TCAR - Typhoon Committee

Figure 9 Technical assistance team
(advising on recovery works) (KRA2, 4)
e. Regional Cooperation Achievements/Results
e-1. Projects for the Debris Flow and Landslide
Warning System and Hazard Mapping for
Sediment-related Disasters
Japan has taken the initiative in the Project for the
Debris Flow and Landslide Warning System
since 2002 up until this year through activities of the
Typhoon Committee (TC). To start with, we proposed
the Japanese method for setting the base rainfall
used to trigger warnings and evacuations as a
criterion to release sediment-related disaster warning
information. Since then, individual TC member
countries have selected model sites and worked to
put the method into domestic operation by modifying
it based on their own needs and conditions. The final
project report published this fiscal year reported
progress in several member countries including
China, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand,
the United States and Japan.
In light of increased technical understanding regarding
the issuance of warning information
among these countries, the next project, Hazard
Mapping for Sediment-related Disasters, was
launched in 2009 for the purpose of identifying areas
at high risk of sediment-related disasters.
Each participating country is currently selecting a
model site for hazard mapping.
In Japan, a heavy rainfall event caused large-scale,
simultaneous sediment-related disasters in
July 2009 in Yamaguchi Prefecture’s Hofu City,
resulting in 14 deaths including 7 elderly people who
were killed when debris flow directly hit their nursing
home. Under Japan’s Sediment-Related Disaster
Prevention Law, local municipalities are responsible
for the development of warning and evacuation
systems in areas deemed to have a certain level of
TCAR
CHAPTER 1 - TYPHOON COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
disaster risk. The nursing home was located in such
an area. In this fatal incident, human lives were lost
because of problems with information communication
despite sediment-related disaster warning information
having been issued before the actual debris flow
occurred. The incident demonstrated that forecasting
and warnings alone will not always be adequate as
countermeasures for sediment-related disasters, and
reminded us that hazard mapping for such disasters
can be an effective countermeasure to prevent
damage by designating high-risk areas and promoting
precautions.
2009
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