Surviving the 3/11 Disaster: Reflections of the Great East Japan Earthquake among Older Adults in Iwate Japan
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Published
Jan 17, 2022
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Abstract
This article explores on older adults’ thoughts and insights of the Great East Japan Earthquake that happened on March 11, 2011. Employing focused interviews among 15 elders, findings revealed that their views about life changed after experiencing the 3/11 disaster. Informants became more conscious in building as well as in developing their relationships with their family members and friends. They also underscored the importance of being prepared since disasters can happen at any time. Moreover, the idea of tsunami-tendenko (self-preservation) became apparent during the interviews. Informants, likewise, recognized the help and support of their neighborhood associations as they cope with the devastation of the 3/11 disaster. The collective efforts of different networks were demonstrated through the activities and programs for older adults. However, there is still a need for a more inclusive approach to disaster management where older adults can take part in. It is hoped that other older adults in Japan or elsewhere and those involved in disaster policy formulation and project development may learn from the lessons and insights from the informants in the study.
Keywords: Older Adults, Great East Japan Earthquake, Reflections, Disaster Awareness
References
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Sekine, R. (2011). Did the People Practice “Tsunami Tendenko”?-The Reality of the 3.11 Tsunami which Attacked Shizugawa Area, Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture. In The 2011 East Japan Earthquake Bulletin of the Tohoku Geographical Association. Retrieved from http://tohokugeo.jp/articles/e-contents22.html
Shih, R. A., Acosta, J. D., Chen, E. K., Carbone, E. G., Xenakis, L., Adamson, D. M., & Chandra, A. (2018). Improving Disaster Resilience among Older Adults: Insights from Public Health Departments and Aging-in-Place Efforts. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2313.html
Sze-Yunn, P., & Arivalagan, Y. (2020, February 18). These Countries are Most Ready to Deal with Ageing Populations. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/what-are-japan-and-singapore-doing-about-ageing-population/
Takeuchi, Y., Mulyasari, F., & Shaw, R. (2011). Chapter 4 Roles of Family and Community in Disaster Education. In R. Shaw, K. Shiwaku, & Y. Takeuchi (Eds.), Disaster Education (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management), Vol. 7 (pp. 77-94). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2011)0000007010
The World Bank. (2019). Population Ages 65 and Above (% of Total Population). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS
Umezawa, S. (2014). The Great East Japan Earthquake: Its Damages, Impacts on the Labor-economy and Restoration Measures of the Government. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 3(3), 145-174. Retrieved from http://ejcls.adapt.it/index.php/ejcls_adapt/article/view/240
Yamori, K. (2014). Revisiting the Concept of Tsunami Tendenko: Tsunami Evacuation Behavior in the Great East Japan Earthquake. In H. Kawase (Ed.), Studies on the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Natural Disaster Science and Mitigation Engineering: DPRI Reports (pp. 49-63). Tokyo: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54418-0_5
Aida, J., Hikichi, H., Matsuyama, Y., Sato, Y., Tsuboya, T., Tabuchi, T., Koyama, S., Subramanian, S. V., Kondo, K., Osaka, K., & Kawachi, I. (2017). Risk of Mortality during and after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami among Older Coastal Residents. Scientific Reports, 7, 16591. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16636-3
Chei, C.-L., Lee, J. M.-L., Ma, S., & Malhotra, R. (2018). Happy Older People Live Longer. Age and Ageing, 47(6), 860–866. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afy128
Hikichi, H., Aida, J., Tsuboya, T., Kondo, K., & Kawachi, I. (2016). Can Community Social Cohesion Prevent Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the Aftermath of a Disaster? A Natural Experiment from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. American Journal of Epidemiology, 183(10), 902–910. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwv335
Hoffmann, R., & Muttarak, R. (2017). Learn from the Past, Prepare for the Future: Impacts of Education and Experience on Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines and Thailand. World Development, 96, 32-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.016
Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). (2011). Information on the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Retrieved from https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/en/2011_Earthquake/Information_on_2011_Earthquake.html
Jia, Z., Tian, W., Liu, W., Cao, Y., Yan, J., & Shun, Z. (2010). Are the Elderly more Vulnerable to Psychological Impact of Natural Disaster? A Population-based Survey of Adult Survivors of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. BMC Public Health, 10, 172. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-172
Kadariya, S., Gautam, R., & Aro, A. R. (2019). Physical Activity, Mental Health, and Wellbeing among Older Adults in South and Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review. BioMed Research International, 2019, 6752182. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/6752182
Kako, M., & Mayner, L. (2019). The Experience of Older People in Japan Four Years after the Tsunami. Collegian, 26(1), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.06.001
Kamo, Y., Henderson, T. L., & Roberto, K. A. (2011). Displaced Older Adults’ Reactions to and Coping with the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Family Issues, 32(10), 1346-1370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X11412495
Kodama, S. (2013). Tsunami-Tendenko and Morality in Disasters. Journal of Medical Ethics, 41(5), 361–363. http://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2012-100813
Labra, O., Maltais, D., & Gingras-Lacroix, G. (2018). Medium-Term Health of Seniors Following Exposure to a Natural Disaster. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 55, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958018766667
Malak, M. A., Sajib, A. M., Quader, M. A., & Anjum, H. (2020). “We are Feeling Older than our Age”: Vulnerability and Adaptive Strategies of Aging People to Cyclones in Coastal Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 48, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101595
McPhee, J. S., French, D. P., Jackson, D., Nazroo, J., Pendleton, N., & Degens, H. (2016). Physical Activity in Older Age: Perspectives for Healthy Ageing and Frailty. Biogerontology, 17(3), 567–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-016-9641-0
Mimura, N., Yasuhara, K., Kawagoe, S., Yokoki, H., & Kazama, S. (2011). Damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami-A Quick Report. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 16, 803–818. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-011-9297-7
Okada, N., Fang, L., & Kilgour, D. M. (2013). Community-based Decision Making in Japan. Group Decision Negotiation, 22, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10726-012-9320-8
Oven, K. J., Wistow, J., & Curtis, S. E. (2019). Older People and Climate Change: The Social and Physical Nexus of Vulnerability and Resilience to Extreme Weather in Urban and Rural Settings in England. In L. R. Mason, & J. Rigg (Eds.), People and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Social Justice (pp. 68-83). USA: Oxford University Press.
Parker, G., Lie, D., Siskind, D. J., Martin-Khan, M., Raphael, B., Crompton, D., & Kisely, S. (2016). Mental Health Implications for Older Adults after Natural Disasters-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Psychogeriatrics, 28(1), 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610215001210
Sekine, R. (2011). Did the People Practice “Tsunami Tendenko”?-The Reality of the 3.11 Tsunami which Attacked Shizugawa Area, Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture. In The 2011 East Japan Earthquake Bulletin of the Tohoku Geographical Association. Retrieved from http://tohokugeo.jp/articles/e-contents22.html
Shih, R. A., Acosta, J. D., Chen, E. K., Carbone, E. G., Xenakis, L., Adamson, D. M., & Chandra, A. (2018). Improving Disaster Resilience among Older Adults: Insights from Public Health Departments and Aging-in-Place Efforts. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2313.html
Sze-Yunn, P., & Arivalagan, Y. (2020, February 18). These Countries are Most Ready to Deal with Ageing Populations. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/02/what-are-japan-and-singapore-doing-about-ageing-population/
Takeuchi, Y., Mulyasari, F., & Shaw, R. (2011). Chapter 4 Roles of Family and Community in Disaster Education. In R. Shaw, K. Shiwaku, & Y. Takeuchi (Eds.), Disaster Education (Community, Environment and Disaster Risk Management), Vol. 7 (pp. 77-94). Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2011)0000007010
The World Bank. (2019). Population Ages 65 and Above (% of Total Population). Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS
Umezawa, S. (2014). The Great East Japan Earthquake: Its Damages, Impacts on the Labor-economy and Restoration Measures of the Government. E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, 3(3), 145-174. Retrieved from http://ejcls.adapt.it/index.php/ejcls_adapt/article/view/240
Yamori, K. (2014). Revisiting the Concept of Tsunami Tendenko: Tsunami Evacuation Behavior in the Great East Japan Earthquake. In H. Kawase (Ed.), Studies on the 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake. Natural Disaster Science and Mitigation Engineering: DPRI Reports (pp. 49-63). Tokyo: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54418-0_5
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Research Articles
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How to Cite
FIGER, Reggy Capacio.
Surviving the 3/11 Disaster: Reflections of the Great East Japan Earthquake among Older Adults in Iwate Japan.
Journal of Community Development Research (Humanities and Social Sciences), [S.l.], v. 15, n. 1, p. 76-87, jan. 2022.
ISSN 2985-0231.
Available at: <https://www.journal.nu.ac.th/JCDR/article/view/Vol-15-No-1-2022-76-87>. Date accessed: 30 apr. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14456/jcdr-hs.2022.7.