Abstract
This paper clarifies the adaptive practice to the disaster risk, by referring to several communities in coastal area of Miyagi Prefecture where they were severely suffered from the tsunami attack brought about by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Especially this research gives an attention to learn techniques which try to somehow coexist with, but not totally exclude, the disaster risk.
There are two directions in seeking the ways to deal with the disaster risks seen in the field of tsunami-damaged communities. One is the direction seeking to realise a situation that does not totally allow any physical loss or damage occurred by the tsunami which was just observed in the latest catastrophe by, for example, building a high seawalls or a withdrawal from the places where communities were originally placed. The other is a direction that aims to deal with catastrophic circumstances within community to reduce the disaster risk complex which lingers on for quite a while and produces difficulties in rebuilding survivours' life. This paper calls the latter as “holistic” approach by aiming at emphasizing the lingering nature of disaster risk and the difficulties to rebuild the life of survivours detached from their local land.
The disaster paternalism, which tries to persuade the victims to inhabit far away from the land attacked by the latest catastrophe, tends to perceive that it is unavoidable to carry out social exclusion of minorities or to bring about disparities within the communities as a result. On the other hand, community which accepts the disastrous situations holistically, play a role as a local safety net for the most disadvantaged and vulnerable community members. By taking a holistic approach, this paper shows that it contributes to reducing the disaster risk complex which continuously endangers sufferers even years after the earthquake.
