Typhoon, Flood and Landslide Related Disasters in Japan: Role of Communities

Abstract

Japan, due to its critical location is prone to typhoon, and related disasters like floods and landslides. There has been a strong history of risk reduction in Japan with community approaches. This chapter demonstrates the evolution of community roles in typhoon, flood and landslide related disasters over time with four specific examples: 1999 Hiroshima sediment disasters, 2004 typhoon disasters in Saijo City and Toyooka city, 2009 and 2011 rainfall disasters in Shiso city. These examples elaborate different issues like: evolution of community hazard maps and community participation in the drills (in Hiroshima), implementing town watching in the schools to enhance school community linkages (in Saijo), enhancing the roles of volunteers in post disaster debris management (in Toyooka), day time and night time disaster drills and community hazard map making (in Shiso). Collectively, it is shown that community plays in important role in different aspects of risk reduction activities before, during and after disasters.