Disasters

The incidence of disasters has increased in recent years in the world resulting in massive destruction. Rates of occurrence of earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, hurricanes, landslides, wars, and terrorism among other disasters have increased. The intensity and impacts of disaster in society differ significantly, therefore, impede the society coping capacity differently .The deductive essay paper will discuss what a disaster is, a case study of Tohoku earthquake and a scale it falls into.

A disaster is a dangerous occurrence that strikes a community or a society leading to loss of lives, property and environmental degradation and overwhelms the society coping capacity, therefore, produces need for external assistance at local or at national level. Kiluva (2014) claims that disasters can be categorized as natural or human-made disasters. Natural disasters occur due to some processes that happen on or beneath the earth surface. On the other hand, human-made disasters are a result of man’s actions or negligence such as terrorism. These dangerous occurrences can be categorized as emergency, disaster or catastrophe based on the Quarantelli scale, which was developed by Dr. Quarantelli. The scale is used to rate the calamities based on how they impact the community’s built structures.

The case study will focus on the Tohoku earthquake of 2011 and subsequent tsunami. The earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1. Yuki & Yuichi (2012) note that Tohoku earthquake happened along a subduction zone where two of the earth’s tectonic plates collide (Yuki &Yuichi, 2012). The shocks at the center of the earth crust led to a massive tsunami where the waves swept into the city of Miyako to Sendai. Oskin (2017) notes that the seawalls constructed to reduce tsunami’s speed were destroyed. This led to the destruction of some of the buildings where people had gone for safety after early warning. The tsunami resulted in massive flooding making it hard to rescue the victims. Water surge into Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant caused cooling effect. Zare & Afrouz (2012) note that the water caused a build-up of hydrogen gas in the outer containment building leading to explosions at the nuclear reactors (Zare & Afrouz, 2012). It significantly affected the evacuation routes of the victims making it hard to rescue the affected people. Agency of Cultural Affairs (2012) claims that the impacts of failure of the nuclear power plant could have adverse consequences in the future. The radioactive material released could emit radiations to the environment, thus bring health complications. The coastline in East of Japan had massive debris; there was massive destruction of lives and property.

On the Quarantelli scale, the Tohoku and subsequent tsunami were a catastrophe. First, there was the destruction of community built structures; massive flooding and debris could not allow people to seek help from their neighboring communities. During disasters, only a portion of the population is affected, and therefore can seek shelter from the nearby communities. Secondly, the government of Japan had to stop some of the operations like holding of parliament meetings to deal with the situation, whereas in a disaster situation the national government continues with its operation such as attending of parliament meetings while still supporting the affected community through various government agencies like the ministry of special affairs. Thirdly, the tsunami did not strike only one area but many parts of the Eastern Japan and therefore no community could offer assistance. In a disaster, only one region is affected and community not affected can assist by sheltering the victims of the disaster. There was also massive media coverage both from Japan and international media as compared if it was a disaster. In a catastrophe, there is a coordinated support from countries and international organizations. Adelstein (2012) notes that 28 countries offered their search and rescue teams. It contributed significantly to the rescue mission. World Bank and IMF in collaboration with the government of Japan came up with Japan Recovery and Reconstruction Program.

In conclusion, disaster can be natural or human-made. The Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused devastating impacts on Japan that is still recovering today. The Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami were a catastrophe because even the government of Japan was overwhelmed.

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