Turkey, Tohoku share disaster lessons for the futureーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS

Key Concepts

• Disaster Risk Reduction: Proactive measures taken to minimize the impact of potential disasters.
• Tsunami Evacuation: Procedures and infrastructure for safely moving populations away from coastal areas threatened by tsunamis.
• Community Preparedness: Collective efforts within a community to prepare for and respond to disasters.
• Post-Disaster Learning: The process of analyzing past disasters to improve future preparedness and response.
• Inter-Country Collaboration: Sharing knowledge and resources between nations to enhance disaster resilience.

The Turkey-Japan Disaster Preparedness Exchange: Lessons from Tohoku

This report details a delegation from the Turkish Red Crescent Society’s visit to Ishinomaki City, Japan, in February, marking three years since the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria which resulted in over 59,000 fatalities. The visit focuses on learning from Japan’s experience with the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, specifically aiming to improve Turkey’s disaster risk reduction strategies as it transitions from recovery to preparedness. The core objective is mutual learning and the application of lessons learned to mitigate future disaster impacts.

Kadunawaki Elementary School: A Case Study in Successful Evacuation

The delegation’s first stop was Kadunawaki Elementary School, a site that exemplifies successful disaster response despite significant damage. The school was flooded by tsunami waves reaching nearly 2 meters in height, followed by a fire that caused substantial structural damage. However, crucially, all students and teachers survived. This success is attributed to the swift and decisive action of teachers who immediately evacuated the students to a nearby hill. The delegation physically retraced the evacuation route, highlighting that a difference of just a few meters determined survival. This illustrates the critical importance of rapid, well-practiced evacuation procedures.

Preserving Memory and Institutionalizing Lessons Learned

The visit extended to the school’s exhibit room, dedicated to preserving the memories of the disaster and the lessons derived from it. The exhibit includes belongings of students from another school who were not as fortunate, serving as a poignant reminder of the disaster’s impact. A key point emphasized was the importance of sustaining the memory of the event beyond annual commemorations. As stated by a representative, “How makes the past history memory alive and fresh? Not a just a one year uh annual day. It they keeping it alive and sharing among the uh families.” This highlights the need for continuous education and integration of disaster preparedness into the community’s collective consciousness.

Student-to-Student Dialogue and Infrastructure Considerations

The delegation also engaged with students at a local high school, discussing Turkey’s response to the 2023 earthquakes and outlining new disaster risk reduction projects, including large-scale evacuation drills conducted in the previous year. Japanese students shared their school’s preparedness measures, including annual emergency drills and regular checks of evacuation bags during “disaster prevention week.” This exchange revealed the challenges faced in regions with inadequate infrastructure, prompting reflection on the need for broader support systems. One Japanese student noted, “It was interesting to hear about the kind of support that's needed in places where the infrastructure isn't in good condition. I realized there are others still suffering elsewhere. I think mutual support is important.”

The Importance of Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer

The report emphasizes the long-term impact of disaster preparedness education. A speaker highlighted the significance of equipping today’s youth with the knowledge to build a more resilient future: “Today's young people becoming a adult of the tomorrows or next years and then they will have some uh uh occupation in the future. They will create their own families and they will have their own children one day and then if they carried out that knowledge to the future you will see the change of the what Japanese community had.” This underscores the necessity of embedding disaster preparedness into the education system to ensure its continuity across generations.

Conclusion: Shared Experience and Global Resilience

The report concludes that disasters transcend national borders, but so too do the lessons learned from them. Through dialogue and shared experiences, these lessons can be disseminated globally, enhancing disaster resilience worldwide. The Turkish delegation’s visit to Japan represents a proactive step towards improved preparedness, demonstrating the power of international collaboration in mitigating the impact of future disasters. The overarching message is that preparedness is not merely a technical exercise, but a continuous process of learning, remembering, and adapting, driven by a commitment to safeguarding lives and communities.