NEARCHUS: Isolated residents in Japan..[ 2418 ]

Isolated residents in mountainous areas need protection from natural disasters

A scene where mudslides from a hill carried away houses in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, is pictured in this photo taken from a Mainichi helicopter on the afternoon of Sept. 4. (Mainichi)
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(Mainichi Japan) September 6, 2011
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Powerful Typhoon No. 12, which caused tremendous damage to extensive areas of Japan, particularly the Kii Peninsula, has highlighted the need for measures to protect residents of sparsely populated mountainous areas, especially elderly people, from natural disasters.
The typhoon left a large number of people dead. Rescue workers are still searching for many missing people, while some neighborhoods remain isolated from other areas, with roads to their regions cut off in many areas and communications paralyzed. The national government, which has set up a disaster task force, should work closely with local governments concerned to search for and rescue missing people and restore disaster-hit areas.
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The typhoon, which ran through the Shikoku and Chugoku districts in western Japan, blew out into the Sea of Japan in the predawn hours of Sept. 4. Since it was moving slowly, it brought heavy rain over a long period. In many areas, rainfall reached record levels.
The Kii Peninsula often has heavy rain, and is prone to typhoons. Still, local residents do not appear to have predicted such enormous damage this time in light of their past experiences. A natural disaster could hit any area of Japan, where there are many steep mountains and numerous rivers, at any time. The central and local governments should quickly implement disaster countermeasures that suit the situation of each region.

A bridge is seen collapsed in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, on the afternoon of Sept. 4. (Mainichi)
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When a natural disaster occurs, the mayors of the affected municipalities are authorized to issue evacuation recommendations or orders under the Disaster Measures Basic Law if they deem the situation is dangerous. If the mayors cannot issue such recommendations or orders, the governors that have jurisdiction over the affected municipalities can perform the duty on their behalf.
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Many people were hit by disasters triggered by the latest typhoon while staying in their homes. There are also many cases where residents were hit by disasters before evacuation recommendations or orders were issued. This shows that the authorities should also have better implemented measures to minimize damage caused by natural disasters even if it could not completely prevent them.
Local governments were late in issuing evacuation recommendations or orders apparently because the typhoon had initially caused no major damage and officials had failed to predict possible landslides and other disasters. Now that the typhoon has caused such tremendous damage, it is necessary for government officials as well as experts to scrutinize whether judgment by local authorities on issuing such orders was appropriate, learn lessons from the disaster and reflect on these issues as part of future measures to prevent disasters and to minimize damage caused by natural disasters.
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The typhoon caused such enormous damage because it hit many sparsely populated mountainous areas where rescue workers struggled to help elderly residents to evacuate, illustrating difficulties in conducting rescue operations in such areas.
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Firefighters search for the missing after mudslides hit houses in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, on the afternoon of Sept. 4. (Mainichi)
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Approximately 70 percent of the Japanese archipelago is mountainous areas where the populations are declining and aging. However, it is difficult to secure enough land to build large-scale levees in such areas. Therefore, circle-shaped levees should be built around neighborhoods, the land for houses should be raised and other alternative measures should be taken to protect houses in such areas from floods and other natural disasters. Local governments that have sparsely populated areas need to learn lessons from the latest typhoon and implement anti-disaster measures that suit their respective situations, such as the compilation of disaster-prevention maps.
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Telephone lines were paralyzed in Wakayama, Nara and Mie prefectures for a long time. The failure to communicate necessary information on the disaster as a result may have contributed to the damage. In response, local bodies should establish a communications network or improve existing ones, such as through the introduction of satellite-based mobile phones, to secure communication methods in case of emergencies. They should also consider how to secure disaster-resistance roads and bases for rescue and relief operations in case of emergencies.
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