Kobe, 19 January 2005 - Japan’s response to its deadliest storm in 25 years provides an excellent opportunity for the world community to draw lessons in disaster preparedness, says a new report launched here today at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe.

The report on the Tokage typhoon that swept across much of southern Japan on 20 October last year shows that while the human impacts were heavy, extensive damage was avoided due to the good practices put in place at all levels of Japanese society.

It says, the package of measures related to governance, education and awareness, information and data management, and related procedures collectively helped in mitigating the negative impacts of the disaster.

“Japan has been in the forefront of sound practices in minimizing the destructive impacts of disasters,” said Klaus Toepfer, UNEP Executive Director. “This UNEP study on the Tokage typhoon will provide valuable lessons for mitigation and management in other countries facing similar disasters.”

“The report also reinforces the importance of environmental concerns in the entire disaster management cycle of prevention, preparedness, assessment, mitigation and response and to integrate environmental concerns into planning for relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development,” he said.

On 20 October 2004, the Tokage typhoon swept through and ravaged much of the southern half of Japan. People were overcome by the massive waves and flash floods triggered by the typhoon’s heavy rains and strong winds, which left at least 93 people dead. At its height, Tokage, packing winds of up to 144km/h, had an 800km radius, and set off more than 700 landslides.

In Toyo-oka city, the hardest hit place, residences, infrastructure, forests and agricultural lands were severely damaged. A major challenge was dealing with the very high amount of waste debris caused by the typhoon. In the course of one day, Tokage produced 45,000 tons of waste, an amount equal to the total waste the city normally produces over one and a half years.

A number of lessons were learnt form the Tokage typhoon in Toyo-oka with respect to infrastructure management, policy, strategy, and planning, and community activities. The first and foremost lesson the report says is that disaster management plans should incorporate environmental dimensions, and should anticipate the impact of disasters on the environment, as well as the impact of environmental practices (eg. Forest and river management) on the impacts of the disaster.

A number of good environmental measures are in place in Japan but these have to be looked at in light of the needs of disaster management. It is imperative that environmental knowledge is integrated into the prediction, prevention, risk reduction, assessment and response policies, concludes the report.

The impacts of disasters, whether natural or man-made, not only have human dimensions, but environmental ones as well. Deforestation, forest management practices, or agricultural systems can exacerbate the negative environmental impacts of a storm or typhoon, leading to landslides, flooding, silting and water contamination.

“Taking care of our environment reduces the risks that natural and man-made hazards pose to people living today,” said Mr Toepfer.

The new UNEP report on the Tokage Typhoon is available at: http://www.unep.or.jp/.

Original press release: UNEP Launches New Report on the Response to the Devastating Tokage Typhoon (UNEP)