Proposal for Systematic Collection and Recording of On-site Knowledge for Disaster Restoration Acquired during Large-Scale Earthquakes

Lessons Learned from the Disaster Recovery Experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake in Agricultural and Rural Development

Abstract

Eventuality is continuous in the restoration work following large-scale earthquake disasters. While the government officials in charge of the restoration work are in a difficult situation, both they and response workers create practical measures and ingenuity, awareness, and lessons learned to solve problems at hand. The authors refer to such wisdom acquired through practical experience as on-site knowledge. Such knowledge tends to be limited to individuals and even small circles of groups, but if it is widely shared among engineers, its effect upon problem-solving potential at disaster restoration sites is great. At present, most on-site knowledge is consumed in a small area and is tends to be forgotten without being recorded. However, since large-scale disasters are highly unique and rare, and because the same conditions are poorly reproducible, active and conscious recording of on-site knowledge is indispensable for appropriate and effective recovery efforts following future disasters. The purpose of this paper is to establish a basic understanding that will lead to the accumulation of on-site knowledge for future use, based on the experience of recording on-site knowledge in the department of agricultural and rural development during disaster restoration following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. For this reason, the authors define on-site knowledge by discussing its characteristics and clarifying its utility in disaster response. In addition, we will present the matters that should be considered in terms of description format and quality control in on-site knowledge documentation. We then propose a method of continuous systematic collection and management.