Implementation of a disaster management system for local governments in Japan

Abstract

Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 has been delayed. To suitably respond to similar large-scale disasters in the future, the implementation of a disaster management system at the local municipal level, aimed at rapid reconstruction that includes management of processes from pre-disaster to the reconstruction phase, is required. In this study, we develop a prototype of such a system, which is referred to as the Local Government Disaster Management System (LGDMS). For our study, we collaborate with a municipality in Kochi, Japan. In the LGDMS prototype, we use a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) format, wherein the contents of each activity and roles of different organizations in those activities are defined based on a study of organizational problems and law and regulation issues among the central government, prefectural governments, and municipal governments. The Construction Management Committee of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) established a subcommittee for this research. This subcommittee is composed of university faculty members, local consulting engineers, and administrative officials in Tohoku and Kochi. The subcommittee is striving to implement LGDMS in several municipalities in Kochi.