Tag - disaster

 
 

DISASTER

A screenshot of the Nigetore app (left) five minutes after the start of practice evacuation using a 15-minute setting for “preparation time.” On the right, two screenshots show the outcomes of drills and a map indicating an evacuation route with tsunami inundation areas highlighted.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 11, 2023
Tsunami evacuation app offers realistic quake preparation experience
Personal tsunami evacuation drill app Nigetore allows users to choose their own evacuation routes and evaluate their success.
A schoolgirl wears a padded hood for protection from falling debris during an earthquake simulation exercise at an elementary school in Tokyo. The government estimates a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 event striking directly underneath the capital in the next 30 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2023
Tokyo has lived on the brink of the ‘Big One’ — for a century
The Great Kanto Earthquake demolished the nascent Japanese capital, killing more than 100,000 people — some 3% of the city’s population at the time.
After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, many people who were unable to return home took shelter at the Tokyo International Forum.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2023
Tokyo lacks places for stranded people just after quake
With transportation networks severely disrupted, experts ponder how to care for those who wouldn't be able to go home.
Just 17.4% of small and midsize companies in Tokyo have developed business continuity plans to prepare for emergencies including natural disasters, according to a recent survey.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2023
Only 23% of Tokyo companies have business continuity plans, survey shows
Efforts to create such plans did not spread widely among companies although many had their operations disrupted due to the March 2011 quake and tsunami.
A child stands in front of the Hibiya Music Hall, which collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 31, 2023
The earthquake that turned Tokyo to ash
This week we commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
A fire breaks out in the Yurakucho area of Tokyo after the Great Kanto Earthquake in September 1923.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023
Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience
For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023
Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake
The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
Czech firefighters watch smoke rising as a wildfire burns at the Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 30, 2023
Wildfire-preparation tactics every community should consider
Looking at lessons from past disastrous fires, here are steps that can help reduce fire risk at the home and community level.
An area congested with wooden houses in Tokyo's Higashi-Ikebukuro district
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023
Tokyo aiming to eliminate areas congested with wooden houses
As of 2020, Tokyo had some 8,600 hectares of such areas that are expected to suffer particularly severe damage in the event of a large quake.
Residents clean up debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science
Aug 20, 2023
A Japan research team dares to ask: Can typhoons be controlled?
Researchers in Yokohama are probing whether tropical cyclones can be weakened or diverted, with energy they produce also tapped to generate power.
The streets of Kagoshima city on Wednesday amid strong winds from Typhoon Khanun.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2023
Japan prefectures drift away from posting disaster warnings on X
A growing number of prefectures have stopped posting disaster warnings on the platform due to limits on the number of free posts allowed.
Rescue workers search for flood survivors in Takeo, Saga Prefecture, in August 2021.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2023
Nearly 30% of disaster-base hospitals in flood-risk areas
A Japanese government panel found risks in 221 facilities out of 765 so-called disaster-base hospitals as of late August 2022.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 10, 2023
Ukraine envoy to Japan sees major role for Tokyo in reconstruction
The ambassador expressed his hope of tapping into Japan’s vast experience in rebuilding after natural disasters like the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2023
NPO pushes doomsday bunkers in Japan as security threats grow
The organization says the underground shelter can house a family of four adults, three children and one pet for a maximum of two weeks.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jun 30, 2023
New research finds Mount Fuji may have erupted more often than previously thought
Scientists found that there were six eruptions between 5,050 and 3,900 years ago — a period of time that was previously thought to have seen little volcanic activity at Japan's highest peak.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jun 30, 2023
U.K. braces for wildfires as climate change prompts 'significant shift' in risk
The threat of wildfires is starting to spread to new areas including northern Europe, where traditionally cooler and wetter climates are giving way to hotter and drier summers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 19, 2023
Japan agrees to set up reconstruction liaison system with Ukraine
At the request of Ukraine, Tokyo intends to provide Kyiv with advice and knowledge to be used in rebuilding devastated regions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 16, 2023
What a smoky U.S. can learn from past climate denialism in Australia
National disasters, such as the bush fires in Australia and now Canada and the U.S., can sway voters — but the shift is often only slight.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2023
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake jolts coastal area of south Hokkaido
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake, which measured a weak 5 on the shindo (intensity) scale, was detected at a depth of 140 kilometers near the coast of Urakawa, Hokkaido, on Sunday at 6:55 p.m.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 6, 2023
As flood risks rise, New Orleans neighborhoods build resilience
Community-led projects in New Orleans are helping the city to cut flood risk and improve water management as climate change fuels more extreme weather.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on