Disasters have never stopped. In particular, natural
disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides,
and extreme weather conditions, continue to cause
death in many parts of the world. According to
the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of
Disasters (CRED), a total of 385 natural disasters
resulted in approximately 300,000 deaths worldwide
and caused more than US$ 120 billion of
economic damages in 2010 alone.1
In 2011, this wave did not change. Largescale
earthquakes have hit Japan, Turkey and
Peru.The largest one with the magnitude 9.0 took
place in northeastern Japan on 11 March, and
caused a tsunami and nuclear power plant disaster.
Reportedly, it killed approximately 16,000
people and 4,000 are still missing as of 26 October
2011. Although it took place in northeastern
Japan, it has had significant economic and psychological
impact on the whole of Japan and
71,358 evacuees are still spread across all 47 prefectures.
2 Moreover, it was responsible for major
supply chain interruptions around the world
in the early weeks following the disaster. This
massive disaster has influenced other countries,
in particular in their decisions whether to keep
existing or build new nuclear power plants. In
other words, its influence has gone beyond Japan’s
national borders.