THE MARCH 11, 2011 EARTHQUAKE-TSUNAMI DISASTER IN JAPAN

REMEMBERING: PART 1

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for

Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

M9.0 TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI

DEVASTATED JAPAN TSUNAMI WAVES REACHED PACIFIC

RIM COUNTRIES

4TH LARGEST QUAKE EVER 3 – 10 M TSUNAMI WAVES

2:46 pm MARCH 11, 2011

IT WAS A TSUNAMI AND RADIATION- RELEASE

DISASTER THAT KILLED APPROXIMATELY 20,000 AND

DEVASTATED JAPAN

TSUNAMI WAVES:NATON MYIAGI PREFECTURE

OARAI INUNDATED BY TSUNAMI

TSUNAMI WAVES REACHED COAST OF NORTHERN JAPAN IN 15 MIN.

FIRE: NEAR SENDAI AIRPORT

SENDAI AIRPORT

SENDAI AIRPORT: COVERED WITH MUD FROM TSUNAMI

SENDAI AIRPORT: COVERED WITH CARS, MUD, & DEBRIS

SEARCH AND RESCUE: RIKUZENTAKADA

SEARCH AND RESCUE: TOYOMA

THE RADIATION LEAKS MADE IT A VERY DIFFICULT

YEAR FOR JAPAM

AERIAL VIEW: THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACIULITY

FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACILITY HAD 3 FAILURES

THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACILITY

Radiation leaks and threats of partial melt down developed in four of the six reactors as a result of the quake/tsunami.

RADIATION CLOUD AT THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACIULITY

NO-FLY ZONE ABOUT FUKUSHIMA

DRY SPENT FUEL POOLS

• By days 6-7, Japanese efforts were focused on the pools used to store spent nuclear fuel, now dry or nearly so, because the consensus was that the dry rods could heat up and spew intense radiation.

WORKING TO AVERT DISASTER

• Emergency workers tried helicopter water drops, heavy-duty fire trucks, and water cannons to cool down Japan's dangerously overheated nuclear reactors and spent-fuel pools.

HELICOPTERS COLLECT SEA WATER TO DROP ON FUKUSHIMA REACTORS

A RACE AGAINST TIME

• 140,000 people within a 33 km radius of the plant were evacuated; meanwhile the increased risk from radiation stymied search and rescue operations, already beyond the “golden window,” and slowed humanitarian assistance.

GOAL:

PREVENT A MELT DOWN AT THE FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR FACILITY

WHOSE NORMAL COOLING SYSTEM WAS COMPROMIZED BY THE EARTHQUAKE AN TSUNAMI

MARCH 25: WORKERS REMOVED AFTER EXPERIENCING RADIATION

WORKERS BEING TREATED

• The workers were trans-ferred by ambulance on Friday to a specialized hospital.

ON THE INSIDE OF THE FACILITY

• Inside, work continued in the frantic effort to bring automated cooling systems back on line in order to prevent any worsening of the radiation leak.

OUTSIDE HELP

• Pure water and pumps supplied by the United States military was brought to Fukushima-1 to cool the reactors.

ON THE INSIDE OF THE FACILITY

• Pure water replaced the sea water that was used earlier on Day 12 to cool the rods; the sea water was causing corrosion because of the accumulation of salt.

WHAT DID WE LEARN

DISASTERS OCCUR WHEN A NATION’S PUBLIC POLICIES

ALLOW IT TO BECOME …

UN—PREPARED

UN—PROTECTED

UN—ABLE TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY

NON—RESILIENT AFTER A DISASTER

A NATION OR A NATION OR A COMMUNITYA COMMUNITYA NATION OR A NATION OR A COMMUNITYA COMMUNITY

DATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•NATURAL HAZARDS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

GOAL: DISASTER GOAL: DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE

•PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY IENCE

FOUR PILLARS OF FOUR PILLARS OF RESILIENCERESILIENCE