NARBO

The Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake Disaster and

Japan Water Agency

The most powerful earthquake in the Japanese history occurred shortly before 3 p.m. on March 11th. The scale of magnitude was 9 and it caused the unprecedented Tsunami tidal wave which completely destroyed the vast coastal areas along the Pacific Ocean from Aomori to Chiba Prefectures. The disaster brought by the earthquake and tsunami was named “The Tohoku-Kanto Great Earthquake Disaster”. It is said that the number of the dead is ten thousand, those of missing is more than fifteen thousand and destroyed buildings and houses is almost one hundred and fifty thousand in this disaster. But these numbers are still tentative, so the whole picture of the damage is still unknown. Right now, hundreds of thousand of people are forced to live in refuge camps suffering from shortage of necessities such as water, food and gasoline and coldness without water supply, electricity and gas. In this disaster, the Headquarters of JWA, NARBO Secretariat is located, wasn’t damaged and all the secretariat staffs are safe.

But some of JWA facilities in Ibaraki and Chiba prefecture in eastern Japan were severely damaged. Pipeline systems were got damaged and water leaked, embankments of Lake Kasumigaura and Inbanuma marsh got rifted here and there. Due to the damage by the disaster, water supply was suspended for a while and the function of flood control was deteriorated. Emergency repair works to those facilities could make it possible to resume water supply, but no in full scale. It will take some time until damage facilities getting back to the original condition, they believe. After the earthquake, we received many words of sympathy from NARBO members. We would like to express sincere appreciation for these and make an effort for a promotion of NARBO activities as well as before.

Damaged Embankments of Lake Kasumigaur