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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042184/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This document is a white paper assessment of the extent of damage caused by the unprecedented Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and corresponding accident at the Tokyo Electric Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It discusses the response by the Japanese national government and local governments to the devastation. On March 11, 2011 a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred off the shores of Japan, the largest recorded in its history, producing a major tsunami that left about 15,270 dead, 8,499 missing, and 16-25 trillion yen in damages in its wake. Immediately after the quake, the Prime Minister convened the Emergency Response Team, establishing the Extreme Disaster Management Headquarters. The document highlights the extent of the rescue operation, and the policies initiated to manage the disaster, such as the Disaster Relief Act, the Act on Support for Livelihood Recovery of Disaster Victims, and the Special Financial Support Act for the Great East Japan Earthquake to assist local governments in rapid relief and recovery operations. A month after the disaster a Reconstruction and Design Council was created, the ‘Seven Principles of the Reconstruction Design’ drafted, thus establishing the policy framework for building back better. The last section documents the loss of power at the Fukushima Daiichi plant as a result of the earthquake and tsunami, the resulting inability to cool its reactors, and the Japanese government’s close work with TEPCO to contain the disaster. It discusses the declaration of a Nuclear Emergency Situation, the establishment of the Nuclear Disaster Management Headquarters, designation of evacuation zones, screening and decontamination efforts, and attempts by the government and TEPCO to set a framework for action going forward. The white paper acknowledges that while the immediate concern is supporting populations afflicted by the earthquake and tsunami, it is necessary that the factors causing vulnerability to these hazards be addressed through fundamental changes to the legal, institutional, and other mechanisms. It argues that these changes be done within the context of disaster management and disaster risk reduction (DRR) principles. The Japanese government’s Committee for Technical Investigation on Countermeasures for Earthquakes and Tsunami plans on utilizing lessons learned from the 2011 earthquake to improve the country’s position vis-à-vis these natural disasters, and is promoting the review and revision of disaster management and DRR policies throughout its various ministries and agencies. ( English )
- Subject:
- Disaster Risk Management ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- (2011). White paper on disaster management 2011, executive summary. Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.
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