Lessons from Hagibis:

Learning to Cope with Intensifying Disasters
in the Age of New Normal

The Team
Sangita Das
Jessica Alexander
Mikio Ishiwatari
Takeshi Komino
Rajib Shaw

Resilience Innovation Knowledge Academy (RIKA)
Independent Consultant
The University of TokyoCWS Japan, JCC-DRR
Keio University

Michiko Yamamoto

Designer

Published by
Church World Service Japan
Room 25, 2-3-18 Nishiwaseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0051 Japan
http://www.cwsjapan.org
Tel: +81-(0)3-6457-6840

February 2020

The contents of this publication may be copied, distributed and displayed
alike and with attribution only for non-commercial purposes. Please refer tothis publication as follows:
Das S., Alexander J., Ishiwatari M., Komino T., Shaw R. (2020): “Lessons
from Hagibis: Learning to Cope with Intensifying Disasters in the Age of
New Normal”, CWS Japan, 24 pages, Tokyo, Japan

LESSONS FROM HAGIBIS: LEARNING TO COPE WITH INTENSIFYING DISASTERS IN THE AGE OF NEW NORMALTABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations
List of Figures
Introduction

02
02
02

Lesson 1: Comprehensive news updates helped early evacuation
Broadcasting Disaster News: The Case of NHK
Recent ways of broadcasting emergency alerts and updates in NHK
Applying Lessons from Recent Disasters
Lessons from typhoon Hagibis:
Collecting weather updates from all corners of the country:
The case of Weather News Inc.

Lesson 2: Effective operation of the flood protection structures is essential
Dam operation
1. Conflicting purposes of dam
2. Emergency discharge operation
Inland urban flooding in Tokyo and Kawasaki

04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
11
12
12

Lesson 3: More attention is required towards people with special needs

14
14
15
15
15
16
16
16

Lesson 4: Shortage of volunteers has seriously affected the early recovery process

17
18
19

The case of Tateyama: About the city
The Aging Population
Effects of Disasters
Improved preparedness
Assistance for most vulnerable
External Communication
Current Needs: Roofing

Effect on the reconstruction work
Self Defense Force reserves called up for extra hands

Lesson 5: More space for disaster waste management is required
Way Forward
Documents Consulted
Persons Consulted

20
22
23
24

- 01 -

Abbreviations
JMA
NHK
MLIT
GEJE
WNI
VC
ShakyoSDF
CBDRR

Japan Meteorological Agency
Nippon Hoso Kyokai or Japan Broadcasting Corporation
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Great East Japan Earthquake
Weather News Inc.
Volunteer Center“Shakai Fukushi Kyogikai” meaning Social Welfare Council
Self Defense Force
Community Based Disaster Risk Resilience

List of Figures------------------------------------------Figure 1: Map showing the course of the typhoon and the affected prefectures---------------------------------Figure 2: How the news of an upcoming disaster is passed on from JMA to the public---------------------------------------------------------------Figure 3: River monitoring system through smart phone app.
------------------------------Figure 4: Result of a survey on how evacuees decided to evacuate during the 2018 flood

03
04
05
07

Figure 5: Results of a survey conducted by Weathernews on October 13th from midnight to 6 PM about the rainfall andflooding situation in the affected areas. 19,931 people took part in this survey and shared the real updates. --09-------------------------------------Figure 6: Comparison of elevation and distance of some rivers around the world-------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 7. Dam operation during Typhoon Hagibis---------------------------------------------------Figure 8: Planned dam operation and emergency discharge operation----------------------------------------------------Figure 9: Tamagawa river basin (Green) and inundated areas (Blue)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 10: gate operation------------------------------------------------------------------Figure 11: Location of Tateyama city in Chiba prefecture

10
11
12
13
13
14

Figure 12: Map from an organization called “Chamin” showing the need of volunteers in the affected prefectures as of-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------10:55 AM on October 14th, 201917

Introduction
Between October 6 until 13, 2019, an extremely strong
and large tropical cyclone, Typhoon Hagibis (meaning“speed” in Tagalog; also known as Reiwa 1 East
Japan Typhoon or Japan Typhoon Number 19 of2019), caused widespread destruction across its path.
It was the strongest typhoon to strike mainland Japanin decades, and one of the largest typhoons everrecorded in terms of its diameter. It was also the costliest Pacific typhoon recorded in history, causing a totalof 15 billion US dollars in financial damage1.
Typhoon Hagibis came only a month after anotherstrong typhoon, Faxai (Reiwa 1 Bōsō Peninsula
Typhoon), took a similar path,2 also causing heavy
damage in several prefectures around the capital1
2

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Hagibis_(2019)
Typhoon Faxai: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Faxai_(2019)

region. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)
issued a rare, highest-level warning of extreme rain in
7 prefectures, including Saitama and Shizuoka, urging
residents to evacuate or move to higher floors in the“nearest sturdy building” in order to avoid imminent
danger. Less than an hour after the typhoon madelandfall, the agency added five more prefectures to theextreme-rain warning list. JMA had warned that Hagibis could rival typhoon Ida of 1958 3 , which killed
more than 1,200 people in Shizuoka Prefecture and theTokyo region.
Japan’s multi-hazard preparedness is globally recognized. During typhoon Hagibis, Japan’s advanced
technology made it possible to forecast the risks in
3- 02 -

Typhoon Ida: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Ida_(1958)

detail, and the media efficiently circulated the latest
updates in a timely fashion. Strong infrastructure, suchas embankments and dams, protected many areas fromdevastating floods. However, there were also someareas that could have been handled better. As with previous disasters, Japan’s aging population continues tobe a matter of concern, and calls for revision of many
policies. The vastness of the affected area was toolarge for the number of spontaneous volunteers whocame forward to help. And because of the scale of thedisaster, the management facilities of the disaster
waste were overwhelmed and had to shut down temporarily in many areas, which delayed the cleaning
activity. This report examines some of these issues,and summarizes the lessons that can contribute tobetter preparedness for future disasters.

Figure 1: Map showing the course of the typhoon and the affected prefectures
Source: AFP, October 14th

Meteorological data:
Category: Super typhoon 5 (maximum) on JMA scale
Maximum windspeed: 260 km/h (160 mph)
Maximum rainfall: 1001.5 mm in Hakone, Kanagawa (till 21:20, October 13th)

Damages:
Dyke failure in 140 places in 71 rivers(7 rivers managed by national government, 64 managed by prefectural government)
Number of evacuees: over 230,000
Casualty: 98 deaths confirmed, 7 still missing (source: Wikipedia)(almost 80% elderly, 30% died in vehicles)
Inundated houses: Over 80,000
Damage of Agriculture: Over 2.7 billion USD- 03 -

Lesson 1
Comprehensive news updates helped early evacuation

natural phenomenon, informed the media, mostly
television (TV), radio and newspaper journalists,
about upcoming hazards (Figure 2), who then circulated the news. With the advent of the internet, it is
now possible to get the latest updates directly from
JMA’s website without waiting for the news to be
published or broadcasted.

n case of climate disasters, when fore-

casting is possible, media plays an important role incirculating the latest updates throughout the country
and helps early evacuation. The internet has accelerated and facilitated access to the weather forecasts.
Before the internet, Japan Meteorological Agency(JMA), the official monitoring body for extreme

Disaster Management Headquarters (Chair: Prime Minister)(members include Director-General of JMA)

Emergency Team

(members include Deputy Director-General of JMA)

Monitoring of extreme
natural phenomena such as
earthquakes, tsunamis,
typhoons and heavy rain

Ministries andagencies in chargeof disasterprevention

Disaster Prevention Info.

Evacuation
instruction

Administrative bodies(based on the Basic Law on Natural Disasters)

Media
Action taken byorganizations other than JMA

Flow of disasterprevention information

Figure 2: How the news of an upcoming disaster is passed on from JMA to the public
Source: JMA website (http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Background/mission.html)- 04 -

Residents

JMA

Local governments

Lesson 1: Comprehensive news updates helped early evacuationIphone App (Figure 3). However, unless the information is presented in simple language, detailing the
expected action to be taken by the receiver, the objective is not accomplished. Previous disaster lessons
have revealed that weather information alone does notalways lead to the proper action necessary to save
lives. Therefore, the right interpretation and explanation of the technical information becomes essential toensure the proper circulation of a forecast. This, possibly, is the reason why a large part of the population
depends on radio and TV, especially Nippon Hoso
Kyokai (NHK) or Japan Broadcasting Corporation, at
the wake of a disaster.

However, the number of people who rely on radio or
TV news during disasters is still quite significant4. The
reason for this is that the radio and TV news are presented in a manner that is understood by most people.
For example, a rain forecast of 200 mm/hour may notconvey the right image of the danger, but with images
and clips from similar rains in the past, and withverbal explanations from the announcer, this information becomes much more comprehensive. Similarly,
the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism (MLIT) has a very sophisticated water levelmonitoring system for the rivers, and the latest updates
from this system can be accessed through a smart

Current and past riverlevels, showing the trendof river level rise

Lateral proﬁle of the current
river level, showing the risk
stage of ﬂooding

Live image from CCTV camera,
showing the condition of riverand ﬂood plain(image)(image)(image)Probable Inundation Area Map
layer is displayed

Slide to show the land elevation in the area

Figure 3: River monitoring system through smart phone app. (Source: MLIT)

Broadcasting Disaster News:The Case of NHK
Japan Broadcasting Corporation or Nippon Hoso
Kyokai (NHK) has 4 broadcasting channels on TV, 3channels on radio, data broadcasting and a website.
There are 54 stations of NHK all over the country: theHeadquarter in Tokyo, 7 base stations in the major
cities, regional broadcasting stations at each prefectureand some branch stations. Viewing of NHK programs
costs each household a fixed monthly subscription fee.
4

It is therefore expected that in times of disaster, NHKshould be the most reliable and accurate source of
information presented in a way that is understandable
to all of its viewers. NHK is also obligated by law (Article 15 of the Basic Act on Disaster Management) to
broadcast timely disaster updates.
In terms of equipment NHK has 750 robot cameras forautomatic recording, all of which can be operated from
Tokyo. In case the Tokyo Headquarters suffers
damage, some of these cameras can be operated from

From Ministry of Internal Affairs data: https://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/whitepaper/ja/h29/html/nc152220.html- 05 -

Osaka. There are 15 helicopters stationed in 12 bases
all over the country, 2 of them being in Tokyo. These
helicopters can reach from almost one end of the country to the other. The helicopters are equipped withextremely sophisticated cameras that can shoot from agreat distance from a running helicopter. All thecamera operators, helicopter pilots and live news
reporters go through a very intense training process, sothat they can report the latest situation accurately
while ensuring their own safety. Recently NHK has
started using drones as well to collect live footage
from places where helicopters cannot enter. However,drones have the risk of falling, which is why NHK has
been extremely careful about the cases where they are
used.

4

L-Alert: Sometimes there is not enough time toprepare the script for a proper evacuation warning, to constantly announce updates on an emergency.
NHK and the local residents’ associations have set up
a platform (address: https://www.fmmc.or.jp/commons/) to share the most updated information witheach other directly. This helps the viewers get themost updated situation on any area at the shortest possible time.

5

Automatic text notification for evacuation: If a
postal code is registered in the television set,
the screen will automatically show text alert when thatarea gets an evacuation order (Picture 3). This facility
has already started in 6 prefectures and will start soonin the others.
Updates in scroll:
warnings, evacuation advisories, damages etc.

Headline

Recent ways of broadcasting
emergency alerts and updatesin NHK5

Map
etc.

As mentioned above, NHK broadcasts its news
through multiple media, especially during disasters,
including radio announcements, website updates andnotifications through smartphone app. Through a very
informative conversation with Mr. Takatoshi Hashitsume, the Director of Disaster and Safety Information
Center of NHK’s News Department, it was found thatthe following methods are also being used to broadcast
emergency alerts and updates:
Data broadcasting through digital television: The“d” button of digital television sets can lead to ascreen where the latest news can be seen in texts,
images and video footages.

1

Picture 1: Example of L-shaped Live Updates(Author’s compilation, picture source NHK website)

Picture 2: Example of QR code shown on live screen

L-shaped Live Updates: In case of any emergen-2 cy the screen changes like Picture 1, where live

updates are shown in the L-shaped or inverse-L
shaped notification corners.

Codes: QR codes for English websites,
3 QR
which contained the most updated information

in English, were shown on screen (Picture 2) for
foreign nationals during typhoon Hagibis:

Picture 3: Example of automatic text notification (Source: NHK)

5
This part was developed based on a detailed interview with Mr. Takatoshi Hashitsume, the Director of Disaster and Safety Information Center of NHK’s News Department, andthe documents provided by him.

- 06 -

alert through cell phone company
6 Emergency
for foreigners: Apart from the above, NHK has

collaborated with NTT Docomo to send the URL of
NHK World’s English website to cell phones that arefrom outside Japan, through SMS. During typhoon
Hagibis as many as 100,000 cell phone users received
this emergency SMS, and thus could view English
updates through NHK World’s website.

have got to evacuate!” call: NHK in
7 “Youcollaboration with Yahoo and a cell phone com-pany has started a service called “Nigenakya”, meaning “You have got to evacuate”. In this service, a user
registers another location other than his/ her own for
notifications (for example, for parents or family wholive far away), and if there is a risk of a disaster in thatlocation, the user gets a notification that tells him/ herto call the family member in that location.
Picture 4: Poster of “You’ve got to evacuate!” call
(Source: NHK)

Applying Lessons from
Recent Disasters
the local stations for disaster
1 Strengthening
reporting: After the western Japan floods of 2018,

From this experience it was decided that the local
stations will take charge of announcing the warnings incase of disasters, and therefore strengthening of capacity of the local stations will be done accordingly.

some of the policies regarding broadcasting of evacuation announcements were revised. It was found from asurvey conducted at evacuation centers in Hiroshima,
Okayama and Ehime, that only 4.5% people decided toevacuate after hearing the announcement in TV.

Reasons for Evacuation
TV/Radio

Looking around, by watching the water level or theenvironment getting worse

33.5%

Hearing announcement by
the police or ﬁre department

24.1%

Called / warned by family
relatives

7.7%

Announcement from residents’ association

7.4%

TV / Radio

4.5%

Other
Call fromresidents'
association
Area mailetc.

Looking around,call from neighbors

Announcement by
police or FD

Called byfamily,neighbor

Figure 4: Result of a survey on how evacuees decided toevacuate during the 2018 flood(Source: NHK)- 07 -

Table 1: Result of a survey on how the evacuees
decided to evacuate during the western Japan floodsof 2018 (number of respondents: 310 from all four
prefectures)(Source: NHK Disaster and Safety Information Center, News Department, NHK)2

Way of reading/ announcing evacuation orders:
In case of the Great East Japan Earthquake(GEJE), tsunami evacuation warnings were announced
21 times within the 30 minutes before they actually hit
the coast. It was later found that the voice of theannouncer remained proper and composed, thus
people may not have felt the sense of urgency. In caseof typhoon Hagibis, this was kept in mind, and theevacuation orders were read very strongly, in an
out-of-the-normal way, so that the urgency of the situation would be apparent.

3

Camera angles: Sometimes, based on how theimage was recorded, the coastline can appear
much more normal than it actually is. This may havebeen one of the reasons why some people in Tohoku
thought they still had time after the GEJE, or thought
they did not have to evacuate at all. After that the
NHK authorities ensure that images are taken in a waythat represent the real danger. The screen announcement policies were revised, and in case of tsunamis,the live camera footage is shown in a small inset, withthe more specific data covering the rest of the screen.
Sometimes the opposite is done to avoid worries
among the viewers. When a reporter reports from too
close to a dangerous area (such as near a swollen
ocean in the strong winds of a typhoon), the viewers
may worry about the safety of the reporter, as theocean may seem much closer depending on the camera
angle. NHK takes care that the angle represents theright distance, so that the viewer can focus on what isbeing shown without worrying about the safety of thereporter.

4

Mentioning specific names of areas: In 2016 atyphoon approached the north directly, without
affecting any other region. When the evacuation
announcements were made from Tokyo, it did notconvey enough urgency. It was found out later that it
may have helped if they mentioned the specific namesof the areas that were going to be hit. If the announcement was done by one of the local announcers, or officials of JMA, it would have also had more of an
impact.
an example from the past: Instead of
5 Showing
conveying only technical information, such as

saying “windspeed of 60 meter/second”, an example
from the past of a similar case ensures better understanding. JMA compared typhoon Hagibis with super- 08 -

typhoon Ida of 1958 (maximum windspeed 75 m/s
according to Wikipedia). Short video clips of thattyphoon were shown to convey the possible upcoming
danger, helping to prompt the early evacuation process.

Lessons from typhoon Hagibis:
According to Mr. Hashitsume, the following can besummarized as lessons from typhoon Hagibis for their
future policies:
Hazard Maps: It has been repeat1 Understanding
edly proven that the hazard maps are very accu-

rate in predicting the risk of all the affected areas
during recent climate disasters. Unfortunately it still
seems that very few people have seen or understood
the Hazard Maps of their area of residence. NHK istrying to think of ways it could bridge this awarenessgap.

information and explanation on breaking
2 Moreof levees: Much of the flood was caused bybreaking of levees. If it is possible to get the information on a probable breech in any area, it could help insaving many lives, reflects the Director of Disaster and
Safety Information Center of the News Department.

emergency water release of dams:
3 Announcing
Understanding the right timing of emergency

water release of the flood protection dams can be avery difficult decision even for expert engineers. However, the safety of the areas near the downstream ofthe dams depends on this information. During typhoon
Hagibis, there was confusion about the emergency
water release from Shiroyama dam in Kanagawa prefecture. Research is needed on how to predict thetiming most accurately, and how to share the information with the concerned people in advance to ensure
their safety without causing any confusion or panic.

Collecting weather updates
from all corners of the country:
The case of Weather News Inc.

sions rather than mentioning the speed. This platform
has become very popular among the users, as it gives
them an opportunity to share what is really happeningaround them, and also helps them find out about thereal situation of a certain area at any given time. It was
found that the data provided by the users match almost
exactly with that of JMA.

Weathernews Inc. (WNI) is a weather news provider
for transport companies, but in the recent years it has
become more popular for its weather information sharing platform. It collects weather updates from its
users, who are located all over the country, in alanguage that is more comprehensible to the common
people. Such as, saying “ankle height” instead ofsaying “20 cm” in case of rainfall, or expressing the
speed of strong wind by using Japanese sound expres-

NHK also has a similar service called “Scoop Box”
(https://scoopbox.nhk.or.jp/), where it invites andcollects images and videos directly from its viewers.
With the increase of smart phone users, the number of
updates posted in the Scoop Box has increased very
drastically in the recent years.

Ankle height or above: 506
Yoshida river

Knee height or above: 202
Waist or above: 131
Survey period:
From midnight to 6PM on October 13th

Abukuma river

Number of answers: 19,931

Chikuma river
Kuji river

Naka river

Iruma river

Course of thetyphoonTama river

Figure 5: Results of a survey conducted by Weathernews on October 13th from midnight to 6 PM about the rainfall and flooding situation in the affected areas. 19,931 people took part in this survey and shared the real updates.
Source: Weathernews website (https://weathernews.jp/s/news/typh1919/)- 09 -

Lesson 2
Effective operation of
the flood protection structures is essential

Lesson 2: Effective operation of the flood protection structures is essentialJapan has a large percentage of moun-tainous terrain within its small land area compared tomost other countries of the world. This makes eachriver’s watershed area small and its overall length
short. Almost all the rivers run a short distance while
the height difference from the upper to lower stream
is significant 6 (Figure 1). These relatively steep
rivers have fast water velocity, and this causes
sudden change in water levels downstream after
heavy rainfall.
Japan has invested a good deal in infrastructure forflood protection over the last century, especially after
the 1958 super typhoon Ida. Most of these infrastructures were designed with the consideration of sudden
water level change due to heavy rain as explained
above, but because of the change in rainfall pattern,

there were many cases of breakage of the embankments over the last few years, which caused severe
floods in the nearby settlements. In case of typhoon
Hagibis, there were breeches of levees in 140 areas
along 71 rivers, since it was one of the largest
typhoons in history affecting a very wide area. It is,however, true that without the embankments, dams
and reservoirs, the damage would have been far
worse (see Dam Operation). Flood damage could
have been much worse if the operation of the infrastructure was not carried out as designed. On thecontrary, optimizing operation could reduce damage
beyond effects designed originally. Typhoon Hagibis
has revealed some issues with the operation of bothmegastructures such as dams, and small structures
such as drainage gates, and this chapter will talkabout some of those issues.

Figure 6: Comparison of elevation and distance of some rivers around the world(Source: National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management 2004)

6

MLIT website: http://www.mlit.go.jp/river/pamphlet_jirei/kasen/gaiyou/panf/gaiyou2005/pdf/c1.pdf- 10 -

Dam operation

Conflicting purposes of dam

During typhoon Hagibis dams controlled the flooding
and substantially mitigated the damage. For example,
Miharu dam in Abukumagawa River stored 17.9 million m3 of floodwater and decreased water level by 80
cm in Koriyama city, Fukushima Prefecture, shortening inundation period. In Aganogawa River, Fukushima Prefecture, Okawa dam could secure 5.9 million
m3 for flood storage before flooding under collaboration with water users and stored 24 million m 3 offloodwater. In downstream Kitakata city was protectedby lowering water level by 2.1 meter with the
improvement works of river channel.

Since most dams in Japan controlling floods were constructed for multi-purpose use, the entire capacity of
dam reservoirs cannot be used to store floodwater. The
other users of the facility, such as users of irrigation,water supply, and hydropower generation also sharethe costs of the construction, and the operation andmaintenance of the dams have to accommodate theirrights and requirements even in cases of emergency. A
multi-purpose dam is undoubtedly a more efficientinvestment than single-purpose dams, since the flood
protection operations only take place in cases of heavy
rain, but this gives the other users rights to claim thereservoir water even during emergencies.

To manage increasing flood risks, flexible dam operation is needed to use capacities secured by water users
with more accurate flood prediction. Also, dam operators and local governments need to strengthen themeasures of mitigating flood damage downstream
where flooding beyond planned scale may occur.

During typhoon Hagibis, users at 33 dams agreed tothe advance discharge of water without any compensation. Stored water was discharged beforehand, andadditional capacities were secured by lowering thewater levels of the reservoirs. The government is
examining measures where the other users would
allow discharging some water from the dam reservoir,
which includes their share, to secure enough capacity
during emergency in exchange of a compensation.

conducted ﬂood control (146 dams)
conducted emergency discharge (6 dams)
Samekawa river, Tashiba Dam
Ookitagawa river, Mizunuma Dam
Kujigawa river, Ryujin Dam
Nakagawa river, Shiobara Dam

Tenryugawa river, Miwa Dam

Sagamigawa river, Shiroyama Dam

Figure 7: Dam operation during Typhoon Hagibis (Source: MLIT)- 11 -

Emergency discharge operation
During typhoon Hagibis 146 dams controlled the flood
volume, among which 34 dams used over 60% of theircapacities. Six dams conducted emergency discharge
operation, since the reservoirs became full and unable
to store further floodwater (Figure 7).
When flood volume flowing into a dam reservoir is
expected to exceed the limit and reach the maximum
water level, operators gradually increase discharge
volume to the amount equal to the inflow (Figure 8).
This operation is required not to destroy a dam body by
the overflowing floodwater. Flood volumes downstream rapidly increase following emergency discharge
operation, and this may cause flooding near the downstream area. The flood protection facilities of embankments, weirs, etc. are constructed to carry planned
flood volumes. Since the discharge volume is equal toor smaller than the inflow volume, this operation does
not worsen flooding situation in downstream. In theevent of floods that exceed the reservoir capacity, dams
can reduce water levels downstream before transitioning to emergency discharge operation.

Planned operation

Inﬂow todam reservoir

Discharge
from dam(time)

Emergency discharge operation
for ﬂood over planed volume
Inﬂow to dam reservoir
Over planned volume(volume)storedvolumein reservoir
Discharge
from damMonitoring inflow volume of dam reservoirs is also achallenge, particularly in developing countries. Dam
operators can only measure the water level of dam
reservoirs and inflowing rivers, not directly the water
volume. Without proper monitoring equipment andsurvey data, emergency discharge operation is quitedifficult, which means, there may be a risk that the dam
will release more than the inflow volume, causing
flooding near the downstream.

Inland urban flooding in Tokyoand Kawasaki(volume)storedvolumein reservoir

In 2018, flooding caused inundation damage and casualties in the downstream of rivers with dams that conducted emergency discharge operation in Ehime Prefecture. Unfortunately sharing information about the
emergency discharge did not necessarily lead to evacuation of residents, and eventually inundation occurredand several people died. Since emergency discharge
operation may threaten human lives, information sharing needs to be strengthened to ensure timely evacuation. In case of typhoon Hagibis the media played an
important role in sharing these information. There were
confusions about the timing of the emergency
discharge in case of Shiroyama Dam in Sagamigawa,but in the end it did not cause any fatality.

Planned ﬂood
Volume starting
ﬂooding downstream(time)

Figure 8: Planned dam operation and emergency
discharge operation(Source: MLIT)- 12 -

During typhoon Hagibis, inland urban flooding
occurred in many areas along the Tama river. The
affected areas include the high-end residential areas
such as Denenchofu of Ota ward in Tokyo and Musashikosugi in Kawasaki City. About 2000 houses wereinundated and some 1000 houses were damaged (Table1). In Musashikosugi residents of a prestigious
high-rise apartment could not use basic facilities suchas electricity, water, sewerage, and elevator for a weeksince the electric facilities underground were inundated. Floodwater from the river inundated 40 houses overan area of 70 ha near the Futakotamagawa station in
Setagaya ward of Tokyo, where the government has
not been able to construct embankments because of
disagreement from the local communities.

Incorrect operation of the drainage
systems also made the damage larger(Figure 10). When the water level
reached a critical level, the Ota Ward
office closed a drainage gate that connects Denenchofu to the Tama river,to protect the residential area frominflowing floodwater. However, theSetagaya Ward Office could not close
the other gate, and the water soon
flowed in, flooding many areas of
Setagaya Ward and the low-lying
areas of Denenchofu. Similarly, in
Kawasaki city, the government could
not close five gates, and the waterfrom the Tama River flowed in flooding the residential areas. Kawasaki
and Setagaya governments explainedthat the gate operators could notaccess these gates because of inundation and traffic jams.

damage(houses)

inundation(houses)

evacuee(persons)

death toll
(person)Ota Ward

292

470

11,7910

Setagaya Ward

90

414

5,376

0

Komae City

3

280

3,966

0

Kawasaki City

608

907

33,150

1

Table 2: Damage in Tamagawa River basin

Source: https://www.bousai.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/taisaku/saigai/1006952/1007129.html
https://www.pref.kanagawa.jp/docs/j8g/r1_tyhoon/documents/dai2_kaigishiryo.pdf

Setagaya Ward

Komae City
Ota Ward

Kawasaki City

Figure 9: Tamagawa river basin (Green) and inundated areas (Blue)(Source: MLIT)

Residential
Area

Embankment

A Normal time

Tamagawa
River

Water is discharging into the Tamariver through drainage systems.

A
Drainagegate

B Operation at Flooding
The gate is closed to protect residential area from ﬂoodwater ﬂowing to
the residential areas.

C This time
The gate was not closed, and ﬂoodwater inundated the residential areas.

B

C
Figure 10: gate operation (Source: Modified from MLIT)- 13 -

Societal change make operation difficult at the
local level. Historically, local communities
have operated these facilities to protect theirown communities. Because of modernization
and urbanization, local governments havetaken over such role. In urban areas, the costof damage can be enormous because of assetsof houses and commercial facilities. Unlessdetail operating regulations and trained operators are secured at all facilities, even simple
ones like drainage gates cannot function properly to prevent damages from floods.

Lesson 3
More attention is required towards
people with special needs

Lesson 3: More attention is required towards people with special needs

I

n Japan, like most other countries,

people with special needs, such as the elderly or thedisabled, are highly vulnerable to disasters. Evacuation centers and community resources struggle to provide assistance to these populations. In 2004, 9
people of Sanjo city in Niigata prefecture lost theirlives during a flood, 7 of whom were elderly. This
incident highlighted the need for evacuation measuresthat would ensure that none of the people in need ofassistance were left behind. The city started listing
people with special needs in 2005, and updated thelist every six months with the help of the community
leaders. The number soon reached near 5000, and it
was found that the communities did not have enoughable people to take care of all of them7. This incident
represents the overall situation of Japan today wherein the number of people who need care is quickly
increasing, but the people who can provide assistanceare on the decline. After typhoon Hagibis CWS Japan
responded in Tateyama City of Chiba prefecture, andsaw a very alarming picture of this situation.

one of the biggest annual summer festivals, and was
known as a vibrant fishing community. With climatechange and tidal shifts, the fishing commercial business has significantly reduced, and today is practically non-existent. As a result, the city lacks its own
commercial epicenter, with one interviewee noting,“welfare is the biggest industry in town.”

Total population

46,347

Number of households

22,880Elderly population

18,100(39.1% of total population)

Note: In 2007 it was 28.5%

Elderlies who live alone

2,567

Percentage of elderlies
with Care insurance

19.9%

Table 3: Population Data of Tateyama (as of April 2019).
(Source: The city office.)

The case of Tateyama:
About the city
Tateyama, a city located in Chiba prefecture, has along history of disasters and recovery. The city was
severely impacted by the 1923 Kanto Earthquake andhas since, due to its vulnerable location, been regularly impacted by typhoons – most recently in 2019 by
Typhoon Faxai (September 2019) and Typhoon Hagibis. Tateyama has been on a trajectory of declining
population for decades. Historically, the town held
7

Figure 11: Location of Tateyama city in Chiba prefecture

Source: Tateyama city website (https://www.city.tateyama.chiba.jp/en/page100005.html)

World Bank 2019. “Learning from Japan’s Experience in Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management: A Series of Knowledge Notes.” World Bank, Washington, D.C.

- 14 -

aaa

Picture 5: Damages from a tornado in Chiba just before the landfall of Hagibis.
(Source: Getty image, via The New York Times, October 12, 2019)

The Aging Population
The city’s population, like many in Japan, is ageing(Table 1). As the fishing commerce disappeared, children were no longer asked to take over their family’sbusinesses. There is no University in the area, meansthat young people who do grow up here leave and do
not return. About 10 years ago, the primary school
closed in the area due to lack of children. The ratio of
ageing people has steadily increased, but is now estimated to be 65% of the population.

Effects of Disasters
Disasters such as Typhoon Hagibis accelerate thedeclining population trend. Those whose houses aredamaged due to the disaster often leave and do not
return, having long-term, generational impacts. A typical story is one that happened to an 80-year-old grandfather living alone in the community, with his children
living in Tokyo. His house was significantly damaged
during the typhoon and he could not repair it himself,
nor could he wait in it until repairs were made by thelimited construction companies that exist. He moved to
be closer to his family in Tokyo, but is alone, without acommunity; life is difficult for him there. In summer
the whole family would return to this town on the sea

to celebrate, but now that he is no longer there, thattradition has also disappeared. This is a typical situation for the elderly residents there, wherein the disaster
results in a spiral of negativity: the community loses its
vitality, the elderly lose their community and young
people lose a home to which they can return.
Some community members continue to work to resume
the vibrancy of the village.. Although it is a physicalstruggle to rebuild and remove the debris, people like
Mr. Takemasa Yashiro and his NPO Osekkai are committed to reviving the community. “This is our life; I
don’t want to see the village disappear.”

Improved preparedness
Although the response to typhoon Hagibis was slow
and largely considered ineffective (see below), certain
preparedness improvements were noted between
typhoon Faxai and typhoon Hagibis. For example,
people bought mobile batteries and the municipality
office brought in generators in anticipation of typhoon
Hagibis. Convenience stores stocked up on disastermanagement goods, and people noted that there wasless panic. Although the disaster management plan wasin place, it hadn’t been operationalized until Faxai. The
response to typhoon Hagibis was more smooth as aresult of having practiced the plan only a month prior.

- 15 -

External Communication

Picture 6: An elderly person being rescued after the typhoonin Kawagoe city

External communication of the problems inside Chiba
was inadequate, resulting in slow support for the communities. Local residents were left to communicate thechallenges and impacts to garner support throughsocial media. Eventually issues were covered by the
media, but this delay highlights the need for pre-workwith media to ensure that communication about theneeds are disseminated early and widespread.

(Source: The New York Times, October 12, 2019)

Assistance for most vulnerable

Current Needs: Roofing

Evacuation centers struggled to meet the needs of theelderly and disabled. Calls were made to increase care
support functions and medical staff inside these centers, with social welfare people managing them so they
could be closer to the problems. An evacuation plan
still does not exist for the elderly, but a mutual support
mechanism has been suggested wherein volunteers
with cars can help evacuate the elderly.

The roofs of many houses were damaged because of
the strong wind. Some managed to cover the frames
temporarily with plastic sheets, with the help of volunteers, NPOs and the Self Defense Force (SDF). Many
people continue to live under open roofs barely covered by a layer of these plastic sheets even during
winter, and hence the most prominent need right now
is to repair the roofs. The sheets easily blow off, andmany people will have to wait for years until proper
roofing is put onto their houses. The money people
receive for insurance is limited and the government
support scheme depends on the level of the damage. It
is a lengthy process to get an assessment, quotationand then actual repair and construction. There are limited people to do the assessments and even fewer who
can do repairs. People are then forced to wait under
the plastic sheets, as their houses experience evenmore damage due to rain and wind. Some are in denial
about the mold behind the walls and stay in theseharsh conditions because they have nowhere else togo. It has become essential to research and develop
alternate methods of repairing roofs after disasters,
because the work is quite risky and tough for volunteers, who do not have any training on this and areoften very short in number.

Picture 7: A resident in Chiba cleaning the debris from his
house after the typhoon(Source: Getty image, October 12, 2019)

Picture 8: Damaged roof of a house covered with plastic
sheets in Tateyama, Chiba- 16 -

Lesson 4
Shortage of volunteers has
seriously affected the early recovery processunteer Center (VC) or the Social Welfare Council
stationed in those areas.

n Japan, disaster volunteers are general-ly spontaneous. Typically, they volunteer throughthe Social Welfare Council (Shakai Fukushi Kyogikai or Shakyo in Japanese) or other organizations
that manage volunteers. Their work consists mainlyof cleaning and in helping repair houses. There aresome local residents’ associations where local volunteers can help before and during the disasters withthe evacuation, but more often people from unaffected areas travel to those affected, using theirweekends and paid leaves, to help through the Vol-

October 14th, 201910:55 AM
Tottori

Shimane

Okayama

Hiroshima

Okinawa

The areas affected by Typhoon Hagibis were so vastand the damage so extreme, that a large number ofvolunteers were required. By the end of October,Social Welfare Councils in 110 municipalities of as
many as 14 prefectures had opened volunteer centers. According to the data published through theirwebsite on January 26th, 2020, there were 196,740
volunteers who registered through them since after

NiigataToyamaIshikawa

Fukui

Yamaguchi
East and Southern partsof Hokkaido
Fukuoka

Saga

Nagasaki

Kumamoto

Oita

Miyazaki

Aomori

Akita

Yamagata

Fukushima

Tokyo

Kanagawa

Saitama

Chiba

IbarakiTochigi

Gunma

Yamanashi

NaganoKagoshima

Osaka

Hyogo

Tokushima

Kagawa

Kyoto

Shiga

Aichi

Gifu

Ehime

Kochi

Nara

Wakayama

Shizuoka

Mie

Iwate

Miyagi

Special Alert
Alert
CautionNone

Figure 12: Map from an organization called “Chamin” showing the need of volunteers in the affected prefectures as of
10:55 AM on October 14th, 2019
Source: Website of Chamin (https://chyamin.com/taifu19-boranteia/)- 17 -

Lesson 4: Shortage of volunteers has seriously affected the early recovery processIthe disaster in mid-October, but in most areas they
were insufficient to handle the need. In places like
Tateyama city of Chiba prefecture, for example, thenumber of volunteers was minimal, throughout thethree months. Some reasons for this include:- The volunteers use their own weekends andpaid leaves to travel to the affected areas,
hence they tend to travel to areas that are not
too far. While the number of volunteers
increases significantly over weekends, theincrease is usually seen in areas directly connected to a large station.

With the increase of disasters, it has become crucial totake the volunteer work force very seriously. Volunteers from various backgrounds, such as construction,
medicine, nursing and care, education, are needed torecover after any disaster. In other developed countries, volunteers are trained locally so that there isalways a certain number of helping hands during any
kind of emergency. Depending entirely on people’skindness to offer their time and labor for free is no
more enough for a disaster-prone country like Japan.

Effect on the reconstruction
work- The heavy torrential rains after the typhoon
made the damages worse in many areas, andhas likely raised the safety concern of manypotential volunteers.
- The number significantly decreased in thecold areas of the Tohoku region since the endof November, possibly because of the winter.

The government started showing concern about the
declining number of volunteers since the beginning ofNovember. It encouraged people to offer their help
more often, and also asked business groups to takesteps so that companies will allow their employees totake leave to help with the effort8.

The lack of hands affected the construction industry
equally. A large part of the work the volunteers help
with involves cleaning, as has been mentioned above,
but cleaning is only the beginning of recovery andreconstruction. Over 80,000 houses across 14 prefectures were inundated, most of which suffered several
levels of damage. The repairing of these houses is asignificant amount of job, and the current work force
in the construction industry is nowhere close toenough to handle all of it. Besides, because of thescale of typhoon Hagibis, where levees broke in 140
areas along 71 rivers, repair and reconstruction workof the infrastructure is getting priority. “We are absolutely short of workers,” said Yoshiaki Suzuki, presi-

Picture 9&10: Students of Motomiya High School in
Fukushima prefecture helping the residents clean up
after the typhoon.
Source: Website of Nippon.com October 17, 2019 (https://www.nippon.
com/en/news/yjj2019101700653/high-schoolers-help-relief-efforts-aftertyphoon-hagibis.html)

8

The Japan Times, “Government seeks more volunteers to help in typhoon-affected areas”, November 2, 2019- 18 -

Picture 11: Canadian rugby players volunteer to clean a road in Kamaishi, Iwate, following the cancellation of their Rugby
World Cup match against Namibia due to Typhoon Hagibis.
(Source: Kyodo News, October 14, 2019)dent of the six-man construction firm Suzuki Kenzai
Kogyo in Tateyama city of Chiba prefecture. “Our top
priority is to restore lifelines, repair roads and coverdamaged roofs with blue plastic sheets,” Suzuki said.
“There’s no time for removing the heaps of rubble
caused by the last two typhoons”.

Self Defense Force reserves
called up for extra hands
Following the severe shortage of volunteers and construction workers, the Defense Ministry has called up
the ready reserves and reserves of the Self-Defense
Forces for the disaster-relief mission, in considerationof the extensive damage and expected prolonged
recovery efforts. In addition to 31,000 active SDF personnel, the ministry called up more than 260 SDF
ready reserves and reserves to engage in work to
remove debris and mud and to provide public hygiene
support in prefectures including Miyagi, Fukushima,
Tochigi and Nagano 9 . The number of personnel incertain regions will be boosted by up to 1,000 people,
by drawing on reserves, depending on the situations in
the disaster areas. The decision marks the first timethat such reserves have been mobilized since the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

9

As of the end of March 2019 there were about 34,000
SDF reserves, including some 2,400 women. They
consist of former SDF personnel and other civilians
who have undergone specified education and training,
who are usually working for private-sector companies.
The number of SDF ready reserves, made up of former
SDF personnel in principle, stood at about 4,300. The
prime minister’s approval is required to mobilize SDF
ready reserves and reserves. The government payssome benefits to employers when SDF ready reserves
and reserves are called up for missions. With thefrequency of large-scale disasters increasing, the possibility of deploying the ready reserve and reserve of
the Self Defense Force will increase. According to the
Defense Minister, the government is now considering
ways to win the support of employers to secure reserve
personnel for future disasters.

The Japan Times, “Japan calls up SDF reserves for first time since 3/11 for Typhoon Hagibis disaster relief”; October 28, 2019- 19 -

Lesson 5More space fordisaster waste management is requiredT

he waste disposal capacities of munici-

Lesson 5: More space for disaster waste management is required

palities hit by Typhoon Hagibis in mid-October soon
reached their limits, causing a serious problem in theaffected areas. The amount of waste from thetyphoon, including bedding and furniture, has been
large. The garbage incineration plants in some areas
were damaged by flooding during the typhoon, andthe ones that were open, quickly became full.
The Nagano Environmental Energy Center in the cityof severely affected Nagano prefecture had to stop

10

Picture 12: Residents and volunteers at the trash collection point in Marumori town in Japan's Miyagi prefecture
on Oct 19, one week after Typhoon Hagibis struck.
Source: The Straits Times, October 20, 2019 (https://www.straitstimes.
com/asia/east-asia/marumori-hard-hit-by-typhoon-cleans-up)

The Japan Times, “Japanese waste disposal plants in areas rocked by Typhoon Hagibis overwhelmed by debris”, November 2nd, 2019- 20 -

Picture 13: Workers at the trash collection point in Marumori town in Japan's Miyagi prefecture on Oct 19, 2019
Source: The Straits Times, October 20, 2019 (https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/marumori-hard-hit-by-typhoon-cleans-up)

accepting disaster waste temporarily on October 28th,
as the amount temporarily stored at a facility on its
premises reached 98 percent of its capacity 10 . The
center can handle up to 405 tons of waste a day, but
the average daily amount brought there stood at 567
tons between October 15, 2 days after Hagibis tore
through the area, and October 26.
In Fukushima Prefecture, where 61 temporary waste
storage facilities are scattered among 22 municipalities, large amounts of waste remained on the streetsin heavily hit areas even after a month, keeping local
government officials and Self-Defense Forces personnel busy with collection. In the flooded town ofMarumori in neighboring Miyagi Prefecture, some
temporary waste storage facilities became full, andthe authority decided to check identification to prevent residents of other municipalities from bringing
their waste to facilities in the town.

of extra stay in an evacuation center, or worse, a one
week of extra stay in a damaged, damp house. The
authorities that had to shut down their facility temporarily because of the overwhelming volume of debris
and waste, had all reopened after different lengths
time, and almost all the collected debris was cleaned
up by the beginning of January, 202011, but the delayin the cleaning process caused by the lack of capacityof the facilities significantly delayed the recovery
process of many affected areas.
Typhoons and earthquakes of similar scale may
happen in future. With the changing climate thefrequency of these disasters may even increase. Allocation of multiple back up spaces and facilities forcollection of debris and disaster waste needs to bedone to prevent this from happening in future.

The amount of debris that went beyond the management capacity of so many prefectures speaks of thescale of the typhoon. At the same time, it also showsthat some areas are not prepared enough to handle
debris from large scale disasters. Unless the damaged
furniture and bedding are cleaned up, the cleaningand sanitizing of the building structures cannot start.
A one-week delay of this process means a one-week11

Website of Ministry of the Environment: http://kouikishori.env.go.jp/archive/r01_typhoon19/ (accessed on January 30, 2020)- 21 -

Way ForwardIn today’s world, typhoons and floods are the most frequent and damag-

Way Forward

ing natural hazard. Between 1998 and 2017, floods led to economic damages exceeding USD 600 billion, affected more than 2 billion people, and resulted in around
142,000 fatalities worldwide 12 . Compounded by rapid urbanization and climatechange, these losses will likely increase, especially in developing countries, where
populations are rapidly growing in flood-risk zones. Japan’s approaches towards mitigating water-disaster risks, including large investments on infrastructure, offer a richknowledge opportunity for other countries. Even the measures that could not protect
the people as expected during typhoon Hagibis stand as lessons for countries that wish
to take up similar measures. The problems Japan currently faces with protecting its
aging population, will be the case for several developing countries over the next
decade or so. It can therefore set some good examples by revising some of the preparedness policies to ensure the safety of the elderlies during disasters.
Similarly, Japan has a lot of scope to learn from other countries regarding aspects likevolunteer management and Community Based Disaster Risk Resilience (CBDRR).
Investing on structural measures alone cannot protect the people anymore, especiallyin today’s changing climate, where large-scale disasters will become more frequent
events compared to the last century. Experts on structural measures of flood protection have repeatedly emphasized the importance of a balance of both structural andnon-structural measures. Practices likes CBDRR should gain more focus in the overall
preparedness plan. These measures are usually low-cost and easily adaptable, but theyrequire consistent engagement. Therefore, strong policies are needed to ensure theirproper implementation.

12

Source: Wallemarq P., Below R., McLean D. (2018), UNISDR and CRED report: “Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters (1998-2017)”- 22 -

Documents Consulted
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Hagibis_(2019)2.

Website of Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA): http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/Background/mission.html

3.

From Ministry of Internal Affairs data: https://www.soumu.go.jp/johotsusintokei/whitepaper/ja/h29/html/nc152220.html

4.

NHK Broadcasting Technology 2017/2018: https://www.nhk.or.jp/digital/b_tech/pdf2017/nhk2017tech_en.pdf

5.

World Bank 2019. “Learning from Japan’s Experience in Integrated Urban Flood Risk Management:
A Series of Knowledge Notes.” World Bank, Washington, D.C.

6.

Website of Weathernews (https://weathernews.jp/s/news/typh1919/

7.

Kanto Regional Development Bureau (2019) “Flood control effects of dam systems upstream
Tonegawa River in Typhoon No. 19”.

8.

Komori J. (2019) “Rapid survey report of Kawasaki City in Tamagawa River, 2019 Typhoon No.
19” In presentation at Rapid report of 2019 Typhoon No. 19, Science Council Japan, Tokyo.

9.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (2019) “Dam situation in 2019 Typhoon No.
19”.

10. Ota Ward (2019) “Survey and review of drainage activities and flood damage”.
11. Technical Committee of flood control function of dams as countermeasures against frequent extreme
rainfall (2018) “Towards enhancing flood control function and information sharing to prepare forfrequent extreme rainfall.”12. Website of Disaster Volunteer Center: https://www.saigaivc.com/typhoon201919/; accessed on
January 30, 2020.
13. Nippon.com, “High Schoolers Help Relief Efforts after Typhoon Hagibis”, October 17, 2019(https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019101700653/high-schoolers-help-relief-efforts-after-typhoon-hagibis.html)
14. The Japan Times, “Government seeks more volunteers to help in typhoon-affected areas”, November
2, 2019
15. The Japan Times, “Japan calls up SDF reserves for first time since 3/11 for Typhoon Hagibis disaster
relief”; October 28, 2019
16. The Japan Times, “Japanese waste disposal plants in areas rocked by Typhoon Hagibis overwhelmedby debris”, November 2nd, 201917. The Straits Times, Japan's Marumori, hard-hit by Typhoon Hagibis, cleans up, October 20, 2019(https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/marumori-hard-hit-by-typhoon-cleans-up)
18. Website of Ministry of the Environment: http://kouikishori.env.go.jp/archive/r01_typhoon19/(accessed on January 30, 2020)
19. Source: Wallemarq P., Below R., McLean D. (2018), UNISDR and CRED report: “Economic
Losses, Poverty and Disasters (1998-2017)”- 23 -

Documents Consulted

1.

Persons Consulted
We would like to express our deep gratitude to
the following persons for their time and assistance:

Mr. Akira Hombo

Corporate Officer,
NHK Educational Corporation

Mr. Takatoshi Hashitsume

Director, Disaster and Safety
Information Center,News Department, NHK

Mr. Kyoteru Morita

Persons Consulted

Ms. Yukiko Maki

Executive Officer, Forecast Center,
Weathernews Inc.
CWS Japan

Ms. Emiko Ikeda
Ms. Satomi Kawabe

Awa Bunka Isan Forum
Awa Bunka Isan Forum

Mr. Toshihiro Ishii

City Assembly Member

Mr. Takemasa Yashiro- 24 -

Osekkai NPO

Lessons from Hagibis:
Learning to Cope with Intensifying Disasters in the Age of New Normal

Published and distributed by CWS JAPAN
Room 25, Japan Christian Center
2-3-18 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0051 Japan
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