RISK AND VULNERABILITY REPORT FOR JAPAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

RISK AND VULNERABILITY REPORT FOR JAPAN - Essay Example Figure 1: Key Themes The presentation and discussion of results shall be done around these four themes. There shall however be minor areas of consideration such as geography of Japan and vulnerability in Japan. Presentation and discussion of results on the themes shall all be done both qualitatively and quantitatively using figures, maps, tables and diagrams. 4.2 PRESENTATION AND DESCRIPTION OF RESULTS AND FINDINGS Geography of Japan According to JapanGuide.Com (2011), â€Å"Japan's closest neighbors are Korea, Russia and China. The Sea of Japan separates the Asian continent from the Japanese archipelago.† Japan is located in Eastern Asia and within the geographical coordinates, 36 00N, 138 00E (CIA Fact book, 2011). Japan’s total area is 377,835 sq km, 374,744 sq km of which is land and 3,091 sq km is water. Islands in Japan in Daito-shoto, Bonin Islands, Volcano Islands, Minami-Jima Ryukyu Islands and Okino-tori-shrima; out of which â€Å"Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are the four largest† (JapanGuide.Com, 2011). Japan’s climate varies across the country however; there are four major seasons – winter, rainy season, summer and typhoons. ... â€Å"Environmental hazards are defined as extreme events or substances in the earth and its ecological system that may cause adverse effects to humans or things they value† (NRC, 1996). For the sake of this research, risk and hazards that have occurred from 1980 to 2010 are going to be reviewed. The graph below shows the number of natural disasters that have occurred in Japan from 1980 to 2010. Fig. 2: Natural Disasters in Japan from 1980 to 2010 It is worth mentioning that Japan’s earthquakes are accompanied with tsunamis (Prevention Web, 2011). The data above is translated into a yearly ratio as follows Table 1: Yearly Average of Occurrence of Natural Disasters in Japan Disaster Average Occurrence Wildfire Extreme Temperature Volcano Flood Earthquake Storm 0.03 0.10 0.26 0.71 1.00 2.48 Credit: (Prevention Web, 2011). Human Vulnerability in Japan The various risks and hazards that Japan experiences expose the country and her population to high rate of vulnerability. J apan has suffered both economic and human losses through natural disasters. The chart below gives a summary of such losses from 1980 to 2010. Fig. 3 Vulnerability to Humans per Event of a Disaster - Credit: (Prevention Web, 2011). The concept of Community and its Role in Disaster Most communities in Japan are prone to risks of volcanoes and earthquakes. â€Å"The reason for the high number of volcanic areas is because Japan is located along the circum-Pacific volcanic belt. Of the 840 active volcanoes in the world, Japan has almost 1/10 of them† (AsiaInfo.Net, 2010). For this reason, communities in Japan put in a lot of effort to play active roles in disaster management. In the view of Tatum (2011), â€Å"disaster management plans are often