Challenges and Lessons Learned from Heavy Rainfall-Induced Geo-disasters Over the Last Decade in Kyushu Island, Japan

Abstract

AbstractRecently, heavy rainfall events have been inducing devastating geo-disasters, floods, sediments and debris flows in different regions around Japan, causing severe damage to lives and properties. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the frequency and intensity of localized torrential rainfall events are expected to increase. This study initially highlights the increasing geo-disaster-inducing forces in relation to the deterioration of the social infrastructure and the decline in the labor forces in Japan. Furthermore, several geo-disasters within Kyushu Island, Japan, which seem to occur repeatedly, were analyzed considering the prevailed conditions and the adopted mitigation and prevention protocols. Consequently, the necessity for developing innovative systems and techniques that integrate the academic disciplines in collaboration with the residents and the government was evidently asserted. Moreover, the recent progress in establishing comprehensive geo-hazard vulnerability assessment methods and techniques that consider the regional characteristics, mainly Kyushu and Hokkaido islands, was introduced.