The Great Earthquake and Japan’s next step
The 2011 tsunami has been a humanitarian and economic disaster for Japan. Many people died or went missing, and even more had to abandon their homes still unable to return to this day. The nuclear disaster at Fukushima, caused by the tsunami, left a huge impact on the nearby residents who fled from the radiation danger, meaning that whole cities near the nuclear plant became ghost towns. The destruction of infrastructure costs hundred of billions of dollars, crippling Japan’s economy. Most of the coastal protection systems were not built to withstand or deal with the magnitude of the tsunami, with warning systems being outdated and seawalls being too short or weak.
Even though a disaster as the 2011 tsunami may not happen anytime soon, the Japanese authorities are keen on not letting a similar disaster impact the country as extensively in the future. New tsunami warning systems have been implemented which enables people to be alerted earlier,along with tsunami drills that should prepare residents for evacuation. Moreover, protective seawalls that should withstand tsunamis, more powerful than the one in 2011, are being constructed all along the east coast of Japan. These should prevent the water from sweeping through coastal towns and thereby reduce the overall impact of future tsunamis.
Seawalls are controversial
As a response to the 2011 disaster, Japan is currently in the progress of an ambitious 10 year rebuilding project, costing about $255 billion. The project includes building more seawalls, and this have created controversy amongst locals, politicians and scientists. The debate is concerned with wether or not the money is well spent, or if there are better alternative solutions.
Daniel Aldrich, an associate professor of political science at Purdue University, claims that the seawalls can have a negative effect on evacuation rates as people will be given a false sense of security, and become complacent. Furthermore, Aldrich conducted a study in which he found no correlation between the pre-existing seawalls, and mortality rate, apart from a single community.