Rain Countermeasure of the World

0.Where is the place with most rain?

Distribution graph of the Usual rain amount around the world

If you look at this distribution map, you can see that precipitation is higher in the center of the figure in Southeast Asia and the Kyushu region of Japan! You can also see that the upper part of the South American continent on the right side of the figure and the area near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, also have much precipitation. So, what measures are being taken in these regions with high rainfall?

The image on the left is the JMA "Global Weather Data Tool (ClimatView Monthly Statistics)".If you are interested in Click here(Japanese)(To external site)

1.What are the measures in Malaysia?

First, we focused on Southeast Asia, which has an image of high precipitation, and I want to focus on Malaysia, which had exceptionally high rainfall.

Data from the Japan Meteorological Agency for the past 30 years (1991-2020) shows that Malaysia receives approximately 2,800 mm of rain annually, 1.75 times the annual precipitation of Tokyo (1600 mm). People living in Malaysia will have to live with the rain.

So, what specific measures do people in Malaysia take to deal with rainfall?

According to BBC NEWS, around December 17 last year, many parts of Malaysia experienced the worst downpour in decades. As of December 20, more than 50,000 people had been evacuated, and 14 people were killed, among many others. The woman interviewed at this time said that she took only her clothes and important documents,such as her children's birth certificates.

This woman's story conveys the awareness of the need to evacuate quickly with the bare necessities in the event of a disaster. In the hardest-hit areas, residents offered their homes as shelters for those forced to evacuate, transmitted their support for rescue efforts, and appeared to be helping each other.

With the people trying to help each other overcome the disaster, how did the Malaysian government respond? The little warning was given, and the Civil Defense even came to the rescue three days after the disaster, which caused some anger from the public.

These showed that many of those living in Malaysia are aware of evacuation and that there is much mutual help among the people. However, we also found that the government's response still needs to be improved.

In Japan, we have solid countermeasures such as J-alerts and the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces, so increasing mutual help among residents is essential.

2.What about Brazil?

The next country we'll look at is Brazil. According to CNN, since around February 15, torrential rains have caused landslides and flooding in São Paulo, northeastern Brazil, killing 91 people and dumping a month's worth of rain in some areas in 24 hours, generating nearly 4,000 people to lose their homes. In this disaster, 14 municipalities declared a state of emergency and opened their schools as evacuation centers.

What measures did Brazil take to deal with the many times it has experienced such torrential rains? According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has its city budget for disaster preparedness efforts around the city area. Since around 2010, they have created a crisis management center in collaboration with IBM Corporation of the U.S., which unifies disaster forecasting systems, traffic information, lifeline status of electricity, gas, and water, and crisis response teams such as firefighters and ambulances. This consolidates information received from various city departments and provides instructions, thereby reducing traffic congestion and other damage caused by torrential rains.

However, this is in the capital city of Rio de Janeiro, and the reality is that disaster preparedness is inadequate in low-income areas (slums or poor neighborhoods) in the country, the damage is much larger and worse. Low-income areas are often located outside cities where roads are prone to collapse. As a result, these areas are more susceptible to flooding.

These facts suggest that, compared to Japan, Brazil can unify disaster information and limit damage more in urban areas. At the same time, slums and poor neighborhoods still do not seem to have adequate countermeasures. A system like Rio de Janeiro would also be a good idea, as Japan experienced increased road closures and traffic congestion during the torrential rains in western Japan in 2018.

3.What about Colombia?

The last country in focus was Colombia, where CNN reported that at least a total of 26 people were killed in landslides in several areas of Colombia in February and April 2022. Both landslides were caused by heavy rains; the February landslide was attributed to heavy morning rains and unstable ground in the area, which caused the landslide.

The April landslide was caused by the government's failure to manage the risks to people living and working on the banks of the river, he said, adding that the government needs to be aware that this will continue to happen in the future, as similar damage occurred again after the February disaster. It also announced that it would provide the necessary assistance to the victims this time around and to avoid other dangerous situations: it would suspend water and gas services in the area, maintain permanent monitoring of the situation, and begin providing rental assistance to families who had lost their homes.

All of this shows that in terms of disaster prevention, Colombia will learn from the annual heavy rainfall disasters and take countermeasures. In addition, although there have been landslides, there have been few casualties from secondary damage caused by other heavy rains, suggesting that the people and the government have been able to prevent disasters to the expected level. I also felt that when disasters do occur, the government's response is to prepare for further damage and take the maximum possible action.

Therefore, I realized that Colombia is learning from the heavy rains that occur every year, and that the people and the government are cooperating with each other to implement disaster prevention measures. In Japan, there are still many victims of flooding and river overflows caused by torrential rains, so I thought it was important for the people themselves to recognize the horror of torrential rains, as Colombia has done.

Through the survey of the three regions, we learned that compared to the rest of the world, the Japanese government has taken extensive and high-level disaster countermeasures. However, in order to reduce the number of victims of torrential rain disasters, I felt that while government measures are important, individual awareness of disaster preparedness is most important. For example, they should prepare a disaster prevention kit in advance, act immediately after evacuation orders are issued, and call out to their neighbors. Such actions will help us cope with torrential rain disasters, which are becoming larger and larger every year, and protect as many lives as possible.

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