Great East Japan Earthquake(GLIDE: EQ‐2011‐000028‐JPN)
Update on damage and recovery (2nd report)
April 6, 2011
Asian Disaster Reduction Center （ADRC)
International Recovery Platform (IRP)Update
9 It has been nearly four weeks since the “Great Eastern Japan Earthquake” (official nameof the March 11 earthquake and tsunami) devastated numerous small towns andcommunities along the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan. Record, as of April 4, shows
12,344 people dead and 15,237 people missing. These figures may still change in the nextfew days.
9 About 163 thousand displaced people, staying at the evacuation centers, are still underharsh living conditions.
conditions Some of them are temporarily moving to less disaster‐affecteddisaster affectedareas. Recovery and rebuilding in disaster‐affected areas has been progressing. In Rikuzen‐
Takata city of Iwate Prefecture, 36 temporary housing units were completed on March 31
since it first started on March 19.
19 Currently,
Currently about 4,000
4 000 temporary housing units arebeing constructed, which is much lesser than required number. The Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has been cooperating with disaster affected
prefectures and housing companies to further provide the necessary temporary housing
units to the displaced people.
9 Massive amounts of debris are still blockingg the roads in affected areas, hamperingpg thedelivery of assistance to some evacuation centers. Removal or cleanup of debris remains
an imminent issue.
9 Government at different at levels has started preparing appropriate measures for full‐scale
recovery and rebuilding, including the first supplementary budget proposal and bills to besubmitted to the Diet (Parliament) shortly.

Profile of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake
Date and Time:
11 March 2011 at 14:46 JST (5:46 GMT)
Areas affected by the quake

TType off earthquake:thk
Plate‐boundary thrust‐faulting earthquake on ornear the Japan Trench subduction zone
Hypocenter:
130km off the Pacific coast of Tohoku region(38°N(38N, 142142°EE ),) 24km depth
Magnitude:
9.0 (interim value, the largest in Japan and the
4th largest in the world)c.f. 1960 Chile Earthquake M9.5
1964 Alaska EarthquakeqM9.2
2004 Sumatra Earthquake M9.2
Damage:The destruction of social infrastructure, housing
and corporate facilities is estimated to cost
between 16 and 25 trillion yen (Cabinet Office)Source: OCHA Situation Report No.1

Profile of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake
9 The areas hit by the Great Eastern Japan
Earthquake are known to be vulnerable totsunami, as they were recurrently hit by tsunami.
Large offshore earthquakes occurred in thesame subduction zone in 1611, 1896, and 1933.
Each of earthquake caused devastating tsunamion the coast.
9 Large inter‐plate earthquakes had been
predicteddi d to occur ini thishi region
i withi h 99%
probability within thirty years and themagnitudes ranging from M7.5 to M8.0.

Source: The Headquarters of Earthquake Research Promotion

9 The March 11 earthquake was much bigger than
predicted, recoding M9.0 and the rupture zone
stretched 500 km length and 200 km widthwidth. It is
the 4th strongest ever recorded in history aroundthe world. Some experts say that the occurrenceof this kind of earthquake and tsunami is by one
thousand return period.
Source: USGSCasualties
by Prefecture (as of April 5)

The number of casualties continues to rise. The Government has confirmed
12,344 people have died. It has already exceeded that of 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.
However, it is likely that there are still thousands of people missing in most
severely affected areas,
areas such as Minami‐Sanriku
Minami Sanriku town (see next slide)slide), that are
not yet counted. The number of evacuees once topped 300 thousand, but it has
been decreasing as the situation stabilized and services and utilities and services
graduallyd ll restored.
t d
As of 17:00 April 5 2011

Prefecture

KilledMissing

Evacuees

Iwate

3,615

4,444

49,020Miyagi

7,530

6,312

63,901

Fukushima

1,139

4,477

26,495

Others60

424,191

Total

12,344

15,237

163,607

Source: The Emergency Disaster Response Headquarters

Casualties in major cities and towns
as of April 1IWATEMIYAGIFUKUSHIMA

IBARAKITOKYOCHIBACity or Town

DeadMissing

EvacueePopulation

Miyako city

363

1301

5,301

65,682

Yamada town

456n.a.

4,347

21,180Otsuchi town

531

1,066

4,533

17,468

Kamaishi city

655

640

6,203

44,632

Ofunato city

274

237

6 290
6,290

43 847
43,847

Rikuzen‐takata city

1,032

1,278

13,47426,018

Kesennuma city

600

1,471

12,656

79,675

Minami‐sanriku town

360

n.a.

9,390

19,105

Onagawa town

318

851

2,530

11,073Ishinomaki city

2,341

2,698

20,074

171,107

Higashi‐Matsushima city

775

n.a.

7,184

43,785

Sendai city

400

n.a.

4,197

1,001,804,,Natori city

744

1,000

1,781

68,343

Iwanuma city149141695

43,602

Source: Based on Mainichi Newspaper
Note: It does not cover all cities and towns.
Population as of April 1, 2010

Ofunato
March 14IWATE

MIYAGI

Rikuzen‐takataMarch 14
FUKUSHIMA

Rikuzen‐takataMarch 12IBARAKITOKYOTOKYO

CHIBA

Source: Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

Kesennuma
March 12IWATEMIYAGI

MinamiMinami‐Sanriku
March 14
FUKUSHIMA

Onagawa
March 13
IBARAKI

TOKYO

CHIBA

Source: Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

Minami‐Sanriku town

Shizugawa elementary school
on a hill used as an evacuation center

Inundation（2km inlandfrom the sea）
Disaster management center

The town has disappearedpp

Evacuation building（4 stories high）

Floodgate was closed

Destroyed Seawalls

Toward town office

Onagawagtown
Municipal Hospital（Evacuation Center）

Downtown areas near the port

Residential Area

Ishinomaki
March 12IWATEMIYAGI

SendaiMarch 13
FUKUSHIMA

NatoriMarch 13
IBARAKI

TOKYO

CHIBA

Source: Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

Factories destroyed by fire

Ishinomaki City

（Most of urban area
was inundated
except for hilly area）

HillyArea

HillyArea

Ishinomaki municipal hospital

Urban area is facing the sea

Houses on a hill

Houses destroyed by fireHouses destroyed by tsunami

Okada, Wakabayashi‐ward of Sendai City
Inundated Area

Okada elementary school
Evacuation center

Still inundated

Search Activities

Water level could be 1.5m high

Wakabayashi‐ward of Sendai City

Inundated Area
Search Activities

Houses disappearedpp

Arahama elementary school（4‐story building）
Windbreak forest swept away
(Source: Sendai city government)(Source: Sendai city government)Damage to economic base
Most prefectures, severely hit by the tsunami, depend
largely on agriculture and marine product industries.
These key industries were badly damaged, andrebuilding these industrial bases is of supreme
importance for local economy and job security.

Prefecture Fishing boats Fishing ports

TOKYOCHIBA

Fields(10,000 ㎡)

Aomori

546/6,990

17/92

79/19,680

Iwate

n.a/10,522

n.a./111

1,838/15,649

Miyagin a /9 717
n.a./9.717

n a /142
n.a./142

15 002/35 777
15,002/35,777

Fukushima896/1,068

n.a./10

5,923/29,461

Ibaraki

249/1,215

15/24

531/21,679

Chiba

335/5,640

10/69

227/4,0826

Source: Yomiuri Newspaper
N t EEstimate
Note:
ti t off ddamage/total/t t ldoes not cover all disaster‐affected prefectures.

Evacuation Center
More than 160 thousand displaced people are staying at evacuation centers suchas community centers, schools, and sports stadiums (photo below left). This figure
does not cover those who are staying at their homes, in cars, or elsewhere underh h conditions. Since provision off temporary shelters
harsh
h l
willll takek many months
h andhygienic conditions at the evacuation centers continue to deteriorate, local
authorities such as Minami‐Sanriku town have started to temporarily relocate
some evacuees to other places with better conditions such as hotels and public
apartments in less disaster affected areas.
Evacuation center at Shizukawa primaryschool in Minami‐Sanriku town
Kurihara
cityOsakicity560
Kami 30250

Tomecity 210

town

Sendai city

Source: based on NIKKEI Newspaper

Maiami‐Sanriku

Shelter
On March 14, MLIT requested the Japan Federation of Housing Organizations toconstruct 30,000 temporary housing units in two months. The construction startedin Rikuzen‐takata, Iwate Prefecture on March 19 followed by other cities and towns.
As of April 5, about 4,216 temporary housing units were being constructed in 43
sites. Considering high demand, the prefectures have increased the number ofrequired temporary housing units. In this regard, MLIT has requested housing
companies to construct another 30,000 units in addition to the 30,000 units
requested in March.

Typicalypdesigng of temporarypy
housing. Size is about 30 ㎡
comprising rooms, a kitchenette,a toilet, and a bath. Average costfor one unit is 2 million JPY.
Usage is originally planned for
two years, but may be extended
for one more year.
Source: Yomiuri Online, Japan Prefabricated Construction Suppliers & ManufacturesDebrisThe tsunami caused huge amount of debris from collapsed structures,
structures washedaway cars, boats, and other materials that have been scattered everywhere intsunami‐hit areas. Debris are still blocking the roads and streets. It has beenreportedt d thatth t ini Miyagi
Mi i Prefecture
P f talone,lth estimatedtheti t d amountt off debris
d b i isibetween 15 and 18 million tons ‐ equivalent to 23 years of waste in usual situation.
Moreover, there is a growing concern that debris might cause harmful effects topeople’s health and environment as the temperature starts rising and rainy season
is coming in June.
Cleanup and disposal of debris is complicated because it has to consider manydifferent things such as cars, boats, toxic waste, and items of personal value.
Ishinomaki city

Higashi‐Matsushima
HigashiMatsushima city

Minami‐Sanriku
MinamiSanriku townOther initiatives of government
9The government is now preparing some bills, which propose various policy
measures and necessary mechanism for full‐fledged recovery and reconstruction,
to be submitted to the Diet (Parliament). The proposal includes establishing new
institutions to be responsible for recovery and reconstruction.
9Likewise, the government is also preparing a supplementary budget proposal
9Likewisefor deliberation to the Diet (Parliament), which is reported to be more than 3
trillion JPY.
9It is also reported that the government is examining a plan to relocate
residents of tsunami‐hit areas to higher ground and build new communities, andbuying up areas totally devastated by tsunami ‐ as these are not appropriate torebuild communities.
9To help local economy pickup, the government is considering a plan that gives
preference to local businesses from disaster‐hit areas in handing out restoration
phase of ggovernment emergency
g y employmentp yassistancecontracts in the first p
program, as this helps people affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

What worked and what did not work
Pacific Sea coast areas of Iwate Prefecture and the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture(Sanriku Coast) are known to be vulnerable tsunami as they had been devastated byrecurrent tsunami caused by 1896 Meiji‐Sanriku earthquake, 1933 Showa‐Sanriku
earthquake, and 1960 Chile earthquake.
Various measures, both structural and non‐structural, had been taken in those areas toprotect people and communities from tsunami . The most notable was the construction of
10m high and 2.5 km long dykes in Taro area of Miyako city, often called as “the Great Wall”,
and the world biggest breakwater (8 meter high above sea which is 63 meter deep) inKamaishi city. The structural measures must have reduced the impact of tsunami, but wereffoundd tot b
be insufficienti ffi i t tot protect
t t people’sl ’ liveslithisthi time.
ti
Major earthquake and tsunami that affected Sanriku Coast
earthquake
Meiji‐Sanriku
Showa‐Sanriku
ChiledateJune 15
1896
March 3
1933
May 221960

Source: Yomiuri Newspaper

Magnitude
M 8.2
M 8.1
M99.5
5

People died or Maximum height
missingof tsunami
21,959 (Only38.2
Off Iwatepeople died)(Ofunato city)
29.3
Off Iwate
3,064(Ofunato city)
Off Chile in South
5.6
142
America(Miyako city)
epicenterImplications to tsunami preparedness
This three‐story building (left below) was the disaster management center of the Minami‐
sanriku town which was also designed to function as a tsunami evacuation building. At thetime of tsunami,tsunami about thirty municipal officials evacuated to the rooftop but only ten ofthem survived. A young female official who kept delivering evacuation message to thevillagers until the last moment has not been found yet.
A hill just behind the Onagawa port (right below) was designated as a evacuation area
area. On
top of this hill, traces of water were found inside the hospital building indicating thattsunami had reached the top which is nearly 16 meters high.
Designated evacuation routeImplications to tsunami preparedness
At Shizugawa hospital (left below) located near the coast (some 200 meters), there weretraces indicating that tsunami had reached the 5th floor, and people at the rooftop deck
managedg to save their lives. This apartmentpbuildingg ((rightg below),), situated near theseashore, was designated as tsunami evacuation building and evacuation signs areindicated. In this apartment, there were traces that tsunami reached the 4th floor. It wasgenerally believed that three‐story RC buildings could be designated as evacuationbuildings, but these have been found to be insufficient. Media (Yomiuri Newspaper)
reported that tsunami waves reached almost one‐tenth (123 out of 959) of the designatedevacuation sites/centers in both Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures.
Signs of evacuation buildings

Implications to tsunami preparedness
Non‐structural measures complement structural measures. Media has reported thatmeasures such as the pre‐disaster education and lessons learned from the past disasters
helped people escape from tsunami as indicated in the following cases: The pre‐disastereducation, which had been conducted before the tsunami, guided the pupils at primaryand junior high schools in Ishinomaki‐city (one of the cities completely washed away) tosuccessfully escape from tsunami. Mizuhama area in Ishinomaki city, total of 380 residents
and about 130 households, was completely destructed by tsunami. However, only one
person died and eight people reported missing. It has been revealed that people’s
awareness of what to do at the event of an earthquake and regular conduct ofexercises/drills/
had helped them.

Source: Kamaichi city

ADRC and IRP will continue to work on this disaster and keepp updating
pg theinformation. For inquires and comments, please contact:
Mr. Atsushi Koresawa,
MrKoresawa Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)+ 81 (0)78 262 5540, ak‐koresawa@adrc.asia
Dr. Yasuo Kawawaki,DrKawawaki International Recovery Platform (IRP)+81 (0)78 262 6041, kawawaki@recoveryplatform.org