IISEE Newsletter
December 21 2015
Number 128

In This Issue• Reports on Tohoku
Study Trip
• Visit to Italy• Fall Meeting of theSeismologicalSociety of Japan

International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering BRI Japan
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Reports on Tohoku Study Trip
（Period for all courses: Nov. 9th (Mon.) through Nov. 13th (Fri.)）(1) Mr. Hamada Saadalla MAHMOUD MOHAMED(Egypt, Seismology Course)First of all, I would like to thank JICA, IISEE and BRI for arranging to visit theareas affected by the Great East Japan and the Mid Niigata prefecture
Earthquake in 2004.
The both group (Seismology and Earthquake engineering) visited the Miyagi
prefecture which was affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake on March2011.

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At Miyagi Regional Bureau of Reconstruction, Reconstruction Agency, we learnt
about the recovering and reconstruction progress in Miyagi after the Great East
Japan Earthquake. Then we visited Zuiganji temple, where we learnt about theoutlines of foundation work. Also we visited Ishinomaki
Municipal Hospital. The Seismology-course participants
visited Tohoku University (Research Center for Predictionof Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruption). Prof. Matsuzawa
presented a lecture about the 2011 Tohoku–Oki
Earthquake. I learnt a lot about the disastermanagement and recovering as well as seismic isolation
system in the study trip.
In Niigata prefecture which was affected by the 2004 Niigata Chuetsu
Earthquake, we visited the land slide site (Myoken Earthquake Memorial Park).
We learnt about the damages caused by Chuetsu Earthquake and quick
recovering of roads at the site. Cooperation between Japanese organizations is
an example for all countries.
At the term of the trip we visited various attractive places in Yamakoshi village
such as Alpaca Farm. The information acquired during the study trip has
expanded our knowledge about disaster management and recovering and we
can apply it to our countries.

(2) Mr. Lintu GAZI(Bangladesh, Earthquake Engineering Course)
Main target of study Trip to Miyagi and Niigata Prefectures was a close
observation of affected area by the two Great Earthquakes and to observe how
the people of this area and government (central and local) together recovered
and reconstructed everything after this disaster.
On 9th Nov. in the way to hotel Unisite Sendai we enjoyed the journey by Bullet
Train.

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In 2nd and 3rd day of our trip we visited different partof Miyagi Prefecture and came to know the depth ofdisaster of Great East Japan Earthquake, current statusof reconstruction, recent initiatives, status housing,roadmap of reconstruction of housing, status ofprogress of town development, status of thereconstruction of industry etc.
On 11th Nov. Just before sunset we took the chance ofseeing beautiful scenery of Sendai from Sendai castle ruins.
In 4th and 5th day of our trip we visited different part of Niigata Prefecture. Ina video we observed during Chuetsu earthquake (October 23, 2004) what
happened and after the earthquake how the villagers recover their own homewith the help of local government and external human resources.
From this trip I learned that the nature through which we are nourished can be
driven in such a way that we have nothing to do without becoming a victim. So
we should learn how to cope with the nature.
After all it turns out to be a fruitful and memorable experience for us. I’m very
grateful to all the people who share this knowledge with us.

Call for Papers
IISEE Bulletin is now
accepting submissionsof papers for the seismol og y, ea rt h qu ake
engineering, andtsunami. Developing
countries are targeted,but are n ot limited.
Your original papers
will be reviewed by theeditorial members andsome experts.
NO submission fee isneed.
Try to challenge!!

(3) Mr. Mohamed Adbelrasoul Ahmed SHAHEEN(Egypt, Earthquake Engineering Course)
The three days we spent in Sendai were precious for me and all participantsbecause of the new experience and knowledge we gained about disastermanagement and recovery. We were learnt the importance of preparing a plane
for any anticipated disaster to management the emergency response and hence
reduce the losses in life and damages.
The tsunami occurred following by the Great East Japan 2011 (Magnitude 9.0)
was beyond the Japanese’s expectation and the loss in life and building
damages was huge. However they respond promptly
and start recovery and restoration after the disaster
immediately.
Also we experienced the different isolation and damage
dissipation systems in important building such as
hospitals.
It was interesting to know that no damages occurred
due to the earthquake for these isolated building. It isvery important to avoid damage in such building to still
functional during and after the earthquake.
Following our visit to Sendai we spent two days in Nigata prefecture. Besides
the excellent nature scenes we experienced there, we were fascinated by theunity of resident to face the damages occurred by the 2004 earthquake(Magnitude 6.9). During this period we became closer to Japanese rural culture.
Also we learnt about the importance to convey the current crisis to next
generation to be prepared. For example, to convey the lesson and record of theearthquake to future generations, the CHU-ETSU Earthquake Memorial corridor
was built.

(4) Mr. Dandy Navarro CAMERO(Philippines, Tsunami Disaster Mitigation Course)The 2011 Tsunami
Four years and eight months have passed since the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami, but
the aftermath of that devastating disaster can still be found in some areas wevisited. Some of the aftermaths we saw are damaged school and disasterbuildings, hotels, housing apartments, sea walls and others.
We also have the chance to see the 37.8 and 40 m tsunami run-up heights
observed at Koborinai port and Aneyoshi, respectively,in Miyako city.
One of the interesting facts of the visit is how thecommunity preserved Tsunami century mark stones andhow they comply by not constructing houses below
them. I also noticed that most of the coastal villages wevisited have sea walls to protect them from any ocean
like a threat.

Enjoy, Now

The Recovery Program
Though a lot of the affected residents are still living in temporary houses, thegovernment laid out recovery plans by relocating the villages to a higherground and some areas are constructing better and bigger sea walls.
The Lessons
I will enumerate some lessons to ponder:
1. After a large earthquake, wherever you are, move quickly to higher ground.
Do not wait for the announcement.
2. Do not rely on the sea walls to protect your community from tsunami.
3. Always practice tsunami drills at school or home.

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The Lecturers
It has been a fruitful trip from day one to day five. It’s been a wonderfulexperience to visit those affected areas by the past tsunamis and to see how
the villages recover from that disaster. I appreciate the effort of Dr. Sugawara,Dr. Tsuji and Dr. Fujii for sharing their knowledge and experience and also forpatiently answering our questions.

Visit to Italy

By Mr. Mizuo Inukai, Chief Research Engineer, IISEEWhen BRI and European Laboratory for Structural Assessment (ELSA) Unit,
Joint Research Centre, European Union (Photo 1) have the Collaborative
Research Activities, I and 2 researchers of BRI participated in the Management
Panel in Ispra, Italy on October 2015. And we move to L’Aquila City to see theRecovery Works after the 2009 L’Aquila Earthquake.

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Photo1: View of ELSA

Photo 2: View of Japan side
presentation (2)At the Panel, from EU side, the presentations, (1) Introduction of ELSA andJRC, (2) JRC Support to Policies and Standards for Construction, (3)Presentation of the SERIES Tests done at ELSA, and others were made. FromJapan side, the presentations, (1) Overview of BRI and Predominant periods ofmulti-degree-of-freedomsystemanalysisanddynamic
soil-structureinteraction, (2) Shaking table tests for non ‐ structural components andsystems (Photo 2) and (3) Developments on Seismic Design Method for
Buildings with Post-EQ Functional use, were made.
The discussion was in a most friendly and cordial atmosphere. Both sides
consider that the meeting was successful and fruitful.
It was possible to see the monuments recovery works in L’Aquila, Abruzzo,
Italy, after 2009 L’Aquila Earthquake, according to the cooperation of officers inCivil Protection Department, Italy, National Fire and Rescue Service, L’Aquila
Province Headquarters, Italy and others.

Photo3: Front View of Santa Maria diCollemaggio (under recovery works)

Photo4: Front View of Sant’Agostinodell’Aquila (under recovery works)

The Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio (Photo 3) is most important andfamous in L’Aquila, damaged to the collapse of a part of the roof in 2009
Earthquake, was recovered to the temporary roof and the temporary steel
supports for the Community Activities.
The Church of Sant’Agostino dell’Aquila (Photo 4) near the City Main Square(Piazza del Duomo) was also under the recovery works of the damaged roof.
The preservation of the cultural heritages needs more time for the recoveryworks.

Fall Meeting of the Seismological Society of Japan
By Dr. Tatsuhiko Hara, Chief Research Scientist, IISEEThe seismology and tsunami staff attended the Fall meeting
Seismological Society of Japan held from October 26 to 28 in Kobe.

Back Numbers
http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/
nldb/oftheReflecting that twenty years passed after the 1995 Southern Hyogo Prefecture
Earthquake (the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake) occurred, a special session“Destination and Challenge of Seismology Learned in the 20 Years since theGreat Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake” was held, where achievements andprogresses in the last two decades and issues in the future were presented anddiscussed.
Total number of the sessions was twenty three, and among them two otherspecial sessions, “New Insights into Earthquake Science through Big Data ofSeismic and Geodetic Observations” and “The 30 May 2015 Deep Earthquake
off the Bonin Islands” were programmed.