Contents■ Water Problems in Asian Monsoon-Effected Countries and Applicability ofJapan's Water Management Scheme
1. Introduction
Comprehensive and practical water management isrequired to solve problems due to water cycle change
as well as due to social factors, such as increasing
population and urban development. In order tocontribute to future water policies in Asian monsooneffected countries (see Fig. 1) where natural disasters
frequently occur, we investigated water problems andlaws in those countries, taking into account thecircumstances for each country.
Investigation of water problems and laws in eachcountry.

Fig. 1 Distribution of population suffering from natural disasters (1975-1999)(Source: OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database)

2. Investigation of water problems and laws in each country
Water problems and laws in each country were investigatedRiver Department

through field surveys and literature reviews (Table 1).
Many countries are seeking water managementthat can accommodate rapid social change, with only
a few countries having effective, integrated water
management in place. Only a few countries perform
observation and monitoring on an ongoing basis,making it difficult to investigate problems based onevidence or facts and develop appropriate laws.
3. Study of solutions to water problems
In order to identify the direction for solving water
problems in Asian monsoon-effected countries, it isnecessary to develop economically sustainable
management schemes suitable for the naturalconditions and historical background of each country,
plus establish governance and collect reliable data toensure the effectiveness of any implemented laws.
Japan's experience in policies for flood control, water
utilization and river environments can be applied tothese issues. The National Institute for Land andInfrastructure Management hosted special sessions atthe Asia-Pacific Association of Hydrology and WaterResources (APHW) conferences in 2003 and 2004 andexchanged information with many Asian monsooneffected countries.

Table 1 Water problems and laws in each country
Country Water Problems and Laws
China

Increasing water demand due to the growing economy and population, plus measures to prevent interruption to flow of the Yellow River, the Water Law was amended in 2002 to enhance
integrated water resources management. The problem of interrupted flow, that became apparent from the 1980s, was solved by building of a dam upstream.

Korea

Water management is carried out mainly under the River Law, Small River Development Law and Specific Multi-Purpose Dam Law. For Seikei River cleanup activities, the Seikei viaduct wasremoved to return the river to its original state.

Philippines

Matters related to water resource utilization and development are specified under the Water Code (promulgated in 1976).

Indonesia

In 2004, the Water Resources Law was put into effect. It defines interest coordination in developing policies and strategies for water resources management. For privatized water works in Jakarta,
there are issues, such as quality and quantity of raw water, equipment maintenance and frequent water rate increases.

Malaysia

Water management is performed mainly through the Water Law and the Basic Land Law. River operations and river management are under the jurisdiction of different organizations. It would bedesirable to set up an organization to manage water resources in an integrated manner.

Singapore

Water management is carried out mainly under the Public Utilities Law, and the Sewage and Effluent Law. Anyone other than the Public Utilities Agency is prohibited from operating water works.

ThailandWater management is carried out mainly under the Private Irrigation Law and the National Irrigation Law. For water resources management, the Royal Irrigation Agency plays a leading role inplanning and implementing water allocations associated with floods and droughts.

LaosIn development of waterways in the Mekong River, cooperation among countries involved, reasonable waterway development plans and measures to prevent erosion of river banks are required tomitigate effects of the development.

VietnamNationwide and comprehensive water resource management is performed under the Water Resources Law, such as introducing a licensing scheme for water resources development andconservation on a river basin basis, plus water resources utilization.

■ TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management −English version−(January, 2005-September.2006)
No.

Title of Paper

Names of Divisions

230

FY2003 Research Summary of Wastewater Management and Water Quality Control

Water Quality Control Department

280

FY2004 Research Summary of Wastewater Management and Water Quality Control

Water Quality Control Department

291

Proceedings of the 14th Conference on Public Works Research and Development in Asia

International Research Division309

Study on Standards for Main Dimensions of the Design Ship

Port Planning Division324

Integrated environmental research on a coastal wetland in Awase, Okinawa

Marine Environment Division■ Mt. Mayon Volcanic Mudflow Disaster■ New Research Projects
1. Maintaining the Functionality of Traffic Networks in a Large-Scale Disaster and Coordination with Business Industry Continuity Plans
2. A Comprehensive Sediment Management Approach for National Land Conservation
3. Prompting Evacuation from Coastal Disasters Based on Factors in Evacuation Decision-Making
4. Development of Design and Maintenance Technology of Control Systems to Ensure Safety of Building Equipment■ Water Problems in Asian Monsoon-Effected Countries and Applicability of Japan's Water Management Scheme■ TECHNICAL NOTE of National Institute for Landand Infrastructure Management −English version−(January, 2005-September.2006)

No. 20Spring 2007

News Letter■ Mt. Mayon Volcanic Mudflow Disaster

Research Center for Disaster Risk Management
1. Introduction
On November 30, 2006, heavy rains from Typhoon
Durian caused a massive mudflow from the south tosouth east slopes of the volcano Mt. Mayon (2,460m)
in Southern Luzon, the Philippines, leaving morethan 1,200 people dead or missing. (Number of deador missing people as of 6 p.m., December 16, 2006,
provided by the National Disaster Coordination
Council.) The authors were dispatched to thedisaster site to investigate the disaster situation fromDecember 10 to 16.
2. Amount of rainfall
At the Legazpi station of the Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration located on the plains near the coast,
about 12 km south of the summit of Mt. Mayon, 466
mm rainfall was recorded in the 24 hours from 8a.m. November 30, the day of the disaster.
Rainfall was concentrated between 10 a.m. and 4p.m. with a torrential rainfall of more than 100
mm/h recorded at times during this period. In onsite

interviews, local people said that the mudflow
occurred between noon and 2 p.m.
3. Results of investigation
An investigation conducted in Legazpi, Taraga,
Guinobatan and St. Domingo showed that:(1) In the flooded areas, mud approximately 200 to
500 m wide and 2 m thick was deposited. (Picture 1)(2) Boulders of 2 to 3 m diameter were foundscattered throughout the deposit, however mostof the deposit was fine sand probably of volcanic
ash origin.
(3) Characteristics common to rivers the mudflow
entered, were river channels with a gradient ofless than 5 degrees at the mountain base thatwere significantly eroded (30 to 50 m wide and 5to 10 m deep).
(4) In areas around the mountain base, the Ministryof Public Works and Highways built erosion
control structures, such as river training dikes
and removed mud from the river bottom. Ourinvestigation found that these structures
The river training dike
The village

National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management
Ministry of Land. Infrastructure and Transport
Asahi 1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0804, Japan(Tachihara) Tachihara 1, Tsukuba, Ibraki, 305-0802, Japan(Yokosuka) Nagase 3-1-1, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 239-0826, Japan
TEL:+81-29-864-2675 FAX:+81-29-864-4322

News Letter

No. 20Winter2007

w w w. n i l i m . g o . j p

ISSN 0389-4150

Pic1 Mudflow flood

Pic2 Effective river training dikeNews Letter
prevented mudflow floods and saved somevillages. (Picture 2)
4. Conclusion
At the time of our investigation, a considerable
number of residents remained in the disaster areasat the mountain base. There was the possibility ofsecondary disasters, therefore we made suggestions
to the Ministry of Public Works and Highways
concerning development of disaster prevention
systems and implementation of emergency
preparedness, to take into account this possibility.

■ New Research Projects
1. Maintaining the Functionality of Traffic Networks in a Large-Scale Disaster and Coordination
with Business Industry Continuity Plans
Japan is susceptible to natural disasters, such as
earthquakes,tsunamisandtyphoons.
Asearthquakes in the Tokai earthquake and theTohnankai and Nankai Earthquake regions are
predicted to be imminent, disaster preparedness isan urgent issue. With this background, importanceof Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is recognized interms of impact on economic losses and adverse
effects on employment in local communities frominterrupted business operations. Although not wellrecognized in the past, disaster prevention andresponse capability of local communities as a whole
can be improved by supporting industries indeveloping BCPs. This is most likely to mitigate theadverse economic effects of large-scale disasters.
In order to develop effective BCPs that support
cooperation
among
operatorsofpublic
infrastructure, such as roads and ports, lifeline
operators such as power and gas companies plus
water works operators and other industries, thisstudy focuses on: analysis of disasters andinformation on infrastructure required to develop
BCPs; presentation of methods for estimating

Road Department
economic loss from disasters and the effect of BCP
development; development of an indicator for road
network assessment in terms of disaster prevention;assessment of spreading the effect of damaged
infrastructure and the interdependency of damaged
infrastructure; development of manuals for methodsof information sharing; and development of a BCP
implementation structure.

In 2007, the Coastal Division will start a study offactors in evacuation decision-making for coastal
disasters by residents, and measures to prompt
evacuation based on these factors.
Storm surge disasters and large-scale tsunami
disasters are very likely to increase in the future bothin Japan and abroad. However, when a typhoon
approaches or tsunami warning is issued, many
residents do not evacuate due to normality bias*,
despite their awareness of the necessity for evacuation.
Awareness of disaster prevention decreases over time,
therefore measures to maintain it are required.
This study makes a quantitative assessment of theeffect of single factors on evacuation decision-making
for storm surges and tsunamis by residents, plus
investigates the effectiveness and durability ofmeasures (e.g., workshops) to prompt evacuation
through social experiments. Based on results of thisstudy, we will propose a specific method for
implementing measures to prompt evacuation and aprocess to maintain awareness of disaster prevention
for municipalities. This is likely to significantly
reduce human loss from storm surges and tsunamis
by improving the evacuation decision-making
capability of residents, ability of local communities tomitigate disasters and evacuation assistance

Coast Division
capability of municipalities.
This study will be conducted as part of theresearch project “Estimation of Local Damage andApplication to Disaster Prevention Projects.”● Frequent occurrence of storm surge disasters and expectedlarge-scale tsunami disasters● When a typhoon approaches or tsunami alert is issued, some*A tendency to consider anand some don't.
Fig.residents4 Test byevacuate
an elderly
as a normal condition● Measures to overcome normality bias* are vital. anomaly
despite recognition of it.

Investigation of factors determining whether residents evacuate● Social surveys and interviews
Resident evacuation behavior, disaster
experience and awareness, plus local
history, tradition and culture.
● Systematization and quantification ofevacuation decision-making factors
Investigation of the decision-making
process and effect of each factor

Fig. 1 Concept of Business Continuity Plan (BCP)(Source: Business Continuity Guidelines (Cabinet Office))Research Center for Disaster Risk Managementof measures undertaken to address these problems
will be identified based on the results of theinvestigation. “Guidelines for Developing aComprehensive Sediment Management Approach”
that can be applied to sediment movement systems
across the country will be developed, aiming tocontribute to improving these problems.

Pic. 1 Tenryu River mouth with receded shoreline

Following last year's fatal elevator accident, plus aseries of accidents where passengers were confinedin elevators, public concern for the safety of elevators
has increased. These accidents led to recognition of
the importance of properly designing andmaintaining control and safety systems for building
equipment with powered moving components,
including elevators, escalators and automated doors.
Controls systems and application programs are
becoming more sophisticated and complex, becoming
more “black boxed”, not allowing anyone other thanthe manufacturer to determine their details.
The purpose of this study is to collect accident
data and establish a target for safety technology toensure safety, to develop design technology
specifications and safety assessment methodology toachieve equipment safety, plus to develop
maintenance technology to maintain equipment
safety, thereby allowing third parties to objectively
assess the safety of equipment, such as elevators,escalators and automated doors.
The study period will be from 2007 to 2009 andconducted as part of the research project“Assessment and Prevention Technology of Accident
to Ensure User Safety in Daily Living Activities inArchitectural Space.”

Fig. 5 Test Result

Record/memorialize and passon disaster experiences(monuments, etc.)

Disaster experience

Study of measures leading to evacuation● Analysis of effectiveness of measures to prompt evacuation
Investigate changes in resident awareness by providing information(tide level data, pictures of coasts) from those responsible for coast
management and providing workshops, etc.

Propose a method to implement measures to prompt evacuation and aprocess to maintain resident awareness of disaster prevention.

Municipalities implement measures to prompt evacuation to maintain resident
awareness of disaster prevention, improve ability of local communities to mitigate
disasters and ensure proper evacuation of residents.

Significantly reduce human loss from storm surges
and tsunamis that may occur in the future.

Flow chart describing the study

4. Development of Design and Maintenance Technology of Control Systems
to Ensure Safety of Building Equipment

2. A Comprehensive Sediment Management Approach for National Land Conservation

Topographic changes resulting from sediment
movement, such as aggradations or degradation ofriver bed, sedimentation in reservoirs and coastal
erosion, cause environmental problems. They alsopose problems for disaster prevention and the use ofrivers, for example from soil and river floods,
reduced dam capacity, loss of habitat for plants andanimals, and changes in landscape.
The purpose of this project study is to develop anapproach for a comprehensive sediment management
program addressing environmental problems, plus
problems for disaster prevention and the use ofrivers. The sediment movement system of the Tenryu
River is one system where such problems areevident. This study investigates measures for
improving problems due to the sedimentation in dam
reservoirs and coastal erosion in the sediment
movement system of the Tenryu River. Methods ofmeasuring sediment movement, predicting future
topographic changes and assessing the effectiveness3. Prompting Evacuation from Coastal Disasters Based on Factors in Evacuation Decision-Making

Hoisting Machine

Building Department

Control panel

Overspeed
Governor

Guide railCounterweightCar

Passenger car

BufferFig. 1 Construction of -Elevators (Electric Lifts)(Source: Japan Elevator Association's homepage)