Resource information
The Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE)
was the first disaster ever recorded that included an
earthquake, a tsunami, a nuclear power plant accident, a
power supply failure, and a large-scale disruption of supply
chains. On March 11, 2011 earthquake of magnitude 9.0
occurred in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan's
Tohoku region. The quake shook the ground as far away as
western Japan and lasted for several minutes. A half hour
later, a tsunami of unprecedented force broke over 650
kilometers of coastline, toppling sea walls and other
defenses, flooding more than 500 km of land, and washing
away entire towns and villages. This learning from
Megadisasters, a knowledge sharing project is sponsored by
the Government of Japan and the World Bank. The successes of
Japan's Disaster Risk Management (DRM) system, as well
as the ways in which that system could be improved, are
reflected in the lessons drawn from the GEJE and presented
in the initial reports from the Learning from megadisasters
project: extreme disasters underscore the need for a
holistic approach to DRM, preventive Investments pay, but be
prepared for the unexpected, learning from disaster is key,
as Japan has shown for the past 2,000 years, DRM is
everyone's business, assessing risks and communicating
them clearly and widely helps citizens make timely decisions
to protect themselves, hazard maps can give the public a
false sense of safety, if not properly communicated, Better
management of information and communication is crucial in
emergencies and recovery operations, coordination mechanisms
must be developed and tested in normal times, so that they
are ready for use in an emergency, and vulnerable groups
must be protected and engaged.
