Chapter 51
Cooperation with Industries
Field of expertise: Tsunami Engineering, Coastal Engineering

Kei Yamashita & Anawat Suppasri
Summary
The Great East Japan Earthquake highlighted the issues of disaster prevention and mitigation incoastal areas. In this chapter, we introduce the comprehensive activities of the industry-academia
collaboration between Tohoku University and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. in
the areas of risk reduction, including risk assessment of earthquake and tsunami disasters,
investigation of practical disaster prevention and mitigation systems, as well as efforts to solve
social issues such as disaster prevention education and awareness.
Keywords: industry-academia collaboration, earthquake and tsunami risk assessment research,
Eco-DRR, tsunami evacuation research, disaster prevention education and awarenessIntroduction!
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, research on disaster prevention and risk reduction
against earthquakes and tsunamis has been recognized as a challenge in high demand by society.
It is expected to contribute to the development of science and technology as well as to the solutionof social issues. This will be done through effectively collaborating with industries on matters suchas related research and development as well as human resource development.

1: Problems Revealed by the Great East Japan Earthquake
What happened?
The Great East Japan Earthquake (hereafter referred to as the "earthquake") ruptured thefaults along the Japan Trench from Iwate Prefecture to the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. The tsunami
generated by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the fourth largest in recorded history, hit a large area
along the coast of eastern Japan with a height of over 10 meters. The tsunami reached amaximum run-up height of 40 meters and inundated an area of 561 km2. The damage caused bythis massive earthquake and tsunami was extensive and far beyond what the government
expected. There was more than just building damage from tremors and liquefaction, and flooding
caused by the tsunami. Other problems occurred, such as sediment movement, drifting debris,tsunami fires, and other vulnerabilities that had not been fully considered until then, such as urban
tsunamis.

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The reality of the damage
The strong currents of the giant tsunami carved the ground and changed the topography of thearea, resulting in a black tsunami with a large amount of sediment that hit the coastal regions.
Similar damage was recorded in the 1960 Chile tsunami in the Ofunato area of Iwate Prefecture,
but the details are still unclear, and the reality of the black tsunami is gradually becoming clear
from this experience and records. It has been pointed out that the effects of the black tsunami may
have increased the extent of inundation and destructive power. Tsunami lung, caused by breathing
in toxic substances or bacteria that exist in the seawater and sediment, has also been confirmed.
In addition, the dust from dried sediment left on land after the tsunami subsided caused healthhazards to nearby residents, and the leaching of heavy metals such as arsenic from contaminatedsoil and groundwater systems. Drifting debris increased the destructive power of the tsunami byengulfing everything from houses to cars and ships, and also made it more difficult for peoplecaught in the tsunami to escape or survive it, thus worsening the damage. Tsunami fires ignited bydebris in the inundation area were difficult to extinguish and caused secondary damage. In urban
areas with sturdy buildings, these buildings may have blocked people's views, which may havedelayed detection and evacuation. In addition to accelerating the flow between buildings, urban
tsunamis hit people from multiple directions - from the sea and from around the buildings - making
it more difficult to evacuate. This was the reality of the urban tsunami. During the tsunami
evacuation, traffic congestion occurred due to people evacuating by car, and many people werekilled by the tsunami while they were in their cars. In principle, evacuation on foot is recommended
in the event of a tsunami, but it is true that there are people and areas where evacuation on foot isa challenge.
The total economic damage caused by the series of massive earthquakes and tsunamis
amounted to approximately 16.9 trillion yen (Office of the Director-General for Policy Analysis,2011) or about 146 billion US dollars. As a result of this damage, a total of about 1.2 trillion yen(about 10.4 billion US dollars) was paid in property insurance claims for about 770,000 cases(Kuriyama, 2012). The earthquake insurance system played a major role in helping the victims torebuild their lives, and this was highly evaluated by all sides. On the other hand, in order tomaintain a sound insurance system that supports people's safety and security, it has become
essential to assess the impact and risk of earthquakes and tsunamis for a more appropriate
insurance design.

2: Paradigms Destroyed by the Earthquake
Conventional wisdom and necessary responses
The earthquake insurance system in Japan is a completely self-help system, operated
solely by insurance premiums paid by insurance subscribers, with no taxation whatsoever. Since
the Earthquake Insurance Law was enacted in 1966, two years after the 1964 Niigata Earthquake,
2.4 trillion yen (about 20 billion US dollars) had accumulated by the time of the present earthquake,and 1.2 trillion yen (about 10.4 billion US dollars) has been paid due to the damage caused by it.
With an increase in the number of insured people after the earthquake (the percentage ofhouseholds purchasing earthquake insurance rose from 26.0% to 33.1% between 2011 and 2019),
a series of earthquakes have resulted in large insurance payouts. For example, about 386 billionyen (about 3.4 billion US dollars) was paid out for the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (the second
largest in history), and about 107 billion yen (about 932 million US dollars), the third largest amount2

in history, was paid out for the 2018 earthquake centered in the northern part of Osaka Prefecture(General Insurance Rating Organization of Japan, 2019). These payouts supported thereconstruction of many victims' lives. The earthquake insurance system has a total payout limit. At
the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the limit was 5.5 trillion yen (about 48 billion USdollars), but after discussions, the limit was raised to 11.7 trillion yen (about 102 billion US dollars).
Based on the latest findings and damage from the earthquake, the Cabinet Office estimated thedamage for a massive Nankai Trough earthquake and tsunami. In the worst case scenario, thedeath toll would exceed 320,000 and the economic damage would be much greater than that of theearthquake. The estimated cost is 220 trillion yen (about 1.9 trillion US dollars), about 2.2 times thesize of Japan's annual budget. It is truly a national disaster. In the face of the possibility of a huge
earthquake and tsunami, such as the Nankai Trough mega-earthquake and tsunami, which could
cause so much damage that the conventional insurance system would not be able to cover the fullamount, the question of how to prevent and mitigate disasters without relying solely on insuranceor hardware facilities has become a social issue. Based on the actual damage caused by major
earthquakes, we need to be prepared to mitigate risks by any means necessary. In addition, there
is a strong need to enhance tsunami risk research not only in Japan but also in other countries.

3: A New Approach
On July 26, 2011, Tohoku University and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
signed a cooperation agreement agreeing to establish the Earthquake and Tsunami Risk
Evaluation Endowed Research Division (Tokio Marine & Nichido) (Representative: Prof. FumihikoImamura) in our institute to support reconstruction and enhance disaster research, especiallytsunami risk. Tohoku University's analytical technology, knowledge and data on tsunami risk
assessment, etc., and Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.'s knowledge and data on
earthquake and tsunami risk cultivated through its insurance business is combined, and the twoorganizations are collaborating to strengthen research, development, and human resource
development in this field. It also aims to provide the results of its research and knowledge it obtains
to society in order to promote disaster prevention education and awareness. Since its inauguration,
the division has engaged in comprehensive activities for risk reduction in terms of both physicaland non-physical measures, including earthquake and tsunami risk assessment research, as well
as disaster prevention education and awareness-raising.

4: Achievements and the Future
A new approach to disaster science
In this section, we’ll introduce the results of activities conducted by this research laboratory
in collaboration with industry and academia. In the research on risk assessment, it was proposedthat we first improve the tsunami hazard assessment method, then construct both a quantifiabletsunami risk based on the probable tsunami height and the possibility of it appearing on the Pacificcoast of the Tohoku region, and a tsunami hazard map based on the expected time frame. The
relationship between tsunami inundation depths, velocities, and building damages (fragilityfunction) was evaluated more precisely than before by state-of-the-art statistical methods, using
the data of damaged buildings in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, during the Tohoku earthquake
tsunami. Furthermore, we proposed a method for quantitative evaluation of tsunami risk by
combining the results of probabilistic tsunami hazard evaluation and tsunami fragility research.

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This method enables us to compare the magnitude of tsunami risk regardless of whether it isdomestic or international, and to use this information for decision-making and disaster prevention
planning. Starting in 2019, we expanded the scope of our research to include corporate facilities,
and develop tsunami fragility functions for corporate assets such as factories, in order to improvetsunami risk assessment methods for industrial facilities.
We have also been working on Eco-DRR (Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction). In
our research on the tsunami mitigation effect of coastal forests, we clarified the relationshipbetween the width of coastal forests and the damage to buildings behind them using big data on
building damage in seven cities and towns along the coast of Sendai Bay. In 2020, we also started
a trial using a new method called environmental DNA analysis. This research aims to analyze DNA
from large organisms that can be detected in the environment, and to understand the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecosystems in order to effectively utilize natural forces for therealization of a sustainable society.
We have also been developing and upgrading an integrated tsunami model that canreproduce tsunamis, including sediment and debris transport, with the aim of establishing methods
for predicting, evaluating, and mitigating the complex and compound tsunami damage observed
and surveyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake. In this research has continued since it began
as part of the national strategic project (HPCI Strategic Area 3, Tsunami Project Leader: Prof.
Fumihiko Imamura) which ended in 2015, and we succeeded in reproducing the complex tsunami
hazard with sediment movement and drifting objects in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture, which
was a global first. It contributed to elucidating the complex disaster mechanism and damage
escalation scenarios. The results of these science-based, realistic tsunami simulations have been
computer-generated and are widely used in disaster prevention education and awareness-raising
activities. This has increased the momentum to review the future damage assessment in coastalareas which are at high risk for tsunamis from the Nankai Trough and other areas in the world. Infact, specific efforts regarding black tsunamis have started in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture,and other coastal areas. This method is expected to contribute to the future strengthening of
national land, as it is capable of assessing complex damage risks that have never been assumed
before.
In regards to tsunami evacuation drills, we practiced evacuation and training methods
based on local needs with Kakeagare! Japan, a collaborative effort within and outside of theinstitute. For example, in Yamamoto Town, Miyagi Prefecture, we cooperated in the evacuation
survey for tsunami evacuation drills using vehicles and confirmed that appropriate guidance atintersections where traffic tends to be concentrated is effective in easing traffic congestion andshortening evacuation time. We also contributed to local disaster prevention by cooperating in theformulation of a tsunami evacuation plan for Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.
Disaster prevention education was also widely disseminated in Japan and abroad.
Awareness-raising activities were conducted on an ongoing basis to explain the mechanisms ofnatural hazards as science in a way that is easy for children to understand, and to foster children's
ability to make their own decisions and take action (as described in detail in Chapter 29). We arealso working to promote cooperation between industry, academia, government, and the media, andare striving to create a foundation for the transmission of disaster-related information and disasterawareness. In cooperation with the Tokio Marine & Nichido Group, the department has continued
to disseminate information by providing disaster prevention education (visiting classes) andadvising and supervising the disaster prevention and mitigation website, For Tomorrow’s Smiles.
In cooperation with the Tokio Marine Group, we have widely disseminated our knowledge
and activities in research and disaster prevention education through industry-academia
collaboration to contribute to social disaster prevention and disaster mitigation at academic
4conferences, in the media, and at various disaster prevention events in Japan and abroad. It isnecessary to continue to study comprehensive and effective measures to mitigate risks from boththe physical and non-physical perspectives as we support the reconstruction of the affected areas.

Conclusion - from the authors
In order to reduce the risk of a huge tsunami disaster such as the Great East Japan
Earthquake, it is necessary to clarify the tsunami behavior and tsunami vulnerability at each stage
including sediment movement and drifting objects, and to discuss and come to a consensus oneffective tsunami protection and evacuation based on the actual damage from the earthquake andscientific evidence. This will require expertise and technology from diverse stakeholders andmultiple perspectives, not only from research institutions. It is important for preparedness against
the threat of huge earthquakes and tsunamis to share data and knowledge among industry,government, and academia.
References
General Insurance Rating Organization of Japan. (2019). The Property Insurance Premium Rate
Calculation Institute of Japan: Overview of Fire and Earthquake Insurance, 2018. (In Japanese)
Kuriyama, Y. (2012). The property insurance industry’s response to the Great East Japan
Earthquake, how the earthquake insurance system works, and future tasks. The Japanese Societyof Insurance Science, 619, pp.63-82. (In Japanese)
Office of the Director-General for Policy Analysis. (2011). Regional Economy 2011: Recovery fromthe Earthquake and Revitalization of the Region. Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (InJapanese)5