ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
● Promoting Cooperation with Member Countries
Vol. 369
December2023
TOPICS
Promoting Cooperation
with Member Countries
Study Visit to the 2023
Türkiye EarthquakeAffected Areas

Promoting Cooperation
with AffiliatedInstitutions
ADRC Online Tsunami
Seminar 2023

Participation inInternational
Conferences
Participation in the Typhoon
Committee events inBangkok, Thailand

Asian DisasterReduction Center
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Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
https://www.adrc.asia© ADRC 2023

Study Visit to the 2023 Türkiye Earthquake-Affected Areas

Asian Disaster Reduction Center(ADRC), in collaboration with theDisaster and Emergency
Management Presidency (AFAD) ofTürkiye, University of the Ryukyus,and Hacettepe University, organizeda study visit to 2023 Türkiye-Syria
earthquake-affected areas in Türkiye
on 21-23 October 2023. The study
visit was aimed at: i) observing theimpacts, challenges, and lessons
from the earthquake disaster; ii)
gaining insights on improving theDRR plans of ADRC member
Visit to a landslide sitecountries; and iii) facilitatingknowledge and information exchange.
The study team comprised
officials from Mongolia, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, andVietnam. In addition, academics
from the University of the Ryukus
and Hacettepe University as well as
AFAD officials from Türkiye andADRC staff members participated in
the study visit. The team learned
more about the mechanisms,damage, and disaster response of thisearthquake in Türkiye. The study
team also visited three of the eleven
Members of the Study Visit
provinces impacted by theearthquake—Gaziantep, Kharamanmaras, and Hatay—to observe the housingrecovery process in these areas.
The team learned that the tectonic plates in Türkiye include the Anatolian Plate,the African Plate, the Arabian Plate, and the Eurasian Plate and that during the2023 earthquakes, “a relative slip between the Arabian and African plates caused
westward movement of the Anatolian plate.” This large slip combined with thefollowing factors caused many buildings to collapse or become heavily damaged: i)lack of implementation of seismic codes in structural design, ii) construction
mistakes, negligence, and lack of moral, iii) poor workmanship, iv) soft floors, v)
resonance phenomenon due to ground conditions, vi) pounding of adjacentbuildings, and vii) liquefaction of the ground. Regarding housing recovery, theteam observed that the reconstruction is contractor-driven and that the permanenthouses are being built in relocation sites. Also, the citizens can own the house withpayments maturing in 20 years (2 years free and 18 years covered 60% by subsidy
from the government).
ADRC would like to thank AFAD, Dr Omer and Professor Ulusay to make thisvisit possible, and all the participants from the member countries who actively took
part in this study visit.
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Vol. 369● Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions
ADRC Online Tsunami Seminar 2023
ADRC’s Online Tsunami Seminar held on 15 November 2023 dwelt with the “State and Challenges ofCommunity-Based Tsunami Preparedness.” It is essential that communities living in tsunami-prone areas
prepare for tsunami disaster through awareness-raising, evacuation drills, and early warning systems (EWS).
The speakers at the seminar concluded that if tsunami preparedness is integrated in the daily lives ofresidents, it helps save lives and reduce the impacts on properties and livelihoods.
Mr Gerry Potutan, ADRC Senior Researcher, moderated the session to achieve two key objectives: 1)
share community-based tsunami preparedness programs and activities; and 2) discuss challenges in
implementing community-based tsunami preparedness activities in different countries. Three speakers fromADRC member countries were invited to broaden and deepen the discussion.

Speakers of Tsunami Seminar

Ms Thai Minh Huong, Officer of International Cooperation Science and Technology Department,Vietnam Disaster and Dyke Management Authority, Vietnam, reported that while Vietnam has notexperienced tsunami disaster yet, the government has been mobilizing the communities and schools toprepare. The activities include: awareness-raising on tsunami at schools and commune, regular organizationof tsunami drills, and installation of tsunami early warning system. Ms Huong noted that tsunami disasterpreparedness in Vietnam is a proactive approach, stressing that “although there was no prior tsunami
experience in Vietnam, it does not mean it will not occur.” In the same light, the government is facing achallenge to convince communities in areas where tsunami may occur to actively participate in thepreparedness programs.
Mr Ranjith Alahakoon, Assistant Director at the Polonnaruwa District under the Ministry of Defence,
District Disaster Management Unit, Sri Lanka, said that some coastal communities in Sri Lanka wereimpacted by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004. With that experience, the government has been
implementing a tsunami preparedness program, including the establishment of the community organizations(VDMC). However, one of the challenges VDMCs face is that they do not have any “legal status”, therefore
there had been cases where the government could not provide them financial supports. As a result, VDMCs
do not have “active engagement” in the preparedness programs introduced by the government for lack of“ownership.” One lesson from this experience is that “top-down” approach with no legal fund transfer could
be challenging.
Dr NAKANO Genta, Assistant Professor, Research Center for Disaster Reduction Systems, Disaster
Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, Japan, reported that the community-based preparedness
efforts have evolved through past tsunami experiences. Recently, a more organized approach that adopts a“collaborative model” to community tsunami-preparedness has been promoted in Japan. Showing the case ofOkitsu community in Shimanto Town of Kochi Prefecture, he explained that this model assigns
responsibility to every collaborating partner, where: 1) volunteer organization links the school, municipality,and expert; 2) elementary school educates the children to protect themselves from tsunamis; 3) town2ADRC Highlights

Vol. 369

Continued

government implements infrastructure improvements; and 4) university provides specialized information onearthquake and tsunami disaster. One example of the collaborative activity is the elaboration of “bosai map,”
wherein students are taught to think about necessary tsunami evacuation measures.
In the closing remarks, Mr SASAHARA Akio, ADRC Executive Director, stressed the importance ofregularly conducting awareness-raising activities on tsunami disaster so that knowledge is transferred,shared, and not forgotten.
You can visit the webpage for the Tsunami Online Seminar 2023 in ADRC website
for more information: https://www.adrc.asia/acdr/2023tsunami.php● Participation in International Conferences
Participation in the Typhoon Committee events in Bangkok, Thailand

ADRC participated in the three events organized byESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee (TC) and jointly
hosted by the Typhoon Committee Secretariat (TCS)and United Nations Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 28 November to 1
December 2023 at the United Nations ConferenceCentre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand.
The first event was the 4th Training and Research
Coordination Group (TRCG) Forum, where specialized
topics of research interest such as Artificial Intelligenceand potential operational applications related totropical cyclone monitoring, forecasting, and warning
were presented. The second event was the 18th
At the meeting venue (UNCC)
Integrated Workshop (IWS), which is an annual
integrated event of the four working groups: Advisory(AWG), Meteorology (WGM), Hydrology (WGH), Disaster Risk Reduction (WGDRR) to assess the work
done in the past year and develop work plans for the next year. The third event was the Working Group on
Disaster Risk Reduction (WGDRR) parallel meeting, where its 12-member countries and 2 regions assess
the year-end progress of implementing the Annual Operation Plans (AOPs).
ADRC participated in the WGDRR meeting on behalf of the Cabinet Office Japan, which is the focal
point for Japan. ADRC presented the member’s report of Japan highlighting the disaster risk reduction
activities on information-sharing, capacity-building, and technology transfer, particularly the Quasi Zenith
Satellites System’s Disaster and Emergency Crisis Report (QZSS-DC Report) service. Moreover, ADRC
presented an overview of the GLIDE number system. After the presentation, the WGDRR members
proposed to include the GLIDE number system as part of the Annual Operations Plans (AOPs) subject forreview by AWG and the Typhoon Committee Secretariat.

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