Five Years Since the Kumamoto Earthquake: Ad-hoc Responses Based on Extensive Experiential and Learned Knowledge

Yasuo Morita
National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Director of Planning Department

Five years have passed since the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. The National Route 57 existing section and the northern restoration route (opened October 3, 2020), as well as the National Route 325 New Aso Ohashi Bridge (opened March 7, 2021), which were long-awaited by the prefecture's residents, have now been opened. These are expected to serve not only as a boost to tourism in the Aso region and a means for local residents to rebuild their lives, but also as a vital artery connecting the Kumamoto metropolitan area with the Aso region, acting as the core for the creative reconstruction of all of Kumamoto Prefecture.

Image source: Kumamoto Reconstruction Office, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (partially updated by the author)

Four months before the earthquake occurred (December 16, 2015), I was suddenly assigned to Higo Kumamoto, and as the head of the Kumamoto River and National Highway Office, I experienced the Kumamoto Earthquake.

Looking back, the infrastructure damage caused by the Kumamoto Earthquake was immense, but thanks to the guidance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism headquarters and the full-scale support of the Kyushu Regional Development Bureau, we were able to overcome the crisis. On the other hand, I cannot forget the hard work of the office staff. Everyone worked diligently with a 'sense of mission to serve the whole.' Furthermore, without the understanding and cooperation of landowners and related organizations, and the tireless efforts of the construction and business contractors, we could not have achieved the disaster recovery that met the expectations of the prefecture's residents.

In addition, my entire work experience and career path proved to be extremely useful in this disaster recovery effort.

For example, in managing the site from initial response and emergency restoration to full restoration. I was keenly aware that we had entered an 'emergency mode,' and after fully grasping the realities of the local construction industry, I carried out construction and business ordering in an ad-hoc manner without being bound by normal bidding and contract rules. Here, the flexible application of discretionary contracts and the utilization of the local joint venture (JV) system were the keys.

In situations that exceed the assumptions of rule-makers, one is required to use their own judgment to achieve the best possible result on the spot. And it is this experiential knowledge that makes such ad-hoc responses possible.

For the contract of the Futae Pass Tunnel construction, which is a key section of the National Route 57 northern restoration route, we applied the 'Technical Proposal and Negotiation Method (ECI type)' for the first time in the country. My experience working at NILIM (Construction Management Technology Research Office) over the last five years helped me with this. Having been involved in overseas research (UK ECI research and US CM/GC research) for the introduction of the system, and in the creation of the Technical Proposal and Negotiation Method Operation Guidelines based on the revised Quality Assurance Act, I ended up applying the ECI method at the disaster recovery site. In forming the experiential knowledge in this field, I had the long-term guidance of Professor Kazumasa Ozawa, a leading expert in construction management research in Japan.

The experiential knowledge gained from responding to this Kumamoto Earthquake was later verified and reflected in the (established) Guidelines for Applying Bidding and Contracting Methods in Disaster Recovery and the (revised) Technical Proposal and Negotiation Method Operation Guidelines.

On the other hand, my broad research activities at the Foundation for Land and Infrastructure Research became my emotional support. A record remains of an email I sent to a close friend one month after the disaster, which read, 'We Japanese have been nurtured by this land called Japan. We have been educated since long ago by the large-scale natural disasters that frequently occur on this Japanese archipelago.' It was the teachings of my mentor in 'Land Studies,' Mr. Hisakazu Oishi, that allowed me to respond to the recovery with such feelings.

He also taught me that it is important to be interested in various things and to become a person with a broad perspective. Through researching textbooks from all times and places, the works of Kanzo Uchimura, Buddhist books, etc., I gained many insights and learnings (= learned knowledge). In Kumamoto, I gave up my holidays for about half a year after the earthquake, but after that, I spent my weekends visiting local history and infrastructure sites in Kumamoto Prefecture and continued to update my blog, 'Kumamoto Land Studies'.

We civil engineers are required to acquire a sense of the field while interacting with local people and to work with our whole personality so that local life becomes safer and more comfortable. To do this, it is necessary to sincerely accumulate experiential and learned knowledge every day.

One last thing. In the tense atmosphere of the office disaster prevention room, my habit of saying 'thank you' every day seemed to soften the air around me. Although it is not included in experiential or learned knowledge, this may be one of the qualities required of a field commander.

Japan Society of Civil Engineers, 169th Editorial/Opinion (June 2021 Edition)
Requested Editorial

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