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We revisited the lessons of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami disaster specifically on the response and impact, and discussed the paradigm shift of Japan's tsunami disaster management policies and the perspectives for reconstruction. Revisiting the modern histories of Tohoku tsunami disasters and pre-2011 tsunami countermeasures, we clarified how Japan's coastal communities have prepared for tsunamis. The discussion mainly focuses on structural measures such as seawalls and breakwaters and non-structural measures of hazard map and evacuation. The responses to the 2011 event are discussed specifically on the tsunami warning system and efforts to identify the tsunami impacts. The nation-wide post-tsunami survey results shed light on the mechanisms of structural destruction, tsunami loads and structural vulnerability to inform structural rehabilitation measures and land-use planning. Remarkable paradigm shifts in designing coastal protection and disaster mitigation measures were introduced, leading with a new concept of potential tsunami levels: Prevention (Level 1) and Mitigation (Level 2) levels according to the level of 'protection'. The seawall is designed with reference to Level 1 tsunami scenario, while comprehensive disaster management measures should refer to Level 2 tsunami for protection of human lives and reducing potential losses and damage. Throughout the case study in Sendai city, the proposed reconstruction plan was evaluated from the tsunami engineering point of view to discuss how the post 2011 paradigm was implemented in coastal communities for future disaster mitigation. The analysis revealed that Sendai city's multiple protection measures for Level 2 tsunami will contribute to a substantial reduction of the tsunami inundation zone and potential losses, combined with an effective tsunami evacuation plan.

The Loess Plateau has long been suffering from serious soil erosion of which erosion from the slope-gully system is now dominant. The slope-gully system is characterized with distinctive erosion distribution zones consisting of inner and inter gully areas wherein erosion patterns spatially vary, acting as both sediment source and the dominant sediment and water transport mechanism. In this paper, a substantial body of research is reviewed concentrating on the soil erosion processes and control practices in the slope-gully system. The inner gully area is identified as the main sediment source while runoff and sediment from the inter-gully upland is found to significantly affect down slope erosion processes. Correspondingly, the protective vegetation pattern and coverage should be strategically designed for different erosion zones with an emphasis on the critical vegetation cover and pattern to reduce sediment yield of the whole slope-gully system. Check-dam could change the base level of erosion and reduce the slope length of the gully side, which will further decrease the possibility and magnitude of gravity erosion. We concluded that understanding the erosion processes and implementing erosion practices for the slope-gully system are of importance and require more research efforts that emphasize: 1) the influence of upland runoff on erosion processes at downslope; 2) the relationship between hydraulic characteristics of overland flow and erosion process at a slope-gully system scale; 3) physical mechanisms of different vegetation patterns on the slope-gully erosion process.

The Tohoku region, Northeast Japan, was hit by a gigantic earthquake which occurred in the Pacific close to Tohoku, and subsequently by a giant tsunami. These hazards have caused huge damage on the eastern coast Japan. The earthquake’s magnitude was 9.0, the strongest ever recorded in Japan. The tsunami was also historical as its run-up height reached over 39 m. As of early May, 2011, over 24 thousand people were reported as dead or missing. Moreover, serious accidents at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants No.1 were caused by the effects of the tsunami. Therefore, the damage faced by Japanese people can be seen as a giant composite disaster. Although Japan, and the northeast of Japan in particular, has over a long time period increased its preparedness against earthquakes and tsunamis, huge damage still occurred. This paper considers why this tragedy occurred, and what unrecognized factors contributed to the high vulnerability of the area. To assist in answering such questions, this paper presents a timely report of the features of the earthquake and tsunami, the damage they caused, and the early efforts for recovery and reconstruction.

Under the current resilience development framework, which is mainly based on urban communities, it is difficult to meet the needs of the vulnerable populations in poor villages. This article aims to explore a specific and operable guidance framework suitable for the resilient development of Chinese poor villages after disasters from the perspective of social equity. The framework will help guide the sustainable development of poor villages after disasters and also provide a reference for the resilience of other similar vulnerable areas. When integrating climate change response and disaster risk management to explore sustainable development in poor villages, the essence is to explore the resilience development framework focused on the construction of resilient communities in poor villages. We take the recovery and reconstruction of poor villages after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 as an example. Through the analysis of the effects of post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, we found that although poor communities have made significant achievements since the earthquake, there are still many aspects that need to be improved, including social life systems, economic production systems, and natural ecosystems. Therefore, we comprehensively analyzed the characteristics of poor socio-economic conditions, the complex ecological environment, and the low cultural level of residents in poor villages. Furthermore, this study followed the principle of “Build back better” (BBB) and conducted an in-depth study of the framework for the resilience of poor villages. In terms of risk reduction, it is recommended to improve structural resilience from guarantee of preferential prices and selection of environmentally friendly materials, avoid risk and villagers’ participation in the formulation of general plans, and promote disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities from risk prediction and curriculum development. In terms of community recovery, it is suggested to promote community economics and victims’ livelihoods by promoting industrial transformation and sustainable livelihoods and promote social and psychological health development from social relations and psychological rehabilitation. In terms of efficient implementation, specific improvements include the improvement of public participation systems and the establishment of coordination offices and sound institutional mechanisms, the development of community standards and the introduction of financial support policies, the improvement of laws and regulations, and the improvement of monitoring and evaluation from dynamic monitoring and mass satisfaction surveys. It is important to guide the sustainable development of vulnerable communities by constructing a post-disaster resistant development framework based on BBB principles.

Post-disaster reconstruction is a topic of global concern, and traditional villages have special heritage attributes and need to face more requirements and obstacles in post-disaster reconstruction. This paper summarizes four concepts based on the research on post-disaster reconstruction both domestically and internationally, as well as the recovery and reconstruction of cultural heritage. Through a field survey of traditional villages in the Ms 6.8 Luding earthquake-stricken area, it is found that there are problems such as insufficient awareness of heritage value, misalignment of scientific reconstruction technology, and insufficient protection of reconstruction elements during the reconstruction process. Traditional villages face the risk of declining or even loss of heritage value. In order to effectively protect traditional villages and inherit the carrier of regional culture, four targeted reconstruction response strategies are proposed, i.e., to “establish special planning for traditional village preservation”, “emphasize recovery of the authenticity of village heritage”, “ensure elements for village heritage recovery” and “promote the activation and utilization of village heritage”, based on the problems discovered during the survey and the four concepts summarized in the research on post-disaster reconstruction of traditional villages. The research results hope to provide useful reference for ancient cultural areas affected by earthquakes on how to protect cultural heritage during the post-disaster reconstruction process.

Global disasters due to earthquakes have become more frequent and intense. Consequently, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction has become the new normal in the social process. Through post-disaster reconstruction, risks can be effectively reduced, resilience can be improved, and long-term stability can be achieved. However, there is a gap between the impact of post-earthquake reconstruction and the needs of the people in the disaster area. Based on the international consensus of “building back better” (BBB) and a post-disaster needs assessment method, this paper proposes a new (N-BBB) conceptual model to empirically analyze recovery after the Changning Ms 6.0 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China. The reliability of the model was verified through factor analysis. The main observations were as follows. People’s needs focus on short-term life and production recovery during post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction. Because of disparities in families, occupations, and communities, differences are observed in the reconstruction time sequence and communities. Through principal component analysis, we found that the N-BBB model constructed in this study could provide strong policy guidance in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction after the Changning Ms 6.0 earthquake, effectively coordinate the “top-down” and “bottom-up” models, and meet the diversified needs of such recovery and reconstruction.

“People first” is one of the guiding principle of post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction (PERR) in China. Residents’ satisfaction should be one of the objects of PERR. The article examines the satisfaction level of residents in Lushan county of Sichuan Province, an area stricken both by the Wenchuan M s8.0 earthquake in 2008 and the Lushan M s7.0 earthquake in 2013. Census data and factor analysis were used for analysis. Based on the result of data analysis, eight factors are selected to indicate residents’ satisfaction: the relation of resident, infrastructure and employment, social security, the effect of disaster mitigation, natural environment, social affair, owner-occupied housing, price of commodities. Based on result of this study, some recommendations are put forward.

Remotely sensed inundation may help to rapidly identify areas in need of aid during and following floods. Here we evaluate the utility of daily remotely sensed flood inundation measures and estimate their congruence with self‐reported home flooding and health outcomes collected via the Texas Flood Registry (TFR) following Hurricane Harvey. Daily flood inundation for 14 days following the landfall of Hurricane Harvey was acquired from FloodScan. Flood exposure, including number of days flooded and flood depth was assigned to geocoded home addresses of TFR respondents (N = 18,920 from 47 counties). Discordance between remotely‐sensed flooding and self‐reported home flooding was measured. Modified Poisson regression models were implemented to estimate risk ratios (RRs) for adverse health outcomes following flood exposure, controlling for potential individual level confounders. Respondents whose home was in a flooded area based on remotely‐sensed data were more likely to report injury (RR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.27–1.77), concentration problems (1.36, 95% CI: 1.25–1.49), skin rash (1.31, 95% CI: 1.15–1.48), illness (1.29, 95% CI: 1.17–1.43), headaches (1.09, 95% CI: 1.03–1.16), and runny nose (1.07, 95% CI: 1.03–1.11) compared to respondents whose home was not flooded. Effect sizes were larger when exposure was estimated using respondent‐reported home flooding. Near‐real time remote sensing‐based flood products may help to prioritize areas in need of assistance when on the ground measures are not accessible. Plain Language Summary Flood maps that are prepared using satellites monitoring the earth surface may help to rapidly identify areas in need of aid during and following flooding events. In this study, we quantified the risk of self‐reported health outcomes that are associated with home flooding measured using either satellite‐derived flood maps or self‐reported exposure to floodwaters during and following Hurricane Harvey. Responses from 18,920 participants in the Texas Flood Registry included home location of the responders, reported adverse health symptoms, reported hospitalization, flooding of home, contact with flood water, and demographic variables. Respondents whose homes were flooded as per the flood maps were more likely to report injury, concentration problems, skin rash, illness, headaches, and runny nose compared to respondents whose homes were not flooded. The estimated strength of association was larger when exposure was estimated using respondent‐reported home flooding. Flood maps prepared from satellite data may help to prioritize areas in need of assistance in real‐time when on the ground measures are not available. Key Points Remote sensing identified exposure to floods was associated with self‐reported flood related adverse health symptoms, illness, and injury Self‐reported illness and injury increased with increase in proximity to the flood waters The association estimated using self‐reported exposure to flood were stronger than those estimated using remote sensing

Purpose - External assistance is often urgently required when an area is struck by a catastrophe. Central government-oriented aid (CGA), national non-governmental organizations aid (NNA), and international humanitarian aid (IHA) are three typical aid models, and national counterpart aid (NCA) is an innovative model for post-Wenchuan earthquake recovery and reconstruction (PWERR). The purpose of this paper is to make a comparative study of the aid models in order to develop recommendations on external assistance for better post-disaster recovery and reconstruction (PDRR). Design/methodology/approach - This study was performed in three steps: a case study on the NCA model during the PWERR; a documentary research on the CGA, NNA and IHA models; and a comparative analysis of the four models. Findings - The results of the comparative study show that the NCA model is more efficient and effective than the other three typical aid models. However it must be based on the premise of a centralized government. Practical implications - The NCA model contributes to disaster management in a developing country context. It develops a viable model for developing countries in coping with the catastrophe, can enhance their ability for domestic self-assistance, and has reference to the construction of national integrated disaster management systems. Originality/value - This paper empirically researches the innovative NCA model, and compares it with commonly used aid models for the PDRR. Although it is a Chinese experience, the systematic inter-governmental collaboration of the NCA model has reference to other countries in disaster management.

This paper highlights challenges and open questions pertaining to physical and social infrastructure system interdependencies and their implications for disaster response, recovery, and resilience planning efforts. We describe the importance of understanding interdependencies in disaster contexts and highlight limitations to existing approaches. Suggestions for understanding and addressing interdependencies focus on increasing availability of tools for assessing interdependencies and increasing stakeholder and decisionmaker uptake of infrastructure interdependency‐related information in planning efforts. Plain Language Summary Interdependent physical and social systems offer enormous benefits for daily life because they produce and distribute essential goods and services that are necessary for health, safety, and economic well‐being. For instance, the power grid is required for effective functioning of information systems and cell phones, which underpin effective functioning of hospitals, water and sewer systems, traffic lights, and home appliances. In return, communications and information technology is required for effective functioning of the power grid, especially to meet the concurrent demands for reliable energy supply, protection, and automation. In this paper, we describe how failure in interdependent systems can be catastrophic and lead to death and prolonged human suffering. We examine difficulties in linking failures in interdependent systems to measurable social impacts including: limited availability of data and models, disciplinary silos that might stand in the way of different stakeholders, practitioners, and experts working together on this inherently cross‐disciplinary problem, and diversity in infrastructure systems, disruptive events, and communities. We suggest that awareness of the vulnerabilities in interdependent infrastructure systems needs to be coupled with coordinated action and collaboration among government agencies, communities, and industries. Key Points Limited data and models and disciplinary silos make it difficult to link failures in interdependent infrastructures to social outcomes Awareness of infrastructure vulnerabilities needs to be coupled with coordinated action among government, communities, and industries We suggest ways to improve understanding of interdependencies and increase stakeholder uptake of relevant information in planning efforts