10 - 12 March 2023 (Sendai, Japan hybrid with online)
The field trip that took place after the conference of the Asian Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2022 (ACDR2022), which took place in Sendai, Japan, in March 2023.
On 12 March 2023, after the conference adjourned, participants moved by bus to the Yuriage area in Natori City. After each enjoying a lunch of local seafood and products at Yuriage Minato Asaichi (morning market) /Maple Hall, the participants joined a walking tour to observe the recovery and urban planning situations in the area following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, with the assistance of the Natori City Kitagama Construction Promotion Office.
The participants visited the following three places with the Mayor of Natori City, Mr YAMADA Shiro: (1) Earthquake Reconstruction Museum, (2) Teizan Canal and Restoration Public Houses, and (3) Kawamachi Terrace Yuriage (commercial shopping centre).
At the Earthquake Reconstruction Museum, the participants divided into two groups and received an explanation from the Mayor on the overview of the recovery situation of the area and the facility's function as a flood defence facility at the time of emergencies. In particular, the explanation of the post-disaster town planning attracted a lot of interest, as it talked about how the population declined immediately after the earthquake and tsunami event, and how it turned to increase after the promotion of the new town planning.
The participants then walked along the Teizan Canal and the reconstruction public housing area, where they were able to directly see and learn how the land level was raised and tsunami emergency evacuation sites were set up in public housings.
Finally, the participants visited the Kawamachi Terrace Yuriage commercial centre and were given a briefing on its disaster preparedness functions. After the explanation, the participants had some time to stroll around the shopping area overflowing with locals and tourists enjoying the weekend on the riverbank.
During the two-hour field trip, participants raised active questions about the specific community development measures and reconstruction policies implemented by Natori City, and showed great interest in the reconstruction efforts taken in the area so they could reflect them to their jobs at home as disaster management administrators and officials.
This field trip was made possible through a great contribution of Natori City Kitagama Construction Promotion Office. The brochure, "Initiatives for Post-Earthquake Reconstruction in Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture," provided by the office, served not only as a great reference material for the visit, but also a source of many valuable reconstruction experiences for the participants to take home.
We would like to thank once again to all those who supported with us on this field trip and those who participated in ACDR2022.
(2023/03/22 15:00)