Abstract
In July 2017, Asakura City suffered unprecedented damages due to heavy rains in northern Kyushu. Based on a similar experience in July 2012, the city had already created its own manual for disaster waste management and secured three temporary storage sites. Each site was located at a local government headquarters before the merger of municipalities. However, because the scale of the disaster this time was unexpectedly huge and disaster-response headquarters was overwhelmed by other areas such as lifesaving activities, elimination of road obstacles, management of evacuation shelters, emergency restoration of infrastructure, etc., disaster waste management was quite inadequate. The situation was overcome, however, with various supports from many other channels including the Ministry of the Environment, other municipalities, and cooperative citizens who showed understanding. This paper introduces specific features of this disaster, routine waste management procedures for the city, disaster preparations, and actual disaster waste management strategies. Dissemination of this information on the various issues that were faced is sure to be helpful in planning for future disaster waste management scenarios.
