Tornado Disaster 2012 in Northern   Kanto and the Features of Tornado Disasters in Japan

Junji Maeda; Eriko Tomokiyo

doi:10.20965/jdr.2013.p1078

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JDR Vol.8 No.6 pp. 1078-1083

(2013)

doi: 10.20965/jdr.2013.p1078

Paper:

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Tornado Disaster 2012 in Northern Kanto and the Features of Tornado Disasters in Japan

Junji Maeda and Eriko Tomokiyo

Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University, 6-10-1, Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan

Received:

July 31, 2013

Accepted:

September 11, 2013

Published:

December 1, 2013

Keywords:

tornado disaster, Northern Kanto Tornadoes of 2012, estimation of tornado wind speed, Fujita scale

Abstract

Several almost simultaneously tornadoes on May 6, 2012, in Northern Kanto, Japan caused widespread damage and injury. Based on site investigations, one hit Tsukuba City in Ibaraki Prefecture was classified as F3-plus on the Fujita scale. What we found was a relatively little-known damage situation in Japan that included a wooden residence turned over and pulling up its concrete foundation, a severely damaged fivestorey reinforced-concrete building, and an unusually high number of wooden buildings completely destroyed. Another tornado hitting an elementary school in Moka City in Tochigi Prefecture did not injure anyone because it occurred on a Sunday, when school was out. The amount of damage at the school, however, made us realize how few basic antitornado measures were in place at tornado-education facilities. This paper summerizes tornado effects in Tsukuba and discusses some of the features of recent tornado damage in Japan.

Cite this article as:

J. Maeda and E. Tomokiyo, “Tornado Disaster 2012 in Northern Kanto and the Features of Tornado Disasters in Japan,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.8 No.6, pp. 1078-1083, 2013.

Data files:

References

[1] Committee on Wind Disaster Investigation, “Immediate Report on Wind-induced Disasters Occurred in North Kanto Wide Region on May 6, 2012,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.37, No.3 (No.132), pp. 210-222, 2012.
[2] Meteorological Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Meteorological Situation near the Time of the Tornado genesis and Characteristics of Tornadoes and their Parent Storms,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 5-16, 2013.
[3] J. Maeda (Project leader), “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in Northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), p. 340, 2012.
[4] Damage Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Tornado Damage to Buildings and Structures on May 6^th, 2012 in Northern Kanto Region,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 17-30, 2013.
[5] Debris Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Damage due to Flying Debris,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 31-40, 2013.
[6] J. Maeda, “Follow-up Report on Tornado Disasters occurred in Northern Kanto Wide Region on May 6, 2012,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 3-4, 2013.
[7] Person’s behavior Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Human Casualty and Behavior of Victims of the Tornado Disaster,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 41-51, 2013.
[8] M. Noda, K. Masai et al., E“stimation of wind speed from road damage by a tornado,” The 12^th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering (12ACWE), Seattle, USB, p. 14, 2013.
[9] Y. Okuda, A. Fukai, et al., “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” Chap. 5.5,1 working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, TheMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), pp. 180-185, 2012.
[10] Y. Tamura, M. Matsui et al., “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in Northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” Chap. 5.5.2, working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), pp. 186-192, 2012.
[11] Y. Tamura (Project leader), “A survey of actual damage to various buildings and structures caused by gusty winds, the actual condition of tornadoes, etc., and their occurrence, prediction and countermeasures,” Sub-3, Promotion of the expeditious action to important policies, Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, 2008 (in Japanese).
[12] J. Maeda, “Recent Extreme Wind Events and Damage Assessment in Japan,” Global Environmental Research, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 125-132, 2009.
[13] H. Ishizaki, R. Yamamoto, Y. Mitsuta, and T. Murota, “Wind damages to houses due to Typhoon Miyakojima No.3,” Annual Report of Institute of Disaster Prevention, Kyoto University, 13A: pp. 449-461, 1970 (in Japanese).
[14] T. Hayashi and Y. Mitsuta, “Damage Caused by High Wind during Typhoon 9119,” Proceedings of 12^th National Symposium on Wind Engineering, pp. 91-94, 1992 (in Japanese).

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] Committee on Wind Disaster Investigation, “Immediate Report on Wind-induced Disasters Occurred in North Kanto Wide Region on May 6, 2012,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.37, No.3 (No.132), pp. 210-222, 2012.

[2] [2] Meteorological Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Meteorological Situation near the Time of the Tornado genesis and Characteristics of Tornadoes and their Parent Storms,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 5-16, 2013.

[3] [3] J. Maeda (Project leader), “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in Northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), p. 340, 2012.

[4] [4] Damage Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Tornado Damage to Buildings and Structures on May 6^th, 2012 in Northern Kanto Region,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 17-30, 2013.

[5] [5] Debris Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Damage due to Flying Debris,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 31-40, 2013.

[6] [6] J. Maeda, “Follow-up Report on Tornado Disasters occurred in Northern Kanto Wide Region on May 6, 2012,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 3-4, 2013.

[7] [7] Person’s behavior Investigation Group of Grant-in-Aid for Special Purpose (KAKENHI), “Human Casualty and Behavior of Victims of the Tornado Disaster,” Wind Engineer, JAWE, Vol.38, No.1 (No.134), pp. 41-51, 2013.

[8] [8] M. Noda, K. Masai et al., E“stimation of wind speed from road damage by a tornado,” The 12^th Americas Conference on Wind Engineering (12ACWE), Seattle, USB, p. 14, 2013.

[9] [9] Y. Okuda, A. Fukai, et al., “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” Chap. 5.5,1 working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, TheMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), pp. 180-185, 2012.

[10] [10] Y. Tamura, M. Matsui et al., “A comprehensive survey on mechanism of tornadoes outbreak in Northern Kanto on May 6, 2012, and their related damage,” Chap. 5.5.2, working papers, Grant-in-Aid for Special Purposes, 2012, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), pp. 186-192, 2012.

[11] [11] Y. Tamura (Project leader), “A survey of actual damage to various buildings and structures caused by gusty winds, the actual condition of tornadoes, etc., and their occurrence, prediction and countermeasures,” Sub-3, Promotion of the expeditious action to important policies, Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, 2008 (in Japanese).

[12] [12] J. Maeda, “Recent Extreme Wind Events and Damage Assessment in Japan,” Global Environmental Research, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 125-132, 2009.

[13] [13] H. Ishizaki, R. Yamamoto, Y. Mitsuta, and T. Murota, “Wind damages to houses due to Typhoon Miyakojima No.3,” Annual Report of Institute of Disaster Prevention, Kyoto University, 13A: pp. 449-461, 1970 (in Japanese).

[14] [14] T. Hayashi and Y. Mitsuta, “Damage Caused by High Wind during Typhoon 9119,” Proceedings of 12^th National Symposium on Wind Engineering, pp. 91-94, 1992 (in Japanese).