Seminar on Lessons from the Recent Catastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami in East Japan by Prof. Shunji Murai

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Seminar 

on

Lessons from the Recent Catastrophic Earthquake and Tsunami in East Japan

by

Prof. Shunji Murai, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, Japan

  

Venue:    E220

Date:       01 June 2011 (Wednesday)

Time:      10.00-11.30 am

 

ABSTRACT

 

At 2:46pm on the 11th March 2011, the huge earthquake of M9.0 occurred offshore of Sanriku (north east of Japan) with its epicenter covering a region 500km long (north-south) and 200km wide (east-west) in the Pacific Ocean. Accordingly the damaged areas were also 500km long stretching from a part of Hokkaido (the north island of Japan) in the north to Tokyo in the south. Damages as of April 9, about a month after the earthquake are as follows: 12,915 dead (so far confirmed); 14,921 missing (reported only); 153,680 evacuees; 219,555 houses destroyed; 2,200 roads damaged; 56 bridges collapsed; 6 fuel power stations destroyed. Tohoku Shinkansen and Tohoku Highway were severely damaged. Tohoku Highway was repaired about two weeks afterwards while Tohoku Shinkansen is not yet fully operational.

 

RS and GIS are useful for damage assessment to compare between situations before and after the earthquake and Tsunami. There are two remarkable issues on this occasion. One was that high resolution satellite images clearly showed the damage and accidents at the Fukushima NPS. Air survey was not available because of the high level of atomic radiation in the air, as well as the destruction of local airports. Satellite images showed the damage to the power station buildings caused by the hydrogen gas explosion, which was useful for recovery planning. Another issue was damage assessment by comparing images before and after the Earthquake and Tsunami. As the damaged area was so huge, helicopters were inadequate. High resolution satellite images and also SAR were very useful to realize the scale of the damage. Pasco company analyzed high resolution satellite images and reported that 70% of the damaged areas by the Tsunami were still inundated on the 24th March, almost two weeks after the earthquake. Insurance companies in Japan announced that they will provide compensation for earthquake insurance by assessing high resolution satellite imagery or aerial photographs without site investigation, as access to the damaged areas was difficult and hence buildings could not be located or assessed.

 

Japan seems to commit a mistake by adopting the nuclear power as a sustainable alternative to its energy security. I would say that natural and man-made disasters can be much bigger than we can imagine. The so-called safety myth cannot be relied upon. An event with a probability of one in a thousand years may occur tomorrow anywhere and at any time.