The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes Landslide Disasters and Response

Abstract

The unprecedented earthquakes with a seismic intensity of seven hit Kumamoto prefecture twice in April 2016, and a series of earthquakes (the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes) triggered sediment disasters including slope failure and landslides, which caused serious damage to various areas in the prefecture. Notably, huge slope failures (Photo 1) occurred in Tateno district in Minamiaso-village, National Route 57, and National Route 325 were closed due to the collapse of Aso Ohashi Bridge, and JR Hohi Line, railroad line which was running along the area, was completely cut off. Aso, the popular tourist resort in Japan suffered a great deal of damage. After the earthquake, people in Kumamoto were thankful and realized many aspects of everyday life that people had taken for granted were precious, and the amount of effort to return to the pre-earthquake situation. This paper focuses on an outline of sediment disasters, among the many other disasters triggered by the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes, and how Kumamoto Prefecture coped with them.