News in Japan - April

When the Mekong rises, by Mekong River Commission

The county where no one's gay

In Sapporo, one in every 2,800 conflicted about gender: survey

Student seeking Kyoto flat told: No foreigners allowed

The phantoms of Narita Airport: The forgotten warriors in fading green fields

5 Ways You’re Wrong About Surviving Disasters

Documentary Alone in the Zone

TEPCO moves irradiated water to ground tanks

Fukushima nuclear plant shutdown may take Japan longer than predicted 40 years, warns U.N. agency

Storm winds disrupt Japan rail, air transport for second day

Massive landslide in French Alps

ICHARM Open Day

Today was ICHARM’s Open Day where we got a visit from high school students.

This year’s program started with a welcome address by deputy director Dr. Shigenobu Tanaka.

After this I presented ‘A short history of Dutch and Japanese water management’, and fellow PhD student Rodrigo Fernandez from Guatemala presented on ‘Water related issues in least developed countries’.

The next section called ‘Let’s learn and talk with foreign researchers’ featured posters and presenters from the countries Bangladesh, Guatemala, Korea, the Netherlands, Nepal, Ukraine, and the United States. During this section I presented a poster on the ‘History and Future of Water Related Disasters in the Netherlands’, modified from the poster created for last year’s open day with Babeth Bosma.

Dr. Pat Yeh closed the day, after which a commemorative photo was taken. 

 

Earthquake of shindou 6- in West Japan

Early Saturday morning an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 and shindou (shaking intensity) 6- occurred near Kobe. Aside from liquefaction, 24 people were reported injured. NHK reports that among the injured was an 83 year old man who attempted to escape through a window, severely fracturing his thigh bone.  They also report the usual temporal suspension of trains and flights as tracks and runways are checked for damages, and the ongoing functioning of Japans two active nuclear reactors in Fukui prefecture. Some movies are available here and here, showing immediate repairs of roofs. Given the distance, as seen in the pictures from the JMA below, we didn't notice the quake at all.

An earthquake of shindou 6-has the following characteristics: 

-difficult to keep standing

-a lot of heavy and unfixed furniture moves and falls. It is impossible to open the door in many cases. All objects will shake violently.

-strongly and severely felt outside. Light posts swing, and electric poles can fall down, causing fires.

-less earthquake-resistant houses collapse and even walls and pillars of other homes are damaged. Apartment buildings can collapse by floors falling down onto each other.

-less earthquake-resistant buildings easily receive heavy damage and may be destroyed. Even highly earthquake-resistant buildings have large cracks in walls and will be moderately damaged, at least. In some buildings, wall tiles and windowpanes are damaged and fall.

-gas pipes and/or water mains will be damaged. Gas, water and electricity are interrupted.

-small to medium cracks appear in the ground, and larger landslides take place.

-peak ground acceleration of 2.50–3.15 m/s²

Human Rights related to disaster management

Looking at the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), signed by the Netherlands and the United States, supported by Japan, it has two types of articles relating to disaster management, which are also found in the constitutions of these countries. These types are equality and non-discrimination, and a right to a certain standard of safe living which the government should help to provide. Below the articles can be found for comparison.

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Table 1: Articles from the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948) relating to human rights and disaster management

Preamble. We recognize that all peoples of the world have the right to live in peace, free from fear and want. Article 13. All of the people shall be respected as individuals. Their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall, to the extent that it does not interfere with the public welfare, be the supreme consideration in legislation and in other governmental affairs. Article 14. All of the people are equal under the law and there shall be no discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin. Peers and peerage shall not be recognized. No privilege shall accompany any award of honor, decoration or any distinction, nor shall any such award be valid beyond the lifetime of the individual who now holds or hereafter may receive it. Article 25.  All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living. In all spheres of life, the State shall use its endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health.

Table 2: Articles from the Japanese Constitution relating to human rights and disaster management

Article 1. All persons in the Netherlands shall be treated equally in equal circumstances. Discrimination on the grounds of religion, beliefs, political opinion, race, sex or on any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted. Article 21. The concerns of the government are focused on the habitability of the land and the protection and improvement of the living environment.

Table 3: Articles from the Dutch Constitution (1815) relating to human rights and disaster management

Preamble We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Article 3, Section 2 (1) (abbreviated) The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority.

Table 4: Articles from the American Constitution (1787) relating to human rights and disaster management

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Table 5: Text from the American Declaration of Independence (1776) relating to human rights and disaster management

EMDAT disaster data compared to population at the time of disaster

Below are the statistics of the top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 by highest number of people killed/affected and the % of the total population of the time, for the countries Japan, Netherlands and United States. The sources are the EMDAT database and the central bureau of statistics of the respective countries. Note that the Netherlands only has eight entries qualifying the EMDAT criteria of natural disasters in this period for top ten events affecting people.

Disaster	Year	# Killed	Total population at the time	% of total population
Storm	1917	4000	54,134,000	0.00739
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1923	143000	58,119,000	0.24605
Storm	1923	3000	58,119,000	0.00516
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1933	3064	67,432,000	0.00454
Storm	1934	3006	68,309,000	0.00440
Storm	1945	3746	72,147,000	0.00519
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1948	5131	80,002,000	0.00641
Storm	1959	5098	92,641,000	0.00550
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1995	5297	127,799,000	0.00414
Earthquake (seismic activity)	2011	19846	125,570,000	0.01580

Top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in Japan, by highest number of people killed and the % of total population at the time

Disaster	Year	# Total Affected	Total population at the time	% of total population
Storm	1945	1340691	72,147,000	1.85828
Storm	1945	540981	72,147,000	0.74983
Storm	1950	642117	84,115,000	0.76338
Flood	1953	1886760	86,981,000	2.16916
Storm	1953	1000000	86,981,000	1.14968
Storm	1959	1500000	92,641,000	1.61915
Flood	1961	1302249	94,287,000	1.38115
Flood	1965	3000000	99,209,000	3.02392
Epidemic	1978	2000000	115,190,000	1.73626
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1995	541636	125,570,000	0.43134

Top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in Japan, by highest number of people affected and the % of total population at the time

Disaster	Year	# Killed	Total population at the time	% of total population
Flood	1953	2000	10,436,000	0.01916
Storm	1990	20	14,893,000	0.00013
Flood	1993	1	15,239,000	0.00001
Storm	1995	1	15,424,000	0.00001
Storm	1997	2	15,567,000	0.00001
Epidemic	1999	13	15,760,000	0.00008
Storm	2002	4	16,105,000	0.00002
Extreme temperature	2003	965	16,193,000	0.00596
Extreme temperature	2006	1000	16,334,000	0.00612
Storm	2007	7	16,358,000	0.00004

Top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in the Netherlands, by highest number of people killed and the % of total population at the time

Disaster	Year	# Total Affected	Total population at the time	% of total population
Flood	1953	300000	10,436,000	2.87466
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1992	20	15,129,000	0.00013
Flood	1993	13000	15,239,000	0.08531
Storm	1995	250000	15,424,000	1.62085
Storm	1997	100	15,567,000	0.00064
Flood	1998	2000	15,654,000	0.01278
Epidemic	1999	200	15,760,000	0.00127
Storm	2005	1	16,306,000	0.00001

Top eight (maximum amount of records) natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in the Netherlands, by highest number of people affected and the % of total population at the time

Disaster	Year	# Killed	Total population at the time	% of total population
Storm	1900	6000	76,094,000	0.00788
Earthquake (seismic activity)	1906	2000	85,450,000	0.00234
Storm	1913	732	97,225,000	0.00075
Wildfire	1918	1000	103,208,000	0.00097
Storm	1925	739	115,829,000	0.00064
Storm	1928	1836	120,509,000	0.00152
Extreme temperature	1936	1193	226,542,250	0.00053
Extreme temperature	1980	1260	227,225,000	0.00055
Extreme temperature	1995	670	262,803,000	0.00025
Storm	2005	1833	296,410,404	0.00062

Top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in the United States, by highest number of people killed and the % of total population at the time

Disaster	Year	# Total Affected	Total population at the time	% of total population
Storm	1985	1000000	237,924,000	0.42030
Epidemic	1993	403000	257,783,000	0.15633
Storm	1999	3000010	272,691,000	1.10015
Storm	2004	5000000	293,656,842	1.70267
Storm	2005	500000	296,410,404	0.16869
Storm	2005	300000	296,410,404	0.10121
Wildfire	2007	640064	301,579,895	0.21224
Flood	2008	11000148	304,374,846	3.61401
Storm	2008	2100000	304,374,846	0.68994
Storm	2011	370000	311,591,917	0.11875

Top ten natural hazards leading to disasters from 1900-2013 in the United States, by highest number of people affected and the % of total population at the time