The Damages caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Actions taken by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (last updated on March 12, 2013)

Please note this is a prompt report. The numbers shown below may be updated based on further investigations.

Further information can be found on the MAFF Japanese website (http://www.maff.go.jp/j/kanbo/joho/saigai/higai_taiou/index.html)

1. Summary of the earthquake (by Japan Meteorological Agency)

1. Date and time : March 11, 2011 14:46 (Friday)

2. Hypocenter : 38° 6.2′ N, 142° 51.6′ E (130km ESE off Oshika Peninsula)

3. Depth : 24km

4. Magnitude : M9.0

5. Seismic Intensity in typical place

JMA Seismic Intensity	Area
7	Northern part of Miyagi Prefecture
6+	Southern and Central part of Miyagi Prefecture Nakadori and Hamadori of Fukushima Prefecture Northern and Southern part of Ibaraki Prefecture Northern and Southern part of Tochigi Prefecture
6-	Southern part of coastal area, northern part of inland area and southern part of inland area of Iwate Prefecture Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture Southern part of Gunma Prefecture Southern part of Saitama Prefecture North-west part of Chiba Prefecture

6. Observed Tsunami

Miyako: Maximum more than 8.5m on March 11, 2011 15:26
Oofunato: Maximum more than 8.0m on March 11, 2011 15:18
Souma: Maximum more than 9.3m on March 11, 2011 15:51

2. Damages of agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Please note the list below is as of 17:00 on July 5, 2012. The numbers in the list may be updated based on further investigations.

Section	Main damage	Total number of damage	Amount of damage (100 million yen)	Main disaster area (Prefecture)
Fisheries	Fish vessels	28,612	1,822	Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Chiba, Tokyo, Niigata, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Wakayama, Tokushima, Kochi, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa (Vessels registered in Toyama, Ishikawa, Tottori was damaged while moored in disaster areas.)
	Fishery harbor facilities	319 harbors	8,230
	Aquaculture facilities	-	738
	Aquaculture products	-	597
	Common use facilities	1,725 facilities	1,249
subtotal			12,637
Agricultural land, facilities, etc.	Damaged agricultural land	18,186areas	4,006	Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Nagano, Shizuoka, and Niigata
	Damaged agricultural facilities etc.	17,906 points	4,408
	(Agricultural facilities: mainly storage reservoirs, drains, pumps, shore protection facilities for agricultural lands)	(17,317 points)	(2,753)
	(Coastal protection facilities for agricultural land)	(139 points)	(1,022)
	(Facilities for daily life in farming villages: mainly community sewerage)	(450 points)	(633)
subtotal		36,092 points	8,414
Agricultural crops etc.	Agricultural crops and livestock, etc.	-	142	Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, Yamanashi, Nagano, and Niigata
Agricultural crops etc.	Agricultural livestock production facilities, etc. (mainly country elevators, agricultural warehouses, PVC greenhouses, livestock barns, compost depots, etc.)	-	493
subtotal			635
Forestry	Desolation of forest lands	458 points	346	Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, and Kochi
	Damage of facilities for mountain/forest conservations	275 points	1,262
	Damage of forest roads	2,632 points	42
	Damage of forests	(1,065ha)	10
	Processing and marketing facilities etc.	115 points	467
	Cultivating facilities for forest products	476 points	29
subtotal		(1,065ha) 3,956 points	2,155
Total			23,841

(Reference data)

Human suffering as of October 3, 2012

Number of Death: 15,870
Number of Missing: 2,813

Damages of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on 17:00 on July 5, 2012

Amount: 2,384.1 billion yen

3. Main responses of Japanese government to the earthquake disaster (as of 17:00 on February 5, 2013)

Please note the year the responses were taken is 2011 if not specified in the paragraphs.

1 Main responses of Japanese government to the earthquake disaster

Japanese government established the disaster countermeasures headquarters (March 11).
Japanese government dispatched governmental investigation teams to Miyagi Prefecture (March 11), and Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures (March 12). MAFF dispatched 5 staff to each team.
Japanese government designated “the disaster caused by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake (renamed "Great East Japan Earthquake")” as an extremely-severe disaster covered with all parts of the country (March 12).

2 Main responses of MAFF to the earthquake disaster

Arrangement within MAFF

MAFF established the MAFF Earthquake Response Headquarters (March 11).
MAFF provided a contact point as consultation services for the damages in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors (March 12).
MAFF confirmed MAFF Disaster Response Measures at MAFF Earthquake Response Headquarters (March 12).
MAFF provided further information on the MAFF’s Website.

Support to the devastated area

MAFF’s staff who were dispatched to on-site disaster countermeasures offices in Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures were engaged in emergency food assistance in collaboration with local authorities. Tohoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office, Tohoku Regional Forest Office, Kanto Regional Forest Office, Local Agricultural Administration Offices and Governmental Project Offices also provided necessary assistances in cooperation with these on-site offices.
Fisheries Agency’s fishery oversight vessels were engaged in search and rescue activities on site (March 11-).
MAFF, in response to the requests from Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures, dispatched experts from the National Institute for Rural Engineering and MAFF’ local staff for the emergency checkups of agricultural facilities (March 13-).
MAFF, in response to the requests, delivered pumps for first aid from Land Improvement Technology Offices Since March 14, 22 pumps were delivered to Fukushima Prefecture, 62 pumps to Miyagi Prefecture, and 4 pumps to Tochigi Prefecture. Among them, 1 pump in Fukushima Prefecture and 25 pumps in Miyagi Prefecture are still in operation as of November 24.
Kanto Regional Forest Office lent about 3 ha of land formerly used as nursery gardens in Yabuki Town, Fukushima Prefecture with no charge to the Yabuki town office to place rubbles temporarily (April 15).
For victims' acceptance into rural areas, MAFF provides them with various information on living in rural areas such as houses and facilities, employment in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors, and the utilization of agricultural lands and abandoned farmlands (April 19 -).
Tohoku Regional Forest Office lent about 423 ha of coastal forests and about 6 ha of old quarry sites in Miyagi Prefecture with no charge to Miyagi prefectural governments and other local authorities to place rubbles temporarily (July 25).

Securing food, etc.

MAFF requested related organizations to secure enough food for victims(March 11).
MAFF responded to the request of from Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures for emergency food supply from March 11 to April 20. On and after April 21, prefectural governments procured and delivered food instead of MAFF. The food and drink assistance provided by MAFF from March 11 to April 20 is as follows: 25.842 million packs of food, 7.62 million bottles of drinks, and 53 thousand cans of formula milk for infants.
MAFF requested related organizations to set up a supply and delivery system of fuels such as charcoal, artificial coal and wood fuels (March 11 and 26).
With cooperation from related organizations, Tohoku Regional Forest Office and Kanto Regional Forest Office were engaged in the transportation of food to the evacuation centers by 20 cars (March 16–April 4).
MAFF provided 26 tons of charcoal and 1,300 sets of stove burners to Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures (March 17-28). Tohoku Regional Forest Office provided 113 sets of wood stove burners and other stuff (March 20-28).
With cooperation from private fish vessels, Fisheries Agency’s fishery oversight / survey vessels and the Mother vessel for whaling research (total 10 vessels) transported 800kl of heavy fuel oil, 420KL of diesel oil, 180,000 cups of instant noodles, 53,000 cans of food, 390 boxes of diapers and 16,000 boxes of underclothing to the devastated area (March 17-April 6).
Forest Agency and other relevant ministries requested the related organizations to provide housing materials smoothly in response to the shortage (March 18). MAFF held liaison meetings for relevant organizations in forestry and wood industry (March 15-).
MAFF provided 533 sets of wood stove burners to 12 cities and towns in Miyagi Prefecture (April 1-).

Site survey

Hokkaido Regional Forest Office, Tohoku Regional Forest Office, Kanto Regional Forest Office and Chubu Regional Forest Office conducted site survey by helicopters (March 12 - 13).
Parliamentary Secretary Tanabu visited Miyako City and Yamada Town in Iwate Prefecture for checking the damages caused by the disaster and exchanging information and opinions with victims (March 20).
Fishery survey vessel Hakuryu Maru confirmed the safety of some inhabitants in Oshika Peninsula and reported to the Ishinomaki city government (March 18-21).
Parliamentary Secretary Yoshida visited Ibaraki Prefecture for checking the damages caused by the disaster and exchanging information and opinions with local entities concerned (March 24).
Parliamentary Secretary Tanabu visited Hachinohe City and Hashikami City in Aomori Prefecture for checking the damages caused by the disaster and exchanging information and opinions with victims (March 26).
MAFF dispatched 4 staff including the Head of Construction Planning and Coordination Office, Design Division, Rural Development Bureau to Miyagi Prefecture. They investigated the damage situations caused by the large-scale disaster at coastal areas between Ishinomaki City and Yamamoto Town and gave advices and guidance for disaster recovery (March 26 - 27).
Minister Kano visited Miyagi Prefecture for observing disaster areas including Ishinomaki City and Natori City and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned at Miyagi prefectural government office. He also visited the freight transport complex in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture (April 2-3).
Minister Kano visited Fukushima Prefecture for observing disaster areas of Iwaki City and Fukushima City, and exchanged information and opinions with entities concerned at Iwaki City, Fukushima City and Iitate Village (April 9).
Director-General of Rural Development Bureau visited Fukushima Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (April 10).
Deputy Director-General of Rural Development Bureau visited Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (April 15-16).
Minister Kano visited Yamada Town in Iwate Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (April 16).
Director-General of Statistics Department visited Itako City in Ibaraki Prefecture and Katori City in Chiba Prefecture for checking the damages caused by the disaster including liquefied farmlands (April 19).
Minister Kano visited Fukushima and Ibaraki Prefectures for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (April 23).
Minister Kano visited Kesennuma City in Miyagi Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (May 7).
Minister Kano visited Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with entities concerned (May 14).
Minister Kano visited Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions on post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction with local entities concerned (July 3).
Minister Kano visited Miyagi Prefecture for observing the situation of emergency rehabilitation of farmlands, agricultural facilities and fishing ports in (July 9).
Minister Kano visited Miyako Town in Miyagi Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions on post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction with local entities concerned (August 18).
Senior Vice-Minister Iwamoto visited Sendai City, Natori City and Watari Town in Miyagi Prefecture for observing disaster areas (September 9).
Senior Vice-Minister Iwamoto visited Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with local entities concerned (September 20).
Minister Kano visited Rikuzentakata City in Iwate Prefecture for observing disaster areas (October 1).
Senior Vice-Minister Iwamoto visited Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture and Miyako City in Iwate Prefecture for observing disaster areas and exchanging information and opinions with local entities concerned (October 5-6).
Minister Kano exchanged information and opinions with farmers at Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture and fishery workers at Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture (December 17).
Minister Kano exchanged information and opinions with farmers at Iitate village in Fukushima Prefecture (December 27).
Minister Kano exchanged information and opinions with fishery workers at Iwaki City in Fukushima Prefecture (January 19, 2012).

Issuing various guidelines and notes

MAFF requested related financial institutions to provide smooth finance and rescheduling of loans, etc. to victims in agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors (March 11).
To reduce the burden on the dairy farmers who need to discard their produced raw milk, MAFF issued a technical notice to promote quick milking suspension and to inform some technical advice (March 24).
MAFF issued a technical notice to assess and restore the situation of damaged agricultural land and farm irrigation facilities as early as possible, as well as to prepare for farming on rice crops and horticulture depending on the damaged situation (March 31).
MAFF issued a notice to Agricultural Mutual Relief Associations in Aomori Prefecture and other 6 prefectures both on an extension of due date of payment for the agricultural insurance premium of livestock mutual aid and horticultural facilities mutual aid and on prompt payment of mutual aid money (March 31).
MAFF determined the extension of the deadline for the submission of applications for the income support direct payment scheme (April 1).
MAFF issued the ministerial ordinance on special cases concerning the due date for payment of the agricultural insurance premium of fruit mutual aid (harvested mutual aid) and upland field crop mutual aid (April 11).
The Government of Japan enforced the Act on Temporary Measures on Financial Support of Farmers, Forestry Workers and Fishery Workers Suffering from Natural Disaster to provide the low-rate loans (natural disaster relief loans) to farmers, forestry workers and fishery workers damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake (April 15).
MAFF issued a notice to Tohoku and Kanto Regional Agricultural Administration Offices to simplify drastically the assessment procedure of the disaster recovery projects to accelerate the early reconstruction of damaged areas (April 21).
MAFF issued a notice to prefectural governments on the extension of the deadline for the procedure to continue contracts of government managed forest insurance (April 22).
MAFF issued notices to Aomori Prefecture and 5 other prefectural governments as well as the prefectural federations of Agricultural Insurance Associations in these prefectures on the payment of agricultural mutual aid money to farmlands damaged by penetration of salty water, etc. (May 24).

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