National May 21, 2019
by Kazuaki Nagata
The system predicts floods based on detailed urban infrastructure data and the test comes amid growing risks of heavy rain on an unprecedented scale due to climate change.
NEWSWORTHY
National / Science & Health May 20, 2019
99% of Pacific mega-quake predictions likely to prove wrong, survey of seismologists finds
Japanese seismologists believe that nearly 99 percent of their predictions related to massive earthquakes in the Pacific off central and western Japan are likely to prove wrong, a survey conducted by Kansai University showed Sunday. While the government estimates there is a 70 to 80 ...
World May 16, 2019
Increasingly complex, growing and related risks, from global warming to pollution and epidemics, threaten human survival if left to escalate, the United Nations warned on Wednesday. A biennial assessment report on how the world is dealing with disasters said the past could no longer be ...
World May 15, 2019
As risks rise, too little is spent to avert disasters, say U.N. and Red Cross
Governments and businesses are still investing far too little to protect poor communities at rising risk from wild weather and other threats, the heads of the U.N. disaster prevention agency and the Red Cross said Tuesday. Countries are having to dig deep to bail out ...
Commentary / Japan May 10, 2019
Share Japan's knowledge and skills on disaster preparedness
by Ayumi Takita
Disaster preparedness is a pressing and common need worldwide, as is the challenge of incorporating the mindset of disaster preparedness into daily life.
National May 5, 2019
Japanese health ministry to urge hospitals to enhance disaster preparedness
The ministry will push all hospitals designated as disaster response medical centers to stock enough fuel to run their power generators for at least three days.
World May 4, 2019
One year later, Hawaii lava evacuees grapple with huge losses
by Caleb Jones
A year after a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island rained lava and gases in one of its largest and most destructive eruptions in recorded history, people who lost their homes and farms in the disaster are still struggling to return to their cherished island ...
Asia Pacific May 3, 2019
Cyclone Fani tore through India's eastern coast on Friday as a grade 5 storm, lashing beaches with rain and wind gusting up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and affecting weather as far away as Mount Everest. The India Meteorological Department said the "extremely ...
World May 3, 2019
Nearly 800,000 people in eastern India have been evacuated ahead of a major cyclone packing winds gusting up to 200 kph (125 mph) and torrential rain, officials said Thursday. The Indian weather service said Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Fani should make landfall on Friday around ...
National Apr 29, 2019
Japan's peaceful Heisei Era leaves legacy of change, growth and tragedy
by Linda Sieg
Emperor Akihito's abdication Tuesday will end the three-decade Heisei Era that began on Jan. 8, 1989, a day after he inherited the throne upon the death of his father, Emperor Showa. During his rein, Japan struggled with economic stagnation and was hit by several natural ...
Asia Pacific Apr 29, 2019
At least 17 dead, thousands displaced after severe Sumatra floods
At least 17 people are dead and nine missing after days of heavy rain-triggered floods and landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, authorities said Sunday. Some 12,000 people have been evacuated while hundreds of buildings, bridges and roads have been damaged by the severe ...
World / Politics Apr 28, 2019
'We are losing everything!' Serious flooding in Mozambique in wake of Cyclone Kenneth
Serious flooding raged on Sunday in parts of northern Mozambique hit by Cyclone Kenneth three days ago, with water waist-high in places, after the government urged people to immediately seek higher ground. Hundreds of thousands of people were at risk with more rain forecast ...