Mexico's geographic proximity to the United States has made it one of the main routes for mixed migrant flows. Against this backdrop, in October 2018, a public call was made through social networks of individuals in Central America to migrate openly to the United States, triggering a massive caravan. Due to its size and the needs of its members, the caravan triggered a complex response in Mexico, highlighting significant challenges in disaster management and humanitarian response. This study aimed to retrospectively identify critical disaster prevention and management themes in order to address complex mass migration situations. Interviews were conducted with key decision-makers belonging to international, governmental, and civil society organizations involved in the caravan response. The results highlight, for example, the critical role of cultural sensitivity in a transparent and holistic governmental response in which the agendas of different groups of migrants as well as the well-being of local communities are considered, thereby promoting understanding between the two early on.

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Mexico's geographic proximity to the United States has made it one of the main routes for mixed migrant flows. Against this backdrop, in October 2018, a public call was made through social networks of individuals in Central America to migrate openly to the United States, triggering a massive caravan. Due to its size and the needs of its members, the caravan triggered a complex response in Mexico, highlighting significant challenges in disaster management and humanitarian response. This study aimed to retrospectively identify critical disaster prevention and management themes in order to address complex mass migration situations. Interviews were conducted with key decision-makers belonging to international, governmental, and civil society organizations involved in the caravan response. The results highlight, for example, the critical role of cultural sensitivity in a transparent and holistic governmental response in which the agendas of different groups of migrants as well as the well-being of local communities are considered, thereby promoting understanding between the two early on.

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This paper explores the significance of a participatory and collective approach as a policy strategy for facilitating mass relocations in pre-disaster contexts, such as flood-prone areas where risk can be anticipated in advance. Using the case of informal settler families in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines, the discussion emphasizes how such approaches influence residents’ daily lives, rather than solely focusing on urban or regional transformations. In some parts of the discussion, comparative insights are drawn from Japan, where government-led group relocation policies are implemented; while these initiatives are primarily top-down, they sometimes involve limited resident participation. The discussion highlights how community-led efforts—distinct from purely governmental actions—can effectively guide relocation processes, including site selection and housing design. Such grassroots initiatives often enhance access to urban facilities, transportation, and diverse housing options, while also strengthening social capital and fostering exchange of ideas among different projects. Ultimately, a complex approach—where top-down policies are designed to facilitate and support bottom-up, community-led efforts—is essential for achieving inclusive and sustainable relocation outcomes, and giving people the necessary time to plan and adapt is a valuable and worthwhile approach, even though long-term planning can be challenging.

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Disasters temporarily accelerate the typical processes of human migration driven by economic and environmental factors. These effects are particularly pronounced in the 21st century due to population growth in hazard-prone areas. Society has increasingly been trying to minimize the impact of these dislocations by intentionally relocating communities found in hazardous areas. Such actions will become more necessary because of climate change. But relocation is contentious, often unpopular, and rife with questions of equity and justice. This essay briefly presents a framework that summarizes the key concerns involved in initiating and managing such relocations: natural science, risk decision-making, relationship to place, the details of the relocation process, and the historical, social, and political context. It concludes with thoughts on managing climate change in California regarding wildfires and sea level rise.

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Disasters temporarily accelerate the typical processes of human migration driven by economic and environmental factors. These effects are particularly pronounced in the 21st century due to population growth in hazard-prone areas. Society has increasingly been trying to minimize the impact of these dislocations by intentionally relocating communities found in hazardous areas. Such actions will become more necessary because of climate change. But relocation is contentious, often unpopular, and rife with questions of equity and justice. This essay briefly presents a framework that summarizes the key concerns involved in initiating and managing such relocations: natural science, risk decision-making, relationship to place, the details of the relocation process, and the historical, social, and political context. It concludes with thoughts on managing climate change in California regarding wildfires and sea level rise.

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Disaster prevention weather information released at the time of the damage was examined for 20 locations where fatalities or missing persons occurred due to flooding or landslides in 2023. In the “KIKIKURU” (Real-time Landslide or Flood Risk information) at the time the damage occurred at each location there were 13 locations with “Alert Level 4 equivalent information”, 2 locations with “Alert Level 3 equivalent information ”, and 2 locations with “Alert Level 2 equivalent information”. “Information on Significant Heavy Rain ”was issued for 16 of the 20 locations. “Bulletins on Exceptionally Heavy Downpours” were issued for 2 of the 20 locations. Disaster risk Information for the damaged locations was also investigated. There were seven locations damaged by sediment disasters, all within the sediment disaster danger zone. Thirteen locations were damaged by flood disasters, five of which were within the expected inundation zone and 12 were in lowland areas with the potential for flooding.

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This study examines the significance of the countermeasure involving residents’ evacuation with pets to designated emergency evacuation centers in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture, during Typhoon No.14 in September 2022. The findings are based on interviews with administrative officials in charge of the evacuation centers. In Nobeoka City, 55 of the 75 designated emergency evacuation centers have a “pet evacuation space,” which is separate from the rooms for evacuees. During the 3 days around the time of Typhoon No.14, up to 1,088 households (2,148 people) evacuated to 67 evacuation sites. In 9 of these locations, 20 households (49 people) evacuated with a total of 24 pets (20 dogs, 3 cats, and 1 small bird). Although for a short period and on a small scale, evacuation with pets was implemented through environmental improvements at the evacuation site, self-help by pet owners, and appropriate dialog and collaboration between the government and citizens. In particular, it was suggested that appropriate evacuation behavior by pet owners and their pets should be promoted, and staff members pointed out various issues related to long-term disaster response. In the future, it will be necessary to promote inclusive disaster preparedness for humans and pets based on the knowledge gained from previous disaster experiences.

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This study conducted a questionnaire survey on measures against flooding among residents of Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture, which has experienced flood damage five times in the past 30 years. Using responses from 240 respondents, the relationship between measures against flooding (evacuation, flood mitigation measures, insurance, and relocation) and both risk perception on flood hazard and household attribute (such as housing type) was analyzed. The results showed that residents living in single-family homes were more likely to continue living at their current address and choose vertical evacuation. On the other hand, residents of apartment buildings wanted to relocate and tended to choose horizontal evacuation. Based on these results, issues related to measures against flooding in the event of future flooding were pointed out for each housing type.

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On August 21, 2024, severe rainfall caused backwater from manholes and flooding of subway stations in Tokyo, many videos and images of the damage were posted on SNS. There are few studies estimating inundation depths using image record for localized flooding in urban areas with complex topography and drainage systems. In this study, we obtained estimated inundation depths from SNS videos and images for the rainfall on August 21, 2024, and compared them with the predicted results of S-uiPS, an urban inundation prediction method. The images and video data collected from SNSs showed a good correspondence with the calculated values. It was also found that flooding on roads targeted in this study occurs locally in depressions due to the crossfall and curbs, and that the inundation depth can vary within the same road section.

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