On August 30, 2016, Typhoon No. 10 struck Iwaizumi-cho in Iwate Prefecture, causing major destruction due to the heavy rain and flooding of the Omoto River. Just a little more than a year since the typhoon, on October 21, 2017, IRIDeS researchers, including Assoc. Prof. of history Yuichi Ebina and Assoc. Prof. Shuji Moriguchi who specializes in landslides, visited the site, with local disaster expert Toshimasa Morita and Yumiko Washizuka of local radio station FM Iwate’s Iwaizumi bureau, who was responsible for reporting on Typhoon No. 10, and others.

Associate Professors Ebina and Moriguchi considered the information obtained from an analysis on river flooding (provided by Shuichi Kure, Assoc. Prof. at Toyama Prefectural University) and an old map of Iwaizumi and compared them to the shape of the local terrain and the testimonials of locals. The results suggest that the Omoto River flooded as a result of the massive rain concentrated in a short period of time and driftwood that acted as a dam and that previously, the river flowed to a road in which overflowing water ran. Assoc. Prof. Ebina pointed out, “Further detailed analysis must be done to arrive at a conclusion, but this is perhaps an example of how the remains of old land use have an impact in a disaster, even after land use has changed due to human action.”

The Omoto River, with its river wall still in a crumbling state

(Ogawa District)

Moreover, IRIDeS researchers, Washizuka, and Morita exchanged opinions on current disaster reporting and issues with disaster prevention countermeasures. With regard to a landslide countermeasures booklet created by disaster prevention expert Morita based on individual investigative visits, Assoc. Prof. Moriguchi stated, “This has a lot of information, such as what dangers lurk in our homes and what escape routes to use in times of disaster, which will help us understand disasters as personal events. It is very advanced and will be a fantastic reference on disaster risk reduction in the future.” This collaboration between IRIDeS arts and science partnership researchers, media personalities who know their community, and a disaster prevention expert provided an opportunity for a number of discoveries and useful findings.

Associate Professors Ebina and Moriguchi, disaster prevention expert Morita, and FM Iwate’s Washizuka exchange opinions

(both photos were taken October 21, 2017)

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