Japan, adaptability
Tōhoku reconstruction, a decade-long recovery programme
After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan completed the planned 29,654 public-housing units by December 2020, completed 18,226 higher-ground residential-land units, opened about 570 kilometres of reconstruction roads by December 2021 and restored all damaged railways by March 2020.
29,654 housing units, public-housing units completed in the reconstruction plan, 2020-12. 570 kilometres, reconstruction roads opened to traffic, 2021-12. Reconstruction Agency of Japan, progress to date, retrieved 2026-08-31.
The move, and what it needed
Japan set a ten-year reconstruction frame, created a dedicated agency and combined higher-ground relocation, public housing, roads, rail restoration and livelihood support, reviewing the programme as the ordinary disaster areas moved from emergency recovery toward long-term revitalisation.
Preconditions
- A national fiscal and administrative framework able to coordinate prefectures and municipalities after a catastrophic shock
- Land-use, housing and infrastructure plans that can move people and assets out of hazard zones
- A staged review process that separates completed physical works from the longer social and nuclear-recovery problems
Where it travelled: Large post-disaster reconstruction agencies are a common response, but Tōhoku demonstrates why the physical delivery ledger must remain beside population, livelihood and social-recovery measures rather than being treated as the whole recovery.
Limits: Completion of housing, roads and railways shows delivery against a public programme, not whether communities regained population, livelihoods, trust or long-term safety. The agency notes that nuclear-disaster areas and support for evacuees continue, and the figures mix planned units, roads and different completion dates. A completed asset is not the same as a recovered place.
This record describes what Japan delivered. It is linked to Disaster preparedness and recovery because no comparable dataset measures that capability. It does not affect the score or confidence.
More from Japan
5 other deliveries from this country.
My Number Card, a national identity rail extended into services
By July 2024 Japan reported 93.08 million My Number Cards held, about 75% of the population; 73.71 million had valid health-insurance-card registrations in June 2024, while 566 businesses used the public-key identity infrastructure.
GIGA School, one learning device per student
Japan's MEXT GIGA School programme reached a one-device-per-student environment in 1,810 of 1,812 local school authorities (99.9%) by the end of fiscal 2022, with the remaining two scheduled to finish during fiscal 2023.
Fukushima decommissioning roadmap, a 30–40-year risk-reduction horizon
After the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident, Japan adopted a government-led mid-and-long-term decommissioning roadmap and set completion at roughly 30–40 years after cold shutdown, treating the work as continuous risk reduction rather than a one-off rebuild.
Monju, a fast-breeder programme ended before commercial operation
Japan decided in December 2016 not to restart the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor and moved to decommissioning after a 1995 sodium leak, a 2010 restart followed by equipment trouble and 2012 inspection failures; the approved plan targets roughly 30 years of decommissioning.
Volunteer fire corps, and its membership erosion
Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported 732,223 volunteer fire-corps members on 1 April 2025, a fall of 14,458 in one year in the local disaster-response corps that it describes as a core of community resilience.
The same gap elsewhere
22 deliveries linked to Disaster preparedness and recovery in other countries.
Federal siren warning network, and its dismantling
West Germany built a federal warning service after 1955; after the Cold War the federally owned service was dissolved, its ten warning offices were abandoned and the nationwide siren alarm network was dismantled or transferred to municipalities, ending a system that had relied on about 1,700 volunteer helpers.
Room for the River, flood safety delivered across the Rhine branches
The Netherlands ran Room for the River from 2006 to 2019, delivering 39 measures at 34 locations along the IJssel, Waal, Nederrijn and Lek for about four million residents at a total cost of €2.3 billion.
NL-Alert, a tested multi-channel emergency warning system
The Netherlands tests NL-Alert twice a year and, in the 1 December 2025 national test, 92 percent of residents aged 12 and over said they received the message on their mobile phone; 90 percent received it only on that channel and 2 percent received it on mobile plus public digital signs.
27F reconstruction, a nationwide recovery programme after the 2010 earthquake
After the 2010 earthquake and tsunami, Chile's reconstruction programme repaired or replaced more than 223,000 homes across seven regions; MINVU reported 99.93% progress by February 2020 and changed protocols, seismic standards and risk-mitigation requirements.
Fondo Adaptación, recovery and safer resettlement after La Niña
After the 2010–11 La Niña floods, Colombia's Fondo Adaptación had advanced resettlement, reconstruction and improvement for more than 39,000 households by its 2021–23 evaluation, presenting the work as reducing climate exposure and fiscal risk.
2016 earthquake national emergency coordination
After Ecuador's 7.8-magnitude earthquake in April 2016, the national emergency committee reported 17 shelters and 59 temporary shelters active, assisting 25,931 people while mobile health units and security forces were deployed across affected provinces.
Canal water-and-transit response to the 2023–24 drought
During the extreme 2023–24 drought, the Panama Canal Authority adjusted draft and booking rules to preserve water for the canal and the lakes supplying more than half of Panama's population, reducing daily transits from the normal 36 to 22 in December 2023 while keeping the waterway operating.
Typhoon Yolanda shelter and recovery programme
After Typhoon Yolanda, the Philippines' recovery programme had provided shelter assistance to about 1.14 million families by September 2016; the National Housing Authority had completed 29,661 permanent units while 102,240 more were under construction across six regions, 14 provinces and 115 cities and municipalities.
InaRISK national disaster-risk information platform
Indonesia's disaster agency runs InaRISK as an open, integrated risk-management platform; its 2024 national dashboard covered about 7,100 kecamatan and combined BNPB, geospatial, statistical, health and education data for exposure and risk mapping.
Typhoon Yagi emergency restoration
After Typhoon Yagi struck northern Vietnam, the government reported on 16 September 2024 that power had returned to 92.5% of customers in affected localities and that 8,386 of 9,235 damaged mobile base stations had been restored.
National flood-warning SMS system
Malaysia's National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), water and meteorological agencies and telecommunications companies sent more than five million flood-warning SMS messages during the 2023/24 monsoon season and upgraded 442 transmission-tower sites to keep warnings and communications functioning.
T-Alert national cell-broadcast warning system
Thailand launched T-Alert in September 2025 as a nationwide cell-broadcast warning system: it covers eight hazard categories, was built with the disaster agency, digital ministry, telecom regulator and AIS, True and NT, and followed three staged tests in 2025 before use in real floods and other incidents.
La Palma volcanic-eruption recovery and monitoring
After the Cumbre Vieja eruption began on 19 September 2021, Spain coordinated a state–Canary Islands–island recovery commission; by February 2024 the state reported €929 million mobilised and 650 CO2 monitoring devices installed, allowing more than 220 families to return safely to homes in affected areas.
Alert RCB national emergency SMS channel
Poland's Government Security Centre launched Alert RCB as an opt-out-free emergency SMS channel in 2018; in its first year it activated the system 23 times and, working with mobile operators, sent about 200 million warning messages to phones in threatened areas.
VMA multi-channel public warning system
Sweden's Viktigt meddelande till allmänheten (VMA) system combines radio, television, mobile messages, apps and outdoor sirens; SOS Alarm's 2025 report records 37 VMA alerts issued in 2024, alongside the four scheduled annual siren tests.
National COVID-19 vaccination delivery
Ireland's HSE vaccination programme built a national booking, supply and reporting operation during COVID-19; by 21 July 2021 its dashboard recorded 5,344,686 administered doses, including 2,854,040 first doses.
Met Éireann national weather-warning service
Ireland's national meteorological service uses a standard Yellow–Orange–Red warning system and briefs the National Emergency Coordination Group so government departments and agencies can coordinate ahead of severe weather; warnings are issued up to 48 hours before anticipated conditions.
Productive Safety Net Programme for drought resilience
Ethiopia's government-run Productive Safety Net Programme reached about 8 million people, while 6.8 million received short-term employment in public-works activities that support household income and community resilience.
National 9-1-1 emergency-response system
The Dominican Republic expanded its National 9-1-1 Emergency and Security System to 27 provinces by July 2026, covering 94.64% of the population, or more than 9.6 million people.
Sistema Nacional de Emergencias 911
Honduras's Sistema Nacional de Emergencias 911 coordinated and attended 762,601 of 788,573 emergency tickets in 2024, reporting 96.71% efficacy through five regional coordination centres.
National COVID-19 vaccination campaign
Cuba's national COVID-19 vaccination campaign had given at least one vaccine dose to 94% of the country's population by 31 December 2021, according to the Pan American Health Organization.
Routine immunization coverage, and its erosion
WHO and UNICEF estimated Haiti's national DTP3 routine-immunization coverage at 51% in 2022, down from 68% in 2011, while documenting vaccine and syringe stockouts and weak administrative reporting in the national programme.