Mega earthquake in a resilient society: the great East Japan (Tohoku Kanto) earthquake and tsunami of 11th March 2011

This report, published two weeks after the Great East Japan (Tohoku-Kanto) earthquake and tsunami, provides a synthesis of certain existing data and a basic situation analysis of the situation. It considers the major challenge posed to the disaster risk reduction community by: (i) the earthquake; (ii) the tsunami; (ii) the ongoing nuclear emergency; and (iv) the fires, in terms of damage to (v) human life and (vi) infrastructure. It then focuses on the after event period, especially on the search and rescue operation, as well as on shelters. It also considers the economic impact and the work of volunteers.

In the fourth chapter, it provides a brief analysis of response and recovery at this early stage. This is divided into two parts: (i) highlights of disaster situation, which characterise the key points of the current disaster, such as the co-occurrences of different hazards; and (ii) a summary of some of the issues which needs attention at short, medium and long term recovery, such as coordination, information, collaboration, policies and people's resilience.