Linking affected community and academic knowledge: community-based research for the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake

Abstract

On January 1, 2024, Japan was hit by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. While the victims are receiving assistance, Japan must also begin to recover from the disaster. To facilitate recovery from the Noto Peninsula earthquake, we introduce a community-based participatory research program, implemented in cooperation between universities and local communities after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. In this project, the university and the town of Shichigahama, one of the affected areas, collaborated to hold annual workshops in the target area, which evolved into a climate monitoring survey. Even in Japan, where disaster prevention planning is common, various problems arise in the process of emergency response, recovery and reconstruction, and building back better when disasters beyond expectations occur. It is difficult for residents and local governments to solve these problems alone, and it is desirable for experts to participate in the response process. In this paper, we interviewed town hall official and university officials as representatives of local residents regarding this project and discussed their mutual concerns. The community-based participatory research framework developed in the Shichigahama project could be used effectively in recovering from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake as well as in future reconstruction and disaster management projects.