on the crane at the time of the accident. The three men that died fell
from distances of between 12 and 36 meters. In December 2007, four people were
killed at an explosion at the Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. plant in Kamisu,
Ibaraki. The explosion occurred at cracking furnace—used to refine naphtha and
propylene— at ethylene plant. Each summer scores of people die in water-related
accidents. Many drown in rivers or off beaches. Others die in boating
accidents. It is not unusual for a dozen people to die nationwide on a single
day during a hot summer weekend.
A fire in November 1973 at
Taiyo Department Store in Kumamoto killed 104 and injured 124. In November
1980, a fire at the Kawaji Prince Hotel in Kawaji spa resort in Tochigi
Prefecture killed 45 people and injured 22. A fire in February 1982 at the
Hotel New Japan in Tokyo killed 33 and injured 25. A fire in February 1986 at
the Atagawa spa resort in Shizuoka prefecture killed 24. In April 2003, nine
people died in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Kagoshima. Some 50 houses
within a 500-meter radius of the factory were damaged by shock waves. A kind of
firework known as Niagra Fall was being made at the time of the disaster. The
kind of gunpowder used is very explosive. Witnesses said there was an initial explosion
followed by secondary explosions caused when gunpowder in storage areas
ignited. In September 2003, a fire in naphtha storage tank triggered by an
earthquake burned for 44 hours before it was extinguished in tomakoma,
Hokkaido. The fire was spectacular, producing fireballs, flames and black
smoke. Nearly all the fuel in the huge tank was burned up before the fire went
out. Fire fighters didn’t have the proper equipment to put it out.
(Nuclear plant explosion,
2011, Japan)
In January 2006, three
teenagers died in a fire at a karaoke box in Takarazuka near Osaka. The fire
was caused by a cooking oil fire in the karaoke’s kitchen caused by an
unattended oil-filled wok left burning on a stove. The dead teenagers were
trapped on the second floor where the windows had been boarded up and could not
be used to escape. The karaoke was not registered with the government and did
not have adequate fire-prevention measures. The owner of the karaoke box in
Takarazuka was found guiltily of professional negligence resulting in death and
failing to maintain fire safety standards and was sentenced to prison. The
woman who started the fire in the kitchen was also arrested for professional
negligence. A probe done after the fire found that 70 percent of Japan’s
karaoke boxes violated fire laws. Among the violations were failure to use non flammable
curtains and carpets and failing to install fire escape ladders or slides. In
December 2009, four workers were killed when a cylindrical tank containing
toxic gas exploded at a chemical plant in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka. The four
victims, who were working near the top of the tank, were blown through the
roof. The blast occurred after one worker cut a hole in the tank to remove
sludge that had collected inside it Access to plant was restricted for hours
because of concerns over the chemicals. In November 2009, four people were
killed and 12 were injured in a fire at an Izakaya restaurant in Sugunami ward
in Tokyo. A survivor said the fire broke out as a cook was preparing skewered
food in front of him and the set fire to a piece of decorative cloth hanging
from the ceiling. A few days earlier, a fire at a mah-jongg parlor in Himatsu,
Shizuoka Prefecture killed four people. In March 2010, seven elderly people with
dementia died in a nursing home fire in Sapporo, the nursing was not outfit
with sprinklers or adequate alarms and most of those that died were unable to
get out. The fire started from a stove in the first floor of the facility. The
home had been reprimanded for not having an adequate fire escape plan. The home
had not broken any laws for not having sprinklers or alarms. Because of the
high cost for these items it had been given a grace period until 2012 to obtain
these items.
In September 2001, forty-four
people died in a fire that broke out in a building in the Shinjuku
entertainment district in Tokyo after an explosion near a gas meter at a
mah-jongg parlor on the third floor. Most of the dead were in the crowded
mah-jongg parlor and the hostess bar above it. The explosion occurred at around
1:00am and quickly engulfed the building in flames. There were few escapes
routes and people leapt from the windows. Most of the dead died from carbon
monoxide poisoning. Many of the businesses in the building had not met fire
safety regulations for fire escapes, did not have required fire safety
equipment, and had not submitted fire prevention reports.
In October 2008, a fire in a
video theatre—made up of 32 small two-square meter rooms, for private viewing
of DVDs and videos, on one floor in a seven-story multi-tenant building—in the
Namba entertainment district of Osaka killed 16 people and injured 10.The video
theatre, called Shishashitsu Cats theater, was open 24 hours and rented out
rooms for ¥1,500 from 11:00pm to 10:00am. It was often used by people who
missed the last train home or didn’t have much money and crashed out there in a
pinch or as an alternative to sleeping on the street. The cubicles had enough
floor space for a person to lie down. The fire destroyed 40 square meters of
the 220 sq mt facility and damaged the walls of the building before it was put
90 minutes after it started. There were 26 customers all of them men and three
employees in building when the fire broke out. The employees managed to escape
but 15 customers believed to have been sleeping when the fire broke out didn’t
make it out, with most of them dying from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by
smoke inhalation. The fire was set around 3:00am by a 46 year old unemployed
man, Kazuhiro Ogawa, who ignited some papers in the cubicle he was in. According
to friends of Ogawa he lost his job and was divorced in 2001 and lost a lot of
money gambling and owed million of yen to loan sharks. The rooms in the video
were located off a narrow hallway. There was only one way out: via a door by
the reception area, the windows were walled over and several of the exits were
blocked. There was no sprinkler system or adequate smoke ventilation system.
Even so an inspection a little over year earlier found nothing a miss. The
manager switched off the fire alarm shortly after the fire broke out, thinking
it was a false alarm. The evacuation lights were off making it difficult to
find a way out. In July, 2001, eleven people were crushed to death and 129
people were injured on crowded overpass in Kobe after a fireworks display that
drew 130,000 people. The 6-meter-wide, 100-meter overpasses crossed a busy
highway and was on the primary route between the fireworks display site and the
nearest subway station. The disaster occurred as the crowds began heading back
to the subway station after the fireworks show finished as people were still
arriving by train and directed to the overpass. The overpass became packed with
people as people from both directions kept arriving. The pressure of all the
pushing people was so great it caused the metal guardrail to bend and collapse.
Most of the dead were children.
The deaths were blamed on
inadequate crowd control measures and poor communications. Local government
officials were blamed for the disaster by not making better plans and doing
more to prevent things from getting out of hand when the overpass became
crowded, a police official and four others were found guilty or professional
negligence.
(Fire and smoke in Miyagi,
Japan, 2006)
JAPAN RECOVERD IN JUST 3 MONTHS AFTER 2011 TREMOR:
The unforgiving tide of water
obliterated tens of thousands of buildings, devouring almost anything in its
path. Thousands of people died and hundreds of bodies have never been
recovered.
The heart-breaking images of
families desperately searching for loved ones amid the rubble of their homes
sent shockwaves around the world.
Three months on, these images
showed the Japanese people remain undaunted by the havoc nature has wrecked on
their homeland as step by step they rebuild their nation.
(The pleasure boat
''Hamayuri'' washed up on the rooftop of an inn by tsunami)
But despite their progress,
stark reminders of the work left to do, means the resilience of this Asian
country is still being tested. Headway in the clean-up has been made in the
town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture where the pleasure boat ''Hamayuri'', which
was remarkably washed up on the rooftop of an inn, has been removed, along with
a building shattered by the the wall of water. Civilisation appears to have
returned in Natori in Miyagi prefecture too. The first image shows a towering
wall of ocean crashing through trees devastating homes and businesses lining
the coast, tearing down power lines and drowning anything in its path.
Astonishingly just one house
survived the wave and a lone digger is pictured having cleared away the once
thriving community reduced to rubble. Hundreds of cars parked in the foreground
remain abandoned and appear to be the only reminder of the devastation.
Similarly, the striking image of a ship atop
tonnes of rubble in the Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture on March 20 was projected
around the world and became a symbol of the disaster.
The photograph shows grey
smoke filled skies above a path of destruction, but three months on, much of
the debris has been cleared, power lines restored and hope is on the horizon.
A car park in a shopping centre, filled with
houses and debris in Otsuchi town in Iwate prefecture is also back on its feet
and signs of life are returning. Parking spaces are clearly visible where piles
of wood, bricks, and vehicles lay strewn just a few weeks ago.
( A view of earthquake and
tsunami-hit Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture on March 15, top, and the same area
pictured on June 3)
The final image shows local
people walking through debris on a street in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture to
get water 48 hours after the disaster. The same image on June 3 shows the
massive tank which lay in the road has gone and a damaged house on the left
side of the street has been cleared and restored. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake
caused the worst crisis in Japan since the Second World War and left almost
28,000 people dead or missing. The clean-up bill is expected to top £184
billion and radiation fears from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant are still
growing after four of the reactors were damaged leading to radiation leaks.
This week, an earless bunny was born near the reactor in north east Japan
raising concerns the radiation could have long-term side effects.
Following the blast and
initial leaks Japanese officials told people living near the plant to stay
indoors and turn of air conditioning and also to not drink tap water.
High levels of radiation are
known to cause cancer and other health problems but scientists are not yet
clear if the defect in the rabbit is linked to the blast.
( Local residents walking
through debris on a street in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, to get water 48
hours after the disaster, top, and the same area on June 3 where a large tank
and a damaged house on the left side of the street have been cleared away)
Japan's economy slipped into
recession following the devastation and new data shows it shrank 0.9 percent in
the first quarter of this financial year but experts say a recovery later this
year as industry kicks into action. Industrial output rose 1% in April from a
record decline in March. Manufacturers are making progress in restoring supply
chains and economists are predicting Gross Domestic Project to begin expanding
again between July and September.
( Top, buildings are
surrounded by debris in Onagawa, Miyagi prefecture, north eastern Japan, on
March 16, 2011, days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the area;
and the same area, bottom, with the debris almost cleared)
(A burnt pickup truck lies
among debris swept away by the tsunami, top, and marguerites are in bloom along
a cleared street corner in the same area June 3, in Kesennuma, Miyagi
Prefecture, North eastern Japan)
Japan is a country of natural hazards, is known to all. But the point is
human makes these hazards more devastating and devious by their silly, idiotic
and overwhelming works and attitudes. Thus the natural hazards become the
poisonous result of human intervention. Human beings sometimes become very
highly ambitious and highly expecting from their experiments; and to maintain
this enthusiasm they do those things about which he should think for hundred
times before committing these. For example, nuclear testing done by Government
on the ocean or over in particular island (viz. French Polynesian island Tahiti
for US).
(Nuclear missiles)
Due to continuous nuclear testing
the pacific region near Japan has become unstable; besides this the zone
already comes under unstable tectonic zone of Pacific ring of fire. Thus the
creation of undesired tsunamis has become frequent in the Pacific coast of
Japan.
(Poor
fellow, victim of nuclear radiation, Japan)
(Nuclear testing)
(Consequence of the above
good work)
There is another thing of intervention created by human beings in Japan
which accelerates hazards. Recently, in Miyagi, Tokyo, Sendai, Tohoku &
Kyoto massive excavation of surface land has been done; means, transportation
lands carrying roadways, railways, all other connectivity are excavated. The
objective was to construct gigantic typhoon & tsunami arresters. These
arresters are massive in size and look like massive vacuum drums. Each of these
arresters can afford a safe landing of a spacecraft within themselves! These
massive drums have been constructed to control the force of Tsunamis &
Typhoons and to utilize the excess water in different purposes by purifying it.
Thus it was the plan to use these two giants in Human Development. But to
achieve the target people have made their own virtue cracked. Because, due to
the massive excavation the roadways and all transport routes and connectivity
networks often collapse due to vacancy below it. This is not a new phenomenon
in Japan. This system is also not so much fruitful, as these arresters did not
become able to check the 2004 & 2006 typhoons & tsunamis. These
arresters were flooded within a couple of seconds in 2004 typhoon. Actually
what happens, when typhoon or tsunami comes then due to their copious force and
power these arresters start shaking with an amazing geometrical order and
create huge obstacles in the course of the water force of typhoons, water of
typhoon is stored in those arresters. Thus the water velocity is reduced and
gradually typhoon comes under control. But 2004 typhoon broke the bound. These
arresters were filled within fraction of seconds as the water quantity was
immeasurable. Besides, due to extensive vacuum area typhoon got more strength
rather than being slowed down. Thus tremendous destruction was happened.
Several roads collapsed. Traffic became clod, connectivity was ruined, Tokyo
became isolated from other cosmopolitans.
Another problem associated with human intervention regarding to the
nuclear testing is nuclear diseases. Nuclear diseases are so dangerous and
brutal that nobody can ever think about it. These are all due to human
interventions. Images of diseases are piteous and horrific so images are not
given.
(Underwater nuclear reactor)
There is a specific type of cancer due to the radiation which attacked children if the age group
between 5 to 9 years. After they got attacked they looked horrible. Their skin
got piled up and flesh began starting of getting black, black means carbon
black; there were no chance for them to survive anymore after getting affected
by radiation. Another type of disease of children due to this radiation is the
abnormal growth of head in compared to the body. Means, body is looked smaller
than head.
The subsequent tsunami wreaked further havoc on Japan’s infrastructure,
breaking down transport lines and hampering rescue efforts. For example, Senen
General’s food supply has been destroyed, and the tsunami cut power and running
water to the facility, leaving patients and providers to eat frozen noodles and
vegetables from a freezer. So far, four patients have died and another 80 were
moved to a local shelter. Although drowning is a tsunami’s major cause of
death, Japanese victims also risk developing aspiration-related illnesses,
trauma and crush wounds and other diseases associated with contaminated water.
According to physicians reporting in NEJM
after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Takuapa General Hospital in
Phangnga, Thailand, treated 2,285 trauma patients. In addition, a 2005 report
in the journal Critical Care Medicine
noted that 17 critical tsunami victims contracted unusual antibiotic-resistant
bacteria strains. The earthquake also crippled three nuclear reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which released radioactive vapors that may
pose long-term health risks for local residents.
Japanese officials say radiation levels around the plant are eight times
above normal and 1,000 times higher than the plant’s control room. A U.S.
aircraft carrier 100 miles off the coast of Japan also has moved further
offshore after crew members were exposed to low levels of radiation on the
flight deck. Experts say wind likely will blow contamination over Pacific
without affecting other countries.
Nuclear experts add that while the situation currently is contained, a
full nuclear meltdown could pose significant health risks, according to the
director of Texas Tech University’s Center for Environmental Radiation Studies.
(Heart breaking effect of nuclear radiation: an innocent Japanese lass)
In the event of a full meltdown,
health risks caused by the release of radioactive Iodine, Cesium and
Strontium-90 could include acute radiation syndrome, specific types of cancer
and stillbirths. Thyroid problems are particularly likely because the gland is
unable to differentiate between radioactive and normal iodine.
Human beings are damaging their own habitation through these destructive
interventions to natural hazards through their silly & stupid experiments.
These are causing numerous new incurable diseases which bring only the option
of a horrible death with them, nothing but this to the victims.
CONCLUSION:
From the above detailed discussion about the natural and man made
hazards and their interventions by human beings, assessment of the available
data this can be concluded that as a tremendously developed country in
technologies Japan should use their latest technologies to get rid of the
natural hazards & use the nuclear power very judiciously and the most
important thing is that, government should not build nuclear reactors adjacent
to the tsunami & typhoon prone areas. Because, government and people will
become just silent audience, nothing but this if those giants come, there will
be nothing to do. That is why, it is the peak time to take necessary steps
& precautions for these sudden catastrophic events. Highly hazard prone
areas must be evacuated or very meagre inhabitation must be there and also
those will be unstable, because if condition compels people can abandon the
places without any hiccups. The main matter which needs acute restriction is
the frequent and unnecessary nuclear testing; this harms most rather than
others. And the other important thing is that, government should not use the
same place for nuclear testing for longer time. Excavation under important land
or routes must be checked. Typhoons arresters will have to be more developed
and sensitive. Meteorological department must install up to date instruments
rather than less up to date instruments. Earthquakes are non-predictable but
Tsunamis & Typhoons are predictable, so there should be latest system of
alert with which it becomes possible to alert people about their propagation
& location & how much time these will take to strike, so that they get
sufficient time to get evacuated.
Last but not least, human awareness is very much necessary. Judicious
and limited use of nuclear power is expected solely from Japan after the Tremor
2011.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1.
2011
Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
2.
Dimension & geographic
distribution of Tsunami.
3.
Natural
hazards in Japan
4.
Irradiation
test of diagnostic components for ITER application in Japan material testing
reactor.
5.
Japan did a
come back just within 3 months after tremor 2011.
6.
Japan
provided agricultural assistance to Luzon.
7. Man made Disaster in Fukushima, Japan, 2011.
8. Risk profile of Japan.
9. Kyoto University’s work on typhoon pattern.
10.
Low Vp and Vp/Vs zone beneath the northern Fossa
Magna basin, central Japan, derived from a dense array observation.
11.
Maps of metaphors in small eastern
sea, Togukawa, Japan.
12.
Nuclear Japan: Oxymoron or coming
soon?
13.
Radiation included electrical
degradation experiments in Japan.
14.
Seepage erosion & its implication
in the formation of amphitheatre shaped valley heads: A case study of Obara, Japan.
15.
Inflow
and outflow facies from the 1993 tsunami in southwest Hokkaido.
16.
Relaxation of Phosphorus
Limitation Due to Typhoon-Induced Mixing in Two Morphologically Distinct Basins
of Lake Biwa, Japan.
17.
Circulation features associated with the
record-breaking typhoon landfall on Japan in 2004.
18.
The
width of shore platform in Britain, Canada & Japan.
19.
Dimensions
and Geographic Distribution of Sources of Tsunami near Japan.
20.
Thermal
regime of sporadic permafrost in a block slope on Mt. Nishi-Nupukaushinupuri,
Hokkaido Island, Northern Japan.
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