Supplementary Remarks on Lessons Learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake

Abstract: This paper takes a broad look at non-nuclear socio-technical systems that demonstrated highly resilient behavior during and after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. The lessons described in the accompanying papers are re-examined in conjunction with the responses exhibited by various organizations. After a preliminary review of cases from various sectors, a more detailed review was conducted on the activities of three organizations: Tohoku Electric Power Company, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and the Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital. Through this review, which was carried out based on the guidelines provided from Resilience Engineering, it became evident that valuable lessons are effectively derived from good practices emergently conducted during and after the earthquake and tsunami.