Environment

Disaster Waste: Miyagi Prefecture Shares Cleanup Expertise in the Noto Quake Aftermath

Miyagi Prefecture gained disaster waste treatment know-how after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and now will support the cleanup effort in the Noto region.

Published

2 months ago

February 21, 2024

The Sankei Shimbun

Disaster waste from a temporary storage site being moved to containers using heavy machinery in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, on January 28, 2024. (©Sankei by Kotaro Hikono)

Read the full story on Japan 2 Earth - Disaster Waste: Miyagi Prefecture Shares Cleanup Expertise in the Noto Quake Aftermath

Dealing with disaster waste in Ishikawa Prefecture is a big issue. Debris from buildings that collapsed in the Noto Peninsula earthquake and other disaster waste is estimated at 2.44 million tons. Miyagi Prefecture aims to provide support with its "Higashi-Matsushima method" used in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Despite suffering devastating damage from the massive tsunami, the city of Higashi-Matsushima employed a miraculous disposal method to achieve an early recovery.

Sharing Know-How

"Not only did we manage to clean up and dispose of the waste, but we also linked this to employment for locals. Our methods applied an approach that is now associated with the SDGs. We want to share Higashi-Matsushima's know-how."

disaster waste — *Disaster waste at a temporary storage site in Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, on February 6, 2024. (Kyodo)*

So explained Yoshihiro Murai, governor of Miyagi Prefecture at a press conference on February 7. The prefecture has dispatched four employees with expertise in disaster waste disposal to the area affected by the recent quake.

The Higashi-Matsushima method was originally implemented in Higashi-Matsushima, a city on the Pacific coast. A total of 1,110 people from the city lost their lives in 2011, and 23 are still missing. Over 11,000 houses were damaged, with about 65% of the city area inundated by the tsunami.

Continue reading the full story on Japan 2 Earth to learn more about innovative methods for treating disaster waste.

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(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: The Sankei Shimbun