Lessons for Climate Adaptation from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011: A
Case study of Flooding at Tokai Village
Kazuya Yasuhara1, Nobuo Mimura1, Tetsuji Ito2, Naomasa Honda3, Minoru Yamada4 and
Frank Hiroshi Ling1
1
Institute for Global Change Adaptation Science (ICAS), Ibaraki University, Japan
2
Department of Human and Social Science, Ibaraki University, Japan
3
Department of Natural Science, Ibaraki University, Japan
4
Department of Urban and Civil Engineering, Ibaraki University, Japan
Abstract: The Great Eastern Japan Earthquake that struck on 11 March 2011 caused heavy damages to
Japan’s infrastructure, revealing technical and social vulnerabilities in spite of years of preparation. An
investigation on flooded areas in the aftermath of the earthquake showed lessons for improving resilience to
disasters as well as for adapting to threats imposed by climate change. In this case study, carried out by
researchers at Ibaraki University, it was found that a localflooding disaster, which could have been
prevented, was caused bya number of general factors including 1) a lack of institutionalized proceduresfor
local residents to take responsibility for actions following earthquakes, 2) a general lack of local awareness
of actions needed to counter potential risks, and 3) a lack of communication channels between stakeholders
in government and the public and among the local community. These lessons not only show the necessity of
communities in developed and developing countries to establish procedures for reducing disaster risks and
adaptation but also fostering social capital in managing shared resources.
Keywords:disaster risk reduction, adaptation, water, agriculture
1. Introduction
1.1. DRR and Climate Adaptation
As a nation living along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, Japan has suffered from frequent disasters including
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. During post-war industrialization, the government spent
billions of dollars developing advanced technologiesand designing infrastructure and buildings to withstand
the impact of these events. At the same time, Japan has taken aproactive approach and has been a leader in
institutionalizing disaster education at all levels of society: government, private enterprises, and schools. Not
only has Japan invested in scientific research to discover the causes and consequences of various seismic
activities, they have also developed contingency plans to prepare for and respond to the impacts of
earthquakes and tsunamis as well as weather related events like typhoons. Schools and higher education in
Japan have notably play a multifaceted role in reducing the risk from these disasters. Not only do students,
teachers, and communities come together to learn about disaster risk in schools, these sites are used for
practicing early warning drills and evacuation, and as shelters for local residents. As such, school sites are
selected through risk assessments and are among the most earthquake disaster resilient buildings in the
country.
With its wealth of knowledge in disaster risk reduction (DRR), Japan has a foundation to climate-proof
its economy as well as to help those in the Asia-Pacific, a region that is increasingly becoming inter-
dependent on each other and facing many threats due to climate change, particularly, along coastal regions.
With the frequency and intensity of floodings and droughts expected to increase, threats to ecosystems,
infrastructure, agriculture, health systems, and overall livelihood of the population will become
unmanageable. Indeed, both DRR and climate change adaptation share common goals: reducing
environmental and socioeconomic vulnerabilities of communities and realizing sustainable development.1
In spite of the tragic consequence of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011, researchers
have already identified valuable lessons for DRR and for developing strategies for climate adaptation around
Asia. In this research, we use the example of the failure to respond to flooding in Tokai Village, Ibaraki
Prefecture to suggest ways of improving responses to both acute events like earthquakes but also weather
conditions brought about by climate change.
1.2. Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011
On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Japan, the strongest to be
recorded in recent history. The initial temblor caused widespread damage across Japan, including damage to
roads, rail, and buildings. Although many structures were proofed to withstand these shakes, the greatest
damage occurred in areas that experienced liquefaction due to the sandy nature of the land. Subsequently, a
series of tsunamis struck the north eastern coast of the Tohoku region, causing over 20,000 casualties and
uprooting many communities.2 With tsunamis reaching as high as 39 meters in some regions, thousands of
people drowned as they tried to escape from the oncoming waves. Although the coast of the Tohoku region
(Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures) received the highest tsunamis, the coastal region of Ibaraki
prefecture also received significant flooding, resulting in significant damage to fisheries and agriculture.
In many ways, Japan’s response was a success as many people living along the coastline were able to
evacuate safely, yet many others were not so fortunate. While many generations have experienced and
survived these events, this earthquake revealed vulnerabilities, even with the availability of today’s advanced
technologies and anticipation of such natural disasters.
1.3. Flooding Disaster in Tokai Village
In Tokai Village of Ibaraki
Prefecture, the flooding from the
subsequent tsunamis, particularly
the third wave, caused the greatest
damage when the rice fields at
Toyooka and Kameshita districts
were inundated with seawater
(Figure 1).3 This was caused by a
failure of the water gates at Kuji,
which regulate the supply of water
to the rice fields through a channel,
to close. In spite of efforts to
prepare for these events, different
factors have been identified as
contributing to this particular
disaster.
Under
normal
operating
conditions, this gate can be opened
and
closed
manually
or
automatically. However, the gates did not work due to stoppage of the electricity and were unable to prevent
the rush of water into the fields. In addition, ICT systems were destroyed. As a result, the retaining walls
Figure 1. Receding tsunami (Source: Takashi Hashimoto)
installed along the water channels at both Toyooka and Kameshita districts collapsed by being overturned
from the inundation of seawater, which subsequently salinized the rice paddies (Figures 2 and 3). This likely
occurred as the tsunami waves receded, inducing a strong force on the walls. The flooding pattern was in
accordance with hazard maps that had been produced for this region.
Figure 2. After Tsunami on 12 March 2011 (Source: Takashi Hashimoto)
Figure 3. After Tsunami on 31 March 2011 (Source: Kazuya Yasuhara)
2. Discussion
2.1. Causes and Solutions to Flood Damage at Tokai Village
Through interviews with local community residents at Toyooka in Tokai Village, the main findings for
this flooding disaster are:
1. The gates were not opened was a lack of communication with local residents who could have
been authorized to close the gates in such emergencies
2. Guidelines are needed to determine whether or when the gate should be closed
3. Communication channels between government and local residents need to be established
The critical question is why the floodgates were not closed? In fact, almost 45 minutes had passed
between the initial earthquake and the oncoming tsunamis, which should have given enough time for
someone living in the vicinity to take initiative in making closing the gates. Although there were local
citizens in the vicinity, the gates were not closed manually.
A detailed analysis was carried out from a variety of perspectives: coastal engineering, geology,
geotechnical engineering, urban planning, and social psychology. Among the findings, there was a general
lack of awareness and procedure with dealing with situations like this disaster. According to the local chief,
local residents were not apprised of the need to close the water gate, as they believed that the coastal
breakwater alone was sufficient to protect them from storm surges and tsunamis. There was no notion that
the floodgates should be paid attention to even. In addition there was a lack of communication within the
community and the residents living closest to the gate did not have the permission or responsibility to close
the gate when authorities could not be present.
In order to prepare for future threats the following course of action is suggested:
1. Developing criteria for actions to be taken under an emergency
2. Clarification of responsibilities and accurate method of communication for evacuation in an
emergency disaster
3. Strengthening flood control measures in low-lying
4. Reconsideration of cultivation in low lying farmlands, which are under the threat of future
tsunamis
5. Developing recovery efforts to remove salt from inundated rice paddies
Figure 4. Crisis Management at the Community Level
The failure of the water gates in Tokai
Village underscored the importance of
individuals and communities in taking action
for responding to natural disasters. While this
case specifically identifies the need for
establishing a decision making protocol that
specifies responsibilities for regulating the
gates during flooding when power and ICT
systems are down, it highlights the need for
communities to be educated about the resources
they are dependent on and to develop strategies
against potential emergencies. Adequate
communication is needed among various
stakeholders including the central and local
governments, coastal and river management
commissions, and residents (Figure 4).
Although these measures can help a community like Toyooka proof itself from future disasters, they do
not address the underlying problem of declining community ties. Even if a designated member of the
community has been identified, there is no guarantee that they he will be in the area or able to carry out the
task. It is critical that the community as a whole take responsibility by communicating to each other. Yet,
Japan, much like many industrialized countries around the world, has experienced asteep decline in social
capital, especially as traditional agrarian communities, which had underpinned Japanese society for many
centuries, have gradually transitioned to urban neighborhoods.4As a result, indigenous knowledge of local
resources are lost as the knowledge is no longer passed on the children, who no longer feel a strong sense of
community that their ancestors felt.
For local communities to become climate resilient against future threats, policymakers must also be
aware of these changed to develop strategies based on new social dynamics. In addition, due to these changes
in demographics, the average age of farmers has become older and the needs of the elderly must be properly
taken into account.
2.2. Implication for Climate Adaptation Research
Although the damage to the rice paddies in Toyooka represents only a small fraction of the rice produced
in Japan, many lessons could be applied to preparing for climate-induced flooding disasters, which threaten
the agriculture sector and the livelihood of farmers across Asia. These threats include salt intrusion due to
rising sea levels and higher frequencies of typhoons. In most Asian countries, the population obtains a
substantial amount of their food and nutrition from rice crops. For example, the Mekong Delta region of
Vietnam produces as much as rice as Japan and Korea combined and is a major source of food for the region.
The country has also taken a lead in evaluating their vulnerabilities including those in the agricultural sector.
The failure of the water gates in Tokai Village is a case study in understanding the role of individuals
and communities in taking action for responding to natural threats. The disaster highlighted general
weaknesses that hinder effective DRR and climate adaptation. These include:
1. The lack of institutional guidelines for local residents to take action and responsibility
following disasters. In order for Japan and other countries to climate-proof their countries, there
is aurgent need to develop relevant institutional guidelines so that local residents can take
appropriate actions following disasters.
2. A general lack of local awareness of actions needed to counter potential risks. Education
among the public and also with young children are needed for local residents to take ownership
of their resources and become informed of the threats to their community and countermeasures
to ensure the minimal loss of life and livelihood.
3. A lack of communication channels between stakeholders in government and the public and
among the local community.It is clear that the responsibility of managing these resources does
not lie with the authorities alone but must be shared among the citizens of a community.
Establishing communication channels and protocols in preparation to emergencies will be key
toclimate-resilient communities.
While the lessons learned are broad, they can be instructive for developing strategies in diverse contexts
at the local level. The role of traditional knowledge cannot be understated. Urbanization, which isdriving a
weakening of family and community ties, is leading to the loss of undocumented knowledge and practices
that have evolved over generation and proven to be effective at reducing disasters as well as dealing with
unavoidable dangers. The research community has a responsibility to document these best practices, which
will contribute to the effective mainstreaming of adaptation strategies.
2.3. Way Forward
In order to adapt to the future climate regime, both developed and developing countries will need to
adapt to climate change and respond to disasters in a way that minimizes the loss of human life as well as
damage to social, economic and environmental systems. Climate change adaptation and DRR share many
linkages. While the former addresses acute events of low frequency, the latter addresses changing climate
conditions that may be permanent. There is an enormous potential to take these lessons from DRR and apply
them to developing countries, which are facing the greatest dangers from climate change, and developed
countries, which are facing increasingly harsher conditions in their environment. Although this report only
highlighted one case of how DRR can be achieved, traditional communities of the Asia and the Pacific,
which have indigenous knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation, are important
sources of knowledge for community based adaptation (CBA).
As an emerging field, there has yet to be a coherent effort in adaptation research. Although many
networks for climate adaptation have emerged, they have been hindered by various institutional barriers
including redundancy in goals; lack of balance among goals in research, education, and implementation; and
lack of attention in CBA. To overcome these limitations, the Ministry of Environment, Japan (MOEJ) is
promoting an international community of researchers for sharing best practices in climate adaptation,
particular, at the community-based level. 5 Underlying this research community are efforts to develop metrics
for decision making and supporting a university network for knowledge sharing.6
3. Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the Ministry of
the Environment (S-8), Japan and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research. The authors would also like to express
sincere thanks to Dr. Rajib Shaw, Associate Professor of Kyoto University, for his kind introduction of communitybased network for adaptation. We are also indebted to Takashi Hashimoto for pictures.
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