Wednesday marks 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. People the world over remember where they were and what they were doing when that massive earthquake rocked the ocean floor 72 kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula of Japan’s Tohoku region, causing a deadly tsunami that destroyed everything in its path.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake — the fourth largest ever recorded — was devastating. The death toll, mostly the result of the tsunami, rose to nearly 20,000. At the peak of the crisis, around 470,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes. While the number has declined significantly over time, about 27,000 people, most of them from Fukushima Prefecture, still live in evacuation today as nuclear exclusion zones remain in place, not including so-called voluntary evacuees. As decontamination efforts continue, the events of March 11, 2011, remain an ongoing disaster.

Large-scale disasters often attract intense attention in their immediate aftermath, sometimes described as a “gold rush” of media coverage and academic research. In the case of 3/11, the global impact was particularly striking, not only because the tsunami reached coastlines as far away as Hawaii, but also because the nuclear disaster triggered far-reaching debates about energy policy, including Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power.

Yet the long-term consequences of disasters are often understudied once media attention shifts to newer crises elsewhere. “Disasters happen when we forget about them.” The famous saying by Japanese geophysicist Torahiko Terada has long served as a guiding principle in disaster preparedness and risk management. Fifteen years after 3/11, the anniversary offers an opportunity to reassess the importance of sustained engagement in disaster recovery and what can still be learned from it.

Japan is widely known for its sophisticated disaster mitigation measures, from seismic-resistant buildings to rigorous evacuation drills. Nevertheless, the scale of the 2011 catastrophe surprised many. In its aftermath, researchers from across the world traveled to Japan to study both successes and shortcomings, from evacuation challenges to long-term........

© The Japan Times