2019/5/23
The First JSCE-ASCE Joint Symposiumon Infrastructure Resilience

Yasuo Morita, Ministry of Land,Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(Former Director General, Kumamoto
Office of Rivers and National Highways)

Kumamoto Earthquake 2016
An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred on April 14, 2016 at 9:26 p.m. (foreshock) withthe hypocenter in Kumamoto Region. Twenty-eight hours later, at 1:25 a.m. on April 16,
another earthquake (main shock) occurred with a magnitude of 7.3, of which intensity was
7 on the Japanese intensity scale. The “Kumamoto Earthquake” caused tremendousdamage in Kumamoto, Aso and the surrounding areas, including those from aftershocks
that occurred more than 4000 times in total.
Seismic intensity
map

Intensity of 7 recorded twice
Unprecedented strong shocks occurred in series

April 16, 1:25 a.m.,
M 7.3, maximum seismic
intensity 7

April 14, 9:26 p.m.,
M 6.5, maximum seismic
intensity 7

Seismic
intensity

45
566
lower upper lower upper

7

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency(The map shows the seismic intensity
distribution of the earthquake on April 16)

１Tremendous Damage OccurredTremendous damage occurred also on transportation infrastructures such as an airport, roads andrailways, in addition to human damage caused by collapse of many houses and landslides and damage
on essential utilities such as electricity, gas and water supply. Thus, the earthquake caused immense
problems to prefectural residents and to the economy such as small and medium-sized companies,agriculture, forestry and fishery, and tourism.
 Earthquake fatalities
Directly related50
Indirectly related 212* As of April 13, 2018,
Fire and Disaster ManagementAgency Damaged houses
Not less than 200,000

 Evacuated residents(peak number)
Not less than 180,000 Damage to traffic
infrastructure• Kyushu Shinkansen• Kyushu Expressway• Kumamoto Airportand others

Mashiki Town (April 23, 2016)２

Damage to Kyushu Expressway
Wide area map

State of road closures(after earthquake on April 16)

Reopened on
April 16(Saturday) at
6:30 a.m.

(1) Inclined bridge
columns(2) Collapse of roadembankment(3) Disconnected
bridge beams(4) Collapse ofoverpass

Kyushu Expressway

Ueki IC

Reopened on
April 29(Friday) at
9:00 a.m.
Kashima JCT

１
Two-way traffic
restriction(for approximately
1 year)２
３

Center of
Kumamoto city４
Reopened on
April 26(Tuesday) at
3:00 p.m.

Yatsushiro IC

Reopened on
April 17(Sunday) at
3:00 p.m.

Kyushu Expressway, whichruns longitudinally throughKumamoto Prefecture, wasseverely damaged in andaround Kumamoto City andwas totally closed for about
two weeks.

３Large-Scale Slope Failure and Severed Major Traffic Routes
Wide area map

The main shock on April 16 caused a large-scaleslope failure 700 m long and 200 m wide in MinamiAso Village (the entrance part on the west side ofAso Caldera) and severed Route 57, a major roadconnecting Kumamoto, Aso and Oita, and the JRHouhi Line. “Aso Oohashi Bridge” of Route 325 thatconnects the road to Route 57 also collapsed.

To: Oita city

[Before theearthquake]

Approx. 700 m

Photo taken on March 21, 2016

Photo taken on April 18, 2016

Approx. 200 m

Route 325
“Aso Oohashi Bridge”
The JR Houhi Line

L=206 mRoute 57

To: Kumamoto city

[After theearthquake]
Large-scale slope failure
Volume of landslide:Approximately
500,000 ㎥

Route 57 and the JR Houhi Line weresevered.
“Aso Oohashi Bridge” of Route 325
collapsed.

Minami-Aso Village (the entrance part on the west side黒川→of Aso Caldera)

４

Devastation Situation of Major Roads between Kumamoto and Aso
To: Aso, Oita

57

Aso City

Route 57×

Wide area map

Approximately
200 m

Approximately
700 m

Furthermore, prefectural road Kumamoto-Takamori
Line (Tawarayama Tunnel and a group of longbridges) and Aso-Chouyo Oohashi Bridge (villageroad) were severely damaged, paralyzing traffic ofmore than 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles per day.

Slope failure
Landslide ofapproximately
500,000 m3

The JR Houhi Line
Route 325 Aso Oohashi Bridge
Kurokawa

×××
×

Ohzu Town
57

Kuwazuru OohashiBridge

Aso Oohashi Bridge

Aso-Chouyo Oohashi Bridge
Tawarayama Oohashi Bridge
Tawarayama Tunnel

××

Minami-Aso Village

Kuwazuru
Oohashi Bridge
Soon after the earthquake

Ohkirihata
Oohashi Bridge

Soon after the earthquake

×325

×

Ohkirihata Oohashi Bridge

Soon after the earthquake

Tawarayama OohashiBridge

Soon after the earthquake

Tawarayama Tunnel

Soon after the earthquake

Aso-Chouyo OohashiBridge

To: TakamoriTown

To: Kumamoto

Route 325

５Soon after the earthquake

TEC-FORCE Dispatched
A team of disaster countermeasure specialists consisting of staff members of the Regional Development Bureau, etc.,of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was dispatched to affected sites such as collapsed roads,slopes and damaged bridges. This emergency disaster countermeasures team with approximately 440 members,
named TEC-FORCE (Technical Emergency Control Force), started the damage survey on April 22. After the occurrenceof the disaster, the total man-days of the dispatched members reached approximately 8,200 by May 31 and such a quick
implementation of the survey contributed to the early completion of emergency restoration.

６Road Restoration by National Highway Office (1) 24 hours after the earthquake
Because Kyushu Expressway was totally closed for about two weeks after the earthquake, securing of traffic on national
highways, which run parallel with the expressway and are under direct control of the National Highway Office, became a
top priority issue. The main shock of April 16 also caused severe damage, such as sinkholes on road surfaces andbumps near bridges, on the direct-controlled national highways. However, all emergency restoration was completed toallow normal traffic within 24 hours after the main shock, except one site damaged by the large-scale slope failure (Route57 in Minami-Aso Village).

Aso City

Center ofKumamoto City
Kyushu Expressway
Managed by West Nippon
Expressway Company Limited

Approx. 300 km

Directly controlled
national highways
Managed by Kumamoto Officeof Rivers and National Highways

７

Road Restoration by National Highway Office (2)State of devastation

Road severed by derailment of a trainApril 16 (Sat)One or two weeks
after the earthquake

Condition of emergency restoration
work of Route 57 detour

April 16 (Sat)[Helicopter position] Aso City, Kumamoto Pref.
[Photographing position] Aso City, Kumamoto Pref.

KeyDamaged site
location
Road closure
pointLarge-scale slope failure
Closure of Route 57

DetourCompleted restoration work

April 18 (Mon)As a detour route for Route 57, which was closed by a landslide,
restoration of damaged parts of the prefectural road was expedited andordinary vehicles (except large-sized or heavy-duty vehicles) could use
the road two days after the earthquake. In addition, we helped (partlytook over) the emergency restoration work of national and prefecturalroads managed by Kumamoto Prefecture to support emergency
medical services/rescue activities, transportation of critical materials
and restoration of the residents’ daily lives.

８Road Restoration by National Highway Office (3)Permanent restoration(after May 2016)

Complete restoration operation within 5 years
after earthquake

斜面崩落、阿蘇大橋落橋■Key
Major devastationsite

Route 57
North-side recovery route(13km)
Expected opening in 202057→ Materialization of project of prefectural roadKumamoto-Takamori Line (Tawarayama Tunnel Route)→ Materialization of project of village road TochinokiTateno Line (Chouyo Oohashi Bridge Route)大切畑大橋

June 14, 2016
熊本空港（L=265m）→ Start of feasibility studyof North-side recovery route of
西原村役場
Route 57

Route 325
Aso Oohashi Bridge
Expected openingin 2020

※国土地理院HP 立体図より作成

325

May 9, 2016 (Project implementation by the Government onbehalf of municipalities)→ Materialization of project of Aso Oohashi Bridge ofRoute 325
May 13, 2016 (Project implementation by the Government
on behalf of municipalities)

To: Aso City,Oita Pref.

（Futaeno-touge Tunnel）

Chouyo Oohashi Bridge RouteOpened on Aug. 27, 2017

To: Kumamoto City

57

Tawarayama OohashiBridge（L=140m）
325

Kuwazuru
OohashiBridge（L=160m）

TawarayamaTunnel（L=2,057m）

Tawarayama Tunnel RouteOpened on Dec. 24, 201610９

Opening of Tawarayama Tunnel Route (December 24, 2016)

Factors contributing to the early opening of Tawarayama Tunnel Route, which was highly appreciatedas “the best Christmas gift”, were understanding and cooperation of landowners and authorities
concerned, hard work round-the-clock by contractees and the management ability of in-houseengineers.

10Opening of Chouyo Oohashi Bridge Route (August 27, 2017)* “Kumamoto Reconstruction Project Office” was established in April 2017 and iscurrently responsible for all post-disaster restoration projects, except the one for“Route 57 North-side Recovery Route (handled by the Kumamoto Office of Rivers
and National Highways)”.

11

Key Factors for Post-disaster Restoration Project Management＜From viewpoint ofDirector, National
Highway Office＞(1) Alliance with local construction industry 1)
It is necessary to continue giving instructions
for the start of construction/services to partners,
who jointly implement post-disaster restoration
projects (construction companies, fieldsurveyors, design consultants), without
hesitation soon after damage occurs.
Instructions based on premiseof negotiated contract

By making “Agreement for emergency
restoration upon occurrence of disaster”
beforehand, possibilities for smooth and quick
implementation of post-disaster restoration
project become promising.
Basic Agreement for Emergency Restoration
upon Occurrence of Disaster (2016)* The construction company that will bedispatched upon occurrence of a disasterhas been nominated for every section of 10
to 15 km of national highways(approximately 300 km), which is managed
by the Kumamoto Office of Rivers andNational Highways.

１２

Key Factors for Post-disaster Restoration Project Management＜From viewpoint ofDirector, National
Highway Office＞(1) Alliance with local construction industry 2)
To execute contractee’s responsibility more than during normal times
 To place an order suitable for the circumstances, namely, without too strict adherence to bidding
and contracting rules that are applicable under normal circumstances but with adequate
understanding of the actual situation of the local construction industry
 After the contract is made, the contractor and contractee cooperatively make efforts to achieve
challenging time-schedule-related goals by addressing any issues they face.
 Revisions of the contract are made more carefully than normal by taking actual site conditions intoconsideration.

(2) Project implementation by Government on behalf of municipalities
 Among post-disaster restoration projects of any municipality, critical ones (which involve massive
damage and require high-level technology for restoration, and of which belated implementation may
cause severe damage to the area) are taken over by the Government as projects to be implemented
on behalf of the municipal government, so that they can be accomplished in a timely manner underthe management system of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
 In Kumamoto, three large-scale post-disaster restoration projects were assumed by the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in response to the request by the Governor of
Kumamoto Prefecture and the Chief of Minami-Aso Village. Among them, the opening of
Tawarayama Tunnel Route (Dec. 24, 2016) and the opening of Chouyo Oohashi Bridge Route (Aug.
27, 2016) had a strong impact on the area looking to recover from the earthquake.

１３

Key Factors for Post-disaster Restoration Project Management＜From viewpoint ofDirector, National
Highway Office＞(3) Enhancement of organization and office staff
An appropriate size of PM structure staffed with in-house engineers having high-level
empirical knowledge shall be established. Especially, staffing of managers such as
project managers (PMr) and assistant project managers is a key issue for success ofpost-disaster restoration projects.
In the case of Kumamoto, it was fortunate that a series of project management tasks
could be handed off to PMr (Director, Promotion Office for Measures against Kumamoto
Earthquake Disaster) and Deputy Director, who are both in-house engineers having theability to make immediate technical determinations/decisions on-site. The fact that thechallenging work was entrusted to them with confidence was an important key that led
the post-disaster restoration project succeed.

(4) Involvement of companies having high-level construction technology
from early stage
For restoration work of large-scale structures, etc., early deployment of construction
companies that have specialized skills and high-level management ability is criticallyimportant.
In the case of Kumamoto, contracts for restoration work of Tawarayama Tunnel andseveral long bridges were concluded on a negotiation basis with major generalcontractors and bridge construction companies.

(5) Sensitivity and behavior of Director, National Highway Office１４

As a Site Manager on the Front Line
(1) Thorough communication with key personnel
To secure a hotline with responsible persons in various fields such as theGovernor of Kumamoto Prefecture (General Manager for civil engineering),
Chief of municipal government, Diet members, a representative of theconstruction industry and so on(2) Agile judgement and action

To establish rules and to take action boldly and quickly in “an emergencymode” with due consideration for instructions by superagencies →Prioritization of road restoration, selection of construction company, etc.

(3) To securely maintain motivation of staff members
To develop an atmosphere in which all staff members of the office diligently
work with a sense of mission of “for disaster victims in the area andKumamoto Prefecture”

Director’s cheerful expression on his/her face
and words of “Thank you”

（０） My understanding about “Japanese land andInfrastructure” since before the Kumamoto
Earthquake

１５

Basic understanding of Japanese land and infrastructures






Japan is vulnerable to natural disasters.
→Serious disadvantage compared to advanced
nations such as the U.S. and European nations
Under such geological conditions, Japanesecitizens have frequently experienced serious
natural disasters, but have overcome alldifficulties therefrom.
Infrastructures such as roads are very important
for the lives of the people.
The current life of everybody is supported byinfrastructures built and renewed by predecessors.
Thus, we, the current generation, have anobligation to enhance such infrastructures so that
we can hand them over to the future generation.
１６

END