LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST NOTABLE DISASTERS
JAPAN PART 3: VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna,
Virginia, USA
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT PLACE JAPAN’S NATURAL HAZARDS THAT PLACE JAPAN’S COMMUNITIES AT RISK COMMUNITIES AT RISK
NATURAL HAZARDS THAT PLACE JAPAN’S NATURAL HAZARDS THAT PLACE JAPAN’S COMMUNITIES AT RISK COMMUNITIES AT RISK
EARTHQUAKES
TYPHOONS
FLOODS
LANDSLIDES
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
ENACT AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES HAVING HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
ENACT AND IMPLEMENT POLICIES HAVING HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
GOAL: DISASTER GOAL: DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE
GOAL: DISASTER GOAL: DISASTER RESILIENCERESILIENCE
REGIONAL MAP
542 OF THE 1,500 ACTIVE VOLCANOES ARE LOCATED IN “RING OF FIRE”
542 OF THE 1,500 ACTIVE VOLCANOES ARE LOCATED IN “RING OF FIRE”
Japan lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a narrow zone around the Pacific Ocean
where most of Earth's earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions occur.
VOLCANOES
VOLCANOES ERUPT EVERY YEAR IN JAPAN AS A RESULT OF COMPLEX
INTERACTIONS OF THE PACIFIC, PHILIPPINE, EURASIAN, AND NORTH
AMERICAN PLATES
JAPAN’S VOLCANO FACTS
• Of the 1,500 active volcanoes in the world, Japan has 108 of them.
JAPAN’S VOLCANO FACTS
• Japan experiences an average of 10 volcanic eruptions per year.
LATERAL BLAST
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
VOLCANIC
ERUPTIONS
PYROCLASTIC FLOWS
FLYING DEBRIS
VOLCANIC ASH
LAVA FLOWS
LAHARS
TOXIC GASES
CAUSES OF RISK
CAUSES OF RISK
CASE HISTORIESCASE HISTORIES
JAPAN’SJAPAN’S
COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIES
JAPAN’SJAPAN’S
COMMUNITIESCOMMUNITIESDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATIONDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION
HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS
•VOLCANO HAZARDS•PEOPLE & BLDGS. •VULNERABILITY•LOCATION
VOLCANO RISK VOLCANO RISK
RISK
ACCEPTABLE RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
GOAL: VOLCANO GOAL: VOLCANO DISASTER RESILIENCEDISASTER RESILIENCE
• PREPAREDNESS•PROTECTION•EARLY WARNING•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION
POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS
VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS
• VERTICAL PLUME (can affect jet aircraft)
• ASH AND TEPHRA
• LATERAL BLAST
• PYROCLASTIC CLOUDS, BURSTS, AND FLOWS
VOLCANO HAZARDS CAN HAVE FAR REACHING IMPACTS
• LAVA FLOWS
• LAHARS (can bury villages)
• EARTHQUAKES (related to movement of lava)
• “VOLCANIC WINTER” (causing famine and mass extinctions)
JAPAN’S MOST NOTABLE VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
MOUNT UNZEN--MAY 21, 1792
MT. UNZEN
• Mt. Unzen’s eruption on May 21, 1792, was one of the worst in Japan’s long history of volcanic eruptions.
• Mount Unzen is located near the city of Shimabara in Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu
MT UNZEN: 1792
REMEMBERING THE MAY 21, 1792’S DISASTER
• About 1 month after the lava from Mt Unzen’s eruption stopped flowing, a massive landslide on the flank of nearby Mount Mayuyama swept through ancient Shimabara City, entered the sea, and generated a tsunami.
• More than 15,000 people were killed by the landslide and tsunami
JAPAN’S VOLCANO FACTS
• Mt. Unzen and Mt. Sakurajima are considered to be two of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of their potential for a violent eruption that would have devastating impacts on the surrounding high-density population centers..
SOME OF JAPAN’S CURRENTLY ACTIVE VOLCANOES
• Mount MeakanMount UsuMount AsamaTorishimaSakurajimaSuwanosejimaOyama
SHINMOEDAKE ERUPTS IN JAPAN
eruption began at 7:30 AM
Although called a minor eruption, it was the largest eruption since 1959
JANUARY 26-31, 2011
SHINMOEDAKE; JANUARY 26-31, 2011
JAPAN HAS 104 ACTIVE VOLCANOES
The 1,421-m (4,662-ft) Mount Shinmoedake is a part of the Kirishima volcano complex comprised of 20 active volcanoes
Mount Shinmoedake is located on the border of the
Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures
In the previous four months, Miyazaki prefecture had also suffered from an epidemic of the H5N1 bird flu, and a foot-and-mouth epidemic that was expected to cause ~ $ 2 billion in economic losses for the local livestock industry.
The inflation of the Shinmoedake volcano that eventually culminated in an
eruption had been underway since December 2009
May 10, 2010 to January 26, 2011: ~6 million m3 (0.006 km3) of
magma in a reservoir at 6 km depth ~10 km west-nw from Shinmoedake and another 1 million m3 (0.001 km3) of magma at 3 km depth under the
Shinmoedake cone itself.
The eruption produced lava fountains, andesitic lava flows, lightning, and ash emissions
that reached a height of nearly 5 miles (7.5 km)
ERUPTION OF SHINMOEDAKE
IMPACTS
Approximately 13,000 hectares of farm land were damaged by the falling ash deposits.
Flights in the region were canceled and 1,100 people in the vicinity were evacuated to gymnasiums and other
facilities in the town of Takaharu, seven miles east
of Kirishima.
ERUPTION VIEWED FROM TAKAHARU
POLICY POLICY ADOPTIONADOPTION
POLICY POLICY ADOPTIONADOPTION
RISK ASSESSMENT
• VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY
• EXPOSUREEXPOSURE
• EVENTEVENT
POLICY ASSESSMENT
• COSTCOST
• BENEFITBENEFIT
•CONSEQUENCESCONSEQUENCES
TOWARDS DISASTER RISK REDUCTION TOWARDS DISASTER RISK REDUCTION FOR VOLCANOESFOR VOLCANOES
VOLCANIC VOLCANIC ERUPTIONSERUPTIONS
VOLCANIC VOLCANIC ERUPTIONSERUPTIONS EXPECTED EXPECTED
LOSSLOSS
EXPECTED EXPECTED LOSSLOSS
THE KEYS TO RESILIENCE: 1) KNOW THE ERUPTIVE HISTORY OF
YOUR REGION’S VOLCANOES,2) BE PREPARED
3) HAVE A WARNING SYSTEM 4) EVACUATE
5) LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE AND START OVER
MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES AND WARNING SYSTEMS ARE A VITAL PART OF SURVIVAL.
AIR AND LAND MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES ARE VITAL
.
