ICT for disaster management, lessons from East Japan Great Earthquake and Tsunami, presented at Internet Governance Forum in November.

1. The role of Internet-based
services & conventional media
for disaster relief
IGF, Baku
Nov. 2012
Izumi Aizu
Co-Director,
Information Support pro bono Platform (iSPP)
Senior Research Fellow and Professor,
Institute for InfoSocionomics, Tama University
<iza@anr.org>

2. After 20 months
• Things are not getting better, some parts worse
• Natural Disaster becoming Social Disaster
• Many people are still suffering - even those who
moved from shelters to “temporal houses”
• Few reconstruction plan ready for
implementation
• According to previous experiences of Kobe, many
more problems will surface
2

3. April 4, 2011
City of Kesennuma
I lost my voice -couldn’t say anything
3

4. You can still see this ship – from Google Earth
4

5. 5

6. This was a 3-story building
6

7. 7

8. from where I stayed
8

9. After three weeks,
no rescue team came here yet
9

10. What can ICT/Internet do for them?
• There were little Emergency Preparedness
among Internet/ICT community
• Informational gap was the source of wider
problem – ineffective logistics, relief and
support works
• Started “pro bono” platform for information
support based on individual capacity – another
trials & errors

11. Devices that worked: Radio, Mobile, TV, Internet…
all but Radio dropped at Day 1
Fixed phones much popular after one month

12. Info sources NOT useful
• Mobile was most mentioned
• Gasoline, close to your daily life
• TV and Radio was frustrating for Nuclear Power problem
A few
1 week 1 month 3 months
hours
Mobile Mobile TV TV
Radio TV Mobile Radio
Email Radio Email Mobile
TV Email Radio Internet
Softbank Internet Mobile NHK
Internet Email Newspaper
One-seg
12

13. Big difference by Area
Right after: Iwate Coast, only Radio （ 68% ） and WoM (46%) above 10%
Miyagi Coast: Radio (64%), One-seg (23%), Mobile talk (14%)
Iwate Inland
TV Radio
Iwate Coast
Email Word
of Mouth Miyagi Inland
SMS
Mobile Internet Miyagi Coast
Voice
Nothing Fukushima Inland
Fixed Fukushima Coast
News
Paper Phones
(%) N=186
13

14. Reliable information sources on
Nuclear station accident
• There was info on the accident, but for evacuation very
confusing
• Only heard the Siren. First, get outside 10 km away, then got
to Futaba or Kawamata, just WoM
• From people working for the power plant. They got first.
• Mobile One-seg broadcast. Car Radio, WoM,but not reliable …
Internet, searched the municipal website, but not serious
information was found. We have to make own judgments.
• People in the neighborhood, word of mouth.
• TV, news
• My relative was working in the local government told me at
midnight, Mar 12.
14

15. Multi-stakeholder came, naturally
• Traditional government structure does not
work sufficiently for such emergency
• Industry and Civil Society must work together
with Central and Local governments
• But how? - complementarily
• No official recognition made (yet)

16. Thank you For your help and support
This could happen to you
Let’s learn the lessons and be prepared
We shall build new and better society
together
Izumi Aizu
iza@anr.org
iSPP