TOPICS

Prioritization of the Tsunami Countermeasure
among air ports

NAKAJIMA Yuki, Research Coordinator for Advanced Airport Technology
Airport Department（Key words） Tsunami, Alternative airport, Priority, Qualitative evaluation
1. Alternative airport in the Great East Japan disaster

Since the risk is a combination of the occurrence

During the earlier stage of the Great East Japan disasterfrequency and result significance, we can raise the(approximately 72 hours) while more than 20 thousand

prevention (level raising), avoidance (alternate),

people were isolated ( in more than 75 places), we saw

imputation (insurance) and the like as that examples.

rescues were implemented through lifting in the air andAbout the occurrence frequency, we have made thetakeoff/setdown on the roof by the Rotary-wing aircraft.

ranking based on the magnitude of urgency from theSendai airport has got damage in Miyagi prefecture,

Nankai trough earthquake from the description on

but it performed emergency recovery after four days of

the “Airport Tsunami countermeasure review

serious efforts by the staff. While that time, nearby

committee report (2011)” of the Aviation Division

Camp Kasuminome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense

and the allowance height from the estimatedForce has supported such aircrafts as an alternative

Tsunami height of the airport ground level. Also onairport. Also in the public airport in neighbor

the result significance, we have determined to do theprefecture, there implemented the broad area medical

ranking based on the concept of securing thetransportation by the DMAT (Disaster Medical

Rotary-wing aircraft imperative to implement theAssistance Team) by means of the Fixed-wing aircraft

research and rescue first and securing theas well as the Rotary-wing aircraft. In that disaster, it

Fixed-wing aircraft imperative to implement thewas revealed the actual state of the aerial action of thebroad area medical transportation second, taking into

search and rescue supported by alternative airports inconsideration whether there is an alternative airport

the earlier stage.

nearby that can undertake such a task. (Fig. 1)

2. Trial of the prioritization of airports
As there are abundant cases of the Risk qualitativeevaluation in the aviation field for the accident
countermeasure, we are to adopt a simple qualitativeevaluation as a review method to prioritize the Tsunamicountermeasure of airports. At that time, we have made afocus onto secure the search, rescue and life saving actionin the earlier stage of the Tsunami and made a review

Fig. 1 Ranking of the Occurrence frequency andresult significancebased on the possibility of securing the alternative airport
since the height of the Tsunami as a cause of the damageis remarkably significant and hard to estimate.

3. Result of the trial
When we have made a trial of the qualitative

evaluation of existing airports based on the above, wecould have a classification of three groups of the airportthat the rank is given from the top right to the bottom left
as shown in the Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 Example of the qualitative evaluation
trial“Nankai trough front low ground airport” is the onethat has a great urgency and little allowance in theground level, and further there is no alternative airport
nearby, therefore ongoing now is the training that uses
the Helicopter mounted Self-Defense ship as thealternative airport. It is scheduled to call the DMAT
and receive the medical transportation in the “DMATbase airport” and also in airports in the maritime area
partially. “Long distance isolated island airport” has alow occurrence frequency, but having no land route, it
is imperative to keep collaboration with the main landand neighbor islands as it is anticipated to see a serious
damage once the disaster occurred. From now on, weare to proceed on reviewing the research such as on thealternative broad area trunk line traffic, introduction of
the qualitative evaluation and so on.