Preparing for and Responding to Large Scale Disasters in High Income Countries - Findings and Lessons Learned from the Japanese Red Cross' Response to the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

Over recent years, increasing numbers of people are being affected by the disasters in high income countries. The continued growth in population, increasing urbanisation and the changing and more violent weather patterns associated with climate change all contribute to this trend. Many high income countries are finding they have a more vulnerable population as the demography changes and elderly people become an increasing percentage of their population.

The Japanese Red Cross Society was at the forefront of the emergency response to the magnitude 9 earthquake off the coast of Japan on 11 March 2011, sending 46 medical teams into the affected areas within the first 24 hours and distributing relief supplies from the large disaster stocks held. Japanese Red Cross Society was there to give life saving support during those first critical first days. But the work went on as the emergency phase passed and the devastated communities turned their attention to recovery.

Recognising that there are important lessons to learn from such a large disaster response operation, the Japanese Red Cross Society proposed that it jointly with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies arrange an evaluation of the operation. The aim was both to support the process of the National Society’s review of its own organisational response and to assess management of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent support for the operation. The evaluation was tasked to make findings and recommendations after reviewing the experience of other national societies in high income countries which had recently responded to large scale disasters in their own countries.