Tentative

March 11 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami
in Japan’s Tohoku Region
Rapid Damage Assessment and Need Survey
March 21-24

Asian Disaster Reduction Center （ADRC)
International Recovery Platform (IRP)Field Visit
Mon., March 21 Flew from Osaka to Yamagata
Tue., March 22

Visited tsunami-hit areas in Miyagi
Prefecture: Wakabayashi ward (eastern part of Sendai city) andMatsushima town, Higashi-Matsushima city, Ishinomaki city, andOnagawa town along the Pacific coast

Wed., March 23 Visited (a) Government’s Field Disaster Response Headquarters setup in Miyagi Prefecture, (b) Miyagi Prefecture’s Disaster Response
Headquarters, (c) Sendai City’s Disaster Response Headquarters,(d) Minami-Sanriku town
Thur., March 24 Returned from Yamagata

Summary of the March 11 earthquake
Date and Time:
11 March 2011 at 14:46 JST (5:46 GMT)
Type of earthquake:
Plate-boundary thrust-faulting
earthquake on or near the Japan Trench
subduction zone
Hypocenter:
130km off the Pacific coast of Tohoku
region (38°N, 142°E ), 24km depth

Magnitude:
9.0 (interim value, the largest in Japanand the 4th largest in the world)c.f. 2004 Sumatra Earthquake M9.1
Damage:The destruction of social infrastructure, housing
and corporate facilities would cost between 16
and 25 trillion yen (Cabinet Office’s estimate)

Source: OCHA Situation Report No.1

Main characteristics of the March 11 earthquake• The areas hit by the earthquake andtsunami along Pacific Sea coast were known
to be vulnerable to tsunami as they wererecurrently hit by tsunami. Large offshore
earthquakes occurred in the same
subduction zone in 1611, 1896 and 1933and each of them caused devastatingtsunami on the coast.
• Large inter-plate earthquakes had been
predicted to occur in this region with 99%
probability within thirty years and themagnitudes ranging from M7.5 to M8.0.
• The March 11 earthquake was much bigger
than the prediction, recoding M9.0 and therupture zone stretched 500 km length and
200 km width. Some experts say that theearthquake was the one by a thousand year
return period.

Source: The Headquarters of Earthquake Research Promotion

Source: USGSCasualties
The number of casualties continues to rise. The Government has confirmed
10,102 people have died. It has already exceeded that the 1995 Great Hanshin
Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake. The number of people who are missing covers only
those who have been reported to the police by their families or acquaintances. Itis likely that there are still thousands of people missing that are uncounted. The
number of refugees once topped 30 thousand, but it has been decreasing as thesituation stabilized and services and utilities and services gradually restored.
As of 8:00 am March 26 2011

Prefecture

KilledMissing

Refugees

Iwate

3,092

4,878

43,728

Miyagi

6,097

6,237

86,927

Fukushima

855

5,934

86,308Others58429,146

Total

10,102

17,053

246,109

Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters

Areas Surveyed

Minamisanriku Town
Fishing Villages

Onagawa Town
Higashimatsushima CityMatsushima
Siogama City

Large City

Sendai City

Ishinomaki City
Small Cities

Tagajo City

Wakabayashi Ward
Suburbs of Large City

Okada, Wakabayashi-ward of Sendai City

Inundated Area

Okada elementary school
Evacuation center

Still inundated

Search Activities

Water level could be 1.5m high

Okada, Wakabayashi-ward
Sendai City
Along the road (Rout Shiogama-Watari)near the seashore

Cars and Trees swept away by tsunami

Lawson Okada shore

The foot of the column of Lawson signboard

Arahama, Wakabayashi-ward of Sendai
CityInundated Area
Search Activities

Arahama elementary school（4 story building）
Houses disappeared

Windbreak forest swept away
(Source : Sendai city government)(Source : Sendai city government)

Area along Route 45 Tagajo City～Naruse River

Matsushima town

Naruse river

Shiogama port

Tagajo city

Tagajo city

Shiogama port

Higashi-Matsusima City
Downtown of Ishinomaki city

Yamoto station（Senseki line）Farm land
Residential area

Ishinomaki port

Inundated farm land

Waterway

Completely destroyed residential areaIshinomaki City（Most of urban area
was inundated
except for hilly area）

Hilly
Area

Hilly
Area

Factories destroyed by fire

Urban area is facing the sea

Houses on a hill

Ishinomaki municipal hospitalHouses destroyed by tsunami
Houses destroyed by fireIshinomaki City (22 March 2011)
Ishinomaki city is the second largest city in Miyagi Prefecture with population ofaround 160 thousand. Economically, it depends on fishing and marine productprocessing, shipbuilding and paper and pulp industries. 2,127 people have been
confirmed died and 2,720 people missing (Miyagi Prefecture).
Kadowaki district (below), which was industrial areas close to the port with a river
running just right beside, was washed away by tsunami and burnt down by subsequent
spread fires. In clear contrast, houses standing on a hill looked undamaged from adistance.
Self Defense Forces searching missing
people and helping remove the debris

houses on a hill look undamaged

Ishinomaki city (22 March 2011)
Most of buildings in Kadowaki district collapsed. A close look at it reveals that they
were not only collapsed by tsunami but also burned down by spread fires.

Inside warehouses and factories
near the port

Ishinomaki city (22 March 2011)
The downtown areas of Ishinomaki city were inundated (1 to 3 meters) and manybuildings (shops, restaurants, apartments) were heavily damaged. Ships, cars anddebris were still scattered everywhere in downtown areas.

Onagawa town
Toward town office

Municipal Hospital（Evacuation Center）

Residential AreaDowntown

Onagawa town (22 March 2011)
Onagawa town, a small fishing town with population of 10 thousand, showed different
landscape from Ishinomaki city as debris were piled up at both sides of the streets andmany of the buildings were collapsed or heavily damaged.

Onagawa town (22 March 2011)
A car was carried to the rooftop of a three-story building. Many reinforced concretebuildings were also collapsed or heavily damaged everywhere in the town, indicating
extremely strong impact of tsunami.

A car on the rooftop of a building

Collapsed RC buildingsDowntown Onagawa town before and after tsunami
Before tsunami

Before tsunami(Source : Google Map)

After tsunami(Source : Google Map)

After tsunami

Tsunami warning system

Collapsed RC building
Land subsidence

Land subsidenceOnagawa town (22 March 2011)
A hill just behind the port was designated as a evacuation area where public hospitalis situated. There are traces of water even inside the hospital building. Debris andgarbage were scattered on the ground indicating that tsunami had reached the topof the hill which is nearly 16 meters high.

Designated evacuation routeEvacuation center of Onagawa town

Onagawa municipal hospital on a hill

Destroyed roof of the 4 stories building

Destroyed fence of the hospital

Cars carried on the hill by tsunami

Minami-Sanriku town
Inundated area（2km from the sea）
Shizugawa elementary school
on a hill

The town has disappeared

Disaster management center

Evacuation building（4 stories high）

Floodgate was closed

Destroyed Seawalls

Minami-Sanriku town (23 March 2011)
Minami-Sanriku town, where almost entire village, except for some communities
situated on higher ground, was one of the town completely washed away andflattened. Debris have reached as far as more than 2.0 km from the coastal line.

Minami-Sanriku town (23 March 2011)
At Shizugawa hospital (left below) located near the coast (some 200 meters), there
were traces that tsunami had reached the 4th floor (about 16 meters high) andpeople escaped to the rooftop deck. An apartment building (right below) wassituated right next to the coast and designated as an evacuation building as shownby evacuation signs, but there were traces that tsunami also had reached the 4thfloor.
Signs of evacuation buildings

Minami-Sanriku town (23 March 2011)
This three-story building (below) was the disaster management center of the town
which was also designed to function as a tsunami evacuation building. At the time oftsunami, about thirty municipal officials evacuated to the rooftop but only ten of themsurvived. A young female official who kept delivering evacuation message to thevillagers until the last moment has not been found yet.

Government’s first response (day one)The Government’s first response was very quick as the earthquake and tsunami
occurred during working hours and information about the earthquake andresultant tsunami were transmitted rapidly. Live images of the horrifying tsunami
approaching and striking coastal towns and villages were shown on TVs.
3.11

14:46
14:49
14:50
15:14
16:54
18:42
21:05

Earthquake occurred
J-ALERT transmitted tsunami warning to municipalities
1st emergency response team meeting
Prime Minister gave directions“Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters” established
Press briefing by Prime Minister
Government’s rapid survey team dispatched from Tokyo byhelicopter
The team arrived at Miyagi Prefecture Government
Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters

The number of people rescued
The Government’s search and rescue teams, composed of police, fire service,
coast guard and Self Defense Forces, have rescued and saved approximately
26,646 people as of march 26. Operations are still ongoing.
DatePolice

Fire Service

Coast Guard

March 1132

34

March 12397

610

207

March 13

1,631

3,725

22

March 14448

238

16

March 15

1,183

224

March 16

27-24

March 1729--

March 18 -2522

22Total3,749 (a)4,580 (a)319

Self Defense
ForcesAbout 19,300

About 19,300

Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters
Note: Of which, 1,302 were rescued by joint teams of police and fire service.

Summary of relief supplies
Total volume of relief supplies already delivered (as of 26 March)
1. Food and water• Bread:• Instant noodle:• Rice ball, etc.
• Rice• Canned food, etc.
• Water

3,298,705 pieces
1,185,146 pieces
1,642,897 pieces
2,322,731 packages
1,377,510 pieces
3,986,671 bottles

2. Other commodities• Toilet paper rolls• Diaper• Medicine• Face mask

295,136 packages
258,505 packages
187,960 boxes
2,216,222 pieces

3. Fuel

9,572,000 liter
Source: The Emergency Disaster Response HeadquartersDeployment of first responders
1. National Police Agency• Inter-prefectural Emergency Rescue Units with a total of 10,301 officers havebeen mobilized. As of March 26, a total of 4,585 officers are doing the operations
2. Fire and Disaster Management Agency• About 19,300 officers in 4,700 units of Fire Rescue Task Forces or “Hyper RescueTeams” have been mobilized. As of march 26, total of 2,629 officers in 690 units
are doing the operations

3. Japan Coast Guard• 54 patrol boats and 19 aircrafts have been deployed
4. Ministry of Defense (Self Defense Force)• About 107 thousand officers have been deployed (Ground SDF 70,00, Maritime
SDF 15,200 and Air SDF 21,300)
5. Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare• 109 teams of doctors and 105 teams of health nurses have been deployed
Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters

International Assistance
1. US Forces stationed in Japan• Mobilized about 20 aircraft carriers and warships, and about 160 aircrafts• About 20 thousand officers are deployed
2. International assistance• The Government of Japan has received 131 offers of assistance from countries anda province (i)• Search and Rescue teams from 21 countries and a province (i) have operated, 2 outof which are still in operations• The Government has accepted relief items fro 23 countries and a province (i)Note: (i) Taiwan Province of China
Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters

Disaster Response Headquarters
Prefectures’ Disaster Response Headquarters have been established at Miyagi, Iwateand Fukushima. The national government also established its own field headquarters.
As such, coordination between national government and prefectures have been
made on the spot, and if necessary, requests will be transmitted to national
ministries and agencies in Tokyo. One of salient features of the response effort is thesupport from other prefectures in Japan that dispatched their officials to help
disaster stricken prefectures. For instance, Hyogo Prefecture sent officials to Miyagi
Prefecture. At city level, Kobe city sent officials to Sendai city.

Evacuation Center (March 23 2011)
The evacuation center established at a primary school gymnasium in Minami-Sanriku
town (left below) was well organized. People help each other and necessary
coordination was made by their own community leaders. It was reported that mostof necessary basic food items were delivered. However this center was very crowdedand people left cold because of insufficient heating. Self Defense Forces from
Okinawa were stationed at this center to provide food and other services. Usually,
evacuees are expected to stay in such an emergency center for a couple of weeks.
After that, the government will provide temporary housing units or alternativemeans. However, in this particular case, construction of temporary housing units islikely to take more time than usual.

Initial observations (1/2)• Pacific Sea coastal areas in Iwate Prefecture and the northern part of Miyagi
Prefecture are known to be vulnerable tsunami. These areas had beenrecurrently devastated by large tsunami in the past. Before the march 11
tsunami, various measures such as construction of 10m high dykes, tsunami
evacuation buildings and shelters, evacuation routes, evacuation drills, and soforth were taken. On the other hand, the coastal areas of Fukushima Prefecture
and the southern part of Miyagi Prefecture have not been regarded as very risky
from tsunami.
• Large inter-plate earthquakes were predicted to occur around that region, with99% probability in thirty years and expected magnitudes ranging from M7.5 to
M8.0, but the March 11 earthquake was much bigger than predicted. The march
11 earthquake, recording M9.0, was the 4th strongest ever recorded in history
around the world. Some say that the occurrence of this kind of earthquake andtsunami is by one thousand return period.

Initial observations (2/2)• It is reported that tsunami as high as 10 to 15 meters hit the coastal areas, withthe maximum height so far measured 23 meters. The inundation area wascalculated by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan as approximately 400square kilometers.
• The Cabinet Office has estimated that the destruction of social infrastructure,
housing and corporate facilities in the areas would cost between 16 trillion yen
and 25 trillion yen. These estimates reflect only damages to structures, hence do
not include the loss of economic activities triggered by the earthquake, tsunami,power outage and nuclear power plant accidents.

Issues and challenges (1/3)• Full-scale recovery and rebuilding should start as soon as possible, but there aremany issues to be resolved, including: (1) whether they should rebuild theirtowns in original places which were washed away by tsunami or relocate themto somewhere else in safer places; (2) in the former case, what kind ofprotection measures should be accompanied; (3) in the latter case, how to deal
with privately owned land in original places; (4) who should develop suchreconstruction plans and how to coordinate with local communities.
• Recovery and reconstruction will certainly take many years. It is therefore ofgreat necessity to support victims to rebuild their own houses and restore theirlivelihoods by helping them maintain their incomes for coming years.

Issues and challenges (2/3)• In usual cases, evacuees stay at evacuation centers for a couple of weeks, andthen move to temporary houses to be constructed by local governments and staythere for a couple of years before they finally find permanent houses either
private houses or public houses. This scheme may not work smoothly because thenumber of people who have lost their homes is so large that government cannot
construct sufficient temporary houses in time. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism plans to provide 8,800 units in Iwate, 10,000 units in Miyagi,
14,000 units in Fukushima (Construction is done by prefectures). Construction of632 units in Iwate and 235 units in Fukushima already started.
• Many of tsunami-hit small towns are basically dependent on fishery, marine
product processing and tourism. Their economic bases, which had not necessarily
been strong before the disaster, are now badly damaged. The earthquake andtsunami therefore has had greatly negative impact on already fragile industrial
bases. Thus, how to restore their industrial bases is a priority issue but a big
challenge as well for many towns and communities.

Issues and challenges (3/3)• Communities need to be maintained throughout the entire process, and,moreover, they are expected to play a central role in recovery and reconstruction
phases. Hence, how to empower them is a challenging but important task.
• Likewise, NPOs both Japanese and international should also need to be mobilized
to complement government’s operations. The Government has stated that
“Search and Rescue operation phase still continues in the affected areas at thismoment and the access to those areas is limited to rescue workers. There is
temporary shortage of petrol in the affected areas and thus international/foreign
NGOs are recommended to wait until the situation improves so that those NGOs
are able to conduct their activities in a self-sustained way”. Since Japan has limited
experience of working with international/foreign NGOs within Japan, coordination
with them will be an issue.

ADRC and IRP will continue to work on this disaster and keep
updating the information. For inquires and comments, pleasecontact:
Mr. Atsushi Koresawa, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)+ 81 (0)78 262 5540, ak-koresawa@adrc.asia
Dr. Yasuo Kawawaki, International Recovery Platform (IRP)+81 (0)78 262 6041, kawawaki@recoveryplatform.org