City of Sendai

Restoration and Challenge of Sendai
Towards a Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City

Akira TAKAHASHI akira_takahashi_a@city.sendai.jp
Director, Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City Promotion Office,City Planning Policy Bureau, City of Sendai

Overview of Damage from The Great East
Japan Earthquake(Miyako City , Iwate)

M９.０
Epicenter

Source: Fire and Disaster Management Agency

Tsunami Levels

DamageDeathToll

Source:Completely National Police Agency (death toll and building damage as of Mar. 10, 2016)
Collapsed Reconstruction Agency (Quake-related deaths as of Sep. 30, 2015)
Homes

Iwate

5,128

19,597

Miyagi10,45982,9993,592

15,171

Fukushima
Aomori

3308 Yamagata

Nationwide

4

19,301

121,805

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency

2

Damage in Sendai City
Casualties

Buildings

Within Sendai City

Sendai City

Sendai Citizens
Deaths904

Completely Collapsed

30,034

Severely Damaged

27,016

Partially Damaged

82,593

Minor Damage

116,046

809

Missing

26

Injured2,275(as of Mar. 31, 2016)* The number of deaths includes those related to the disaster.
* 1,002 Sendai residents lost their lives. (191 Sendairesidents confirmed dead outside of Sendai)(as of Sep. 22, 2013)

Estimated Cost of Damage Approx. ¥1,382.9 billion( $12.6 billion $1=¥110 )City-owned facilities

Approx. ¥340.9 billion

Other public facilities

Approx. ¥145.2 billion

Housing/residential Land

Approx. ¥608.6 billion

Commercial

Approx. ¥214.7 billion

Agricultural/marine

Approx. ¥73.5 billion(as of Sep. 30, 2015)

3Areas Flooded Due to the Tsunami &Major Disaster-affected Residential Areas
Sendai Tobu Road served as anEmbankment
10ｋｍ5ｋｍ
Flooded Areas

Major disaster affected residential areas

Total area flooded: 4,523ha
Damage to residential
land: 5,728 locations

Midorigaoka, Taihaku Ward

Arahama, Wakabayashi Ward
(Arahama Elementary School)4Restoration of Essential Utilities and the Evacuee Count

10% of the city
population made their
way to evacuation
centers (over 100,000people)

Evacuee Count

100,000

Number of evacuees

80,000March 28: Construction of prefabricatedtemporary housing started

July 15

July 8July 1

June 24

June 17

June 10

June 3

May 27

May 20July 31:All evacuation
centers closed
May 13

May 6April 29

April 22

April 8

April 15

April 1March 31

March 30

March 29

March 28

March 27

March 26

March 25

March 24

March 23

March 22

March 21

March 20

March 19

March 18

March 17

April 11: Started taking applications
for temporary housing

March 16

March 15

March 14

March 13

March 12

March 11

Earthquake
Struck at 2:46
20,000p.m. on March110

July 29

40,000July 2260,0005

Disposal of Debris(A temporaryincinerator)

Equivalent of 7years worth ofwaste
generated inSendai

2.72 million tons of disaster
waste was treated

The Sendai Method(self-containment)
Waste collection sites (total area: 100ha) and temporary incinerators were set up in three locations in theeastern coastal area. Waste disposed of at the sites was then sorted into more than 10 different categories,
such as concrete, home appliances, and wood.

Treatment of all disaster waste completed in December 2013
Volume ofdisaster
waste treatedCategory

Amount disposed

Percentageof waste
recycled

Debris1.37 million tons

72％

Tsunami Sediment1.35 million tons

96％

Total

2.72 million tons

84％

Reused asembankment
material forroads andotherfacilities

Recycling goal of 50% achieved

Waste collection sites restored to their original state in Mar. 20146

Rebuilding Homes [Today]
Collective relocation:
13 districts, 733 areas rezoned[After the Earthquake]

Relocated to safe inland areas

Homes were washed away by the tsunami

Construction of 3,206 lots of disasterreconstruction municipal housing

7

Restoration of Disaster-affected Residential Land
[Today]169 districts were restored as part of a public project[After the Earthquake]Land restoration after landslides

8Restoration of Farmland[Today][After the Earthquake]

Removal of debris and desalinization ⇒ Resumed
farming in the eastern part of Sendai from FY2015

Rice paddies covered in debris from the tsunami
Roughly 1,860 ha of farmland was flooded

Zoned into large areas to improve agricultural
productivity and stabilize agricultural management(farmland reclamation)

9

Basic Concept for Preventing
Tsunami Damage
Evacuation

Relocation■Minimize tsunami damage by
elevating prefectural roads◆Secure evacuation
facilities■Relocate to safe
inland areas

Disaster mitigation through multiple
defenses to such as thereconstruction of tide embankments,
regrowth of disaster prevention
forests and elevation of roads.

Focus on evacuating, including
moving to high ground,evacuation facilities, andevacuation roads.

Comprehensive disasterprevention measures:
collective relocation to safe
inland areas

Multiple Defenses

10

Tsunami Prevention Measures[Today]Sea/river embankments and otherredevelopments
Regrowth of coastal forests (scheduledarea)
Elevated roads

Tsunami evacuation facility

Evacuation road development
Development of tsunami evacuation
facilities
Stairs along Sendai Tobu Road forevacuating to higher groundDisaster hazard areas (relocate inland)
Inland relocation sites
Collective relocation movements

Tozai Subway Line

Coastalembankment

Evacuation stairs

Elevated roads

11Strengthening both services andinfrastructure based on lessons
learned from the earthquake in orderto help prevent disasters.

Strengthening Disaster
Prevention Measures[Before the Earthquake][Today]Community Disaster
Prevention Leaders

０５８４Community-based
Evacuation Center
Operation Manuals

０１７１

Introduction of disasterprevention photovoltaicsystems to designatedevacuation centers

０１９４

Temporary lodgings forstranded commuters

０１２Agreements for aid toprevent disasters

１１６

１７５

８４．５％

８６．５％

８０．９％

８４．９％

Percentage of water
pipes madeearthquake-resistant
Percentage of gas
pipes madeearthquake-resistant12

Passing on Experiences and Lessonsof the Disaster—Sendai aims to become a disaster-resilient andenvironmentally-friendly city that can contribute to theworld—

Certified as a Role Model City for Disaster Risk Reduction (2012)【現在】

Sendai 3/11 Memorial
Community Center

Recognition of civic
cooperation initiatives andcitizen power

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (2015)

This memorial site and the disaster remains it housespass on lessons from the earthquake
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted

2016 Sendai Symposium

As a leader in disaster prevention, Sendai contributes to theprevention and reduction of disasters around the world

Arahama Elementary School

13

Aiming to Make Sendai a‘Disaster-Resilient andEnvironmentally-Friendly City’
Disaster recovery
efforts

Experiences and lessons
learned from post-disasterrecovery

History of building anenvironmental city ofSendai –the City of Trees

Disasterresilience

Disaster-Resilientand EnvironmentallyFriendly city fora secure future
Low Carbon

Global environment•Restoring the livelihood of people
affected by the disaster•Multiple defenses against tsunamis•Agricultural rehabilitation and green
regeneration

Resilience
Recoverycapacity

Disaster prevention andenvironment-focusedurban development
Ease ofliving

Living environment
Natural environment
Urban environment•Developing resilient infrastructure•A city with self-sustaining energy•Building a low carbon city

Disaster prevention andenvironment-focused‘human capacity building’•Educating people on disaster prevention•Improving community resilience•Disaster recovery memorial

Sharing information throughoutJapan and the world

Promotion of exchange activities andeconomic investments

Contributing to world’s disaster prevention culture
and establishing a city brandAiming to Make Sendai a‘Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City’
Sending Out Information and Establishing City Brand

Urban Development
・Improving of disaster resilience of lifeline and infrastructure, and reducing ofdegradation risk
・Construction of multiple defenses to minimize tsunami damage, such as coastal
embankment and elevated road・Promoting of strengthening of disaster resilience in economic
activities
・Developing of low-carbon and resource-circulating city
・Creating of disaster-resistant decentralized energy sources,
research and development next-generation energy

Replanting coastal disaster-prevention
forests in order to dampen themomentum of tsunamis

Restoration work on the Minami-gamo
Wastewater Treatment Plant isproceeding at full speed

Human Capacity Building

Solar panels on the roof of a junior highschool building(Installed at all designated evacuation
centers and used as emergency powersource during power outages)

・Promoting Sendai’s disaster preparedness education
・Disaster risk reduction measures including the perspectives of women, children & youth,
people with disabilities
・Operating community-based evacuation center・Support system for people requiring assistance during a disaster
・Cultivating Sendai City Community Disaster Preparedness Leaders・Partnering with business on measures to help those stranded
during a disaster

Training “Sendai City Community
Disaster Preparedness Leaders”

Agreement reached with companies on
support for those unable to return homeChildren taking part indisaster drills

・Global contribution thorough passing on our experiences and lessoned learned
form the disaster and reconstruction by multi-stakeholder, such as citizens, local
communities and research institutions
・Preservation of disaster remains
・Compilation of reconstruction records
・Establishing of disaster memorial facilities and local monument

Preservation of disaster remains(Arahama Elementary School)

Established the Global Centre forDisaster Statistics

Study tour by JICA trainees to the
Arahama Elementary School

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
March 14-18, 2015 Sendai

Community Initiatives for Disaster Prevention andDisaster Risk Reduction2016 Sendai Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Future
March 12, 2016 Sendai

City of Sendai

Thank YouDisaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City Promotion Office, City
Planning Policy Bureau, Sendai City
http://www.city.sendai.jp/en