Avalanches occur suddenly, damaging houses and injuring people. Many of the avalanches that occurred in Yamanashi Prefecture in 2014 took place in locations where avalanches are uncommon. We now know that many of these were "slab avalanches," in which a slab of surface layer snow is dislodged. How and why did these slab avalanches occur? We'll look at the latest efforts to better understand the underlying mechanisms, and the steps being taken to save lives.

The Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and its resulting tsunami caused the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The worst nuclear accident in Japan's history suffered from a lack of information due to the inaccessibility of the reactor buildings. For this reason, "disaster response robots" were deployed to take pictures and measure radiation doses inside the buildings. In the aftermath of a major disaster like that as well as an earthquake or fire, robots can quickly enter dangerous sites that are inaccessible to humans, find people in need of rescue, and take detailed measurements to provide data about the site. In this episode, we'll look at the latest developments among Japan's "disaster response robots."

In November 2021, the surface of a road in Mikasa, Hokkaido Prefecture suddenly caved in. A car fell into the large hole that formed, seriously injuring its three passengers. No underground construction work had been going on in the surrounding area, and the accident occurred without warning. Road cave-ins and other types of sinkholes happen not only in Japan but also in cities all over the world. One of the major causes is deterioration from aging pipes underground. Experts warn that multiple factors combine to cause sinkholes. In this program, we'll look at how sinkholes form as well as their countermeasures using the latest technology.

In April 2018, a landslide occurred on a hill behind houses in Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture. The landslide moved sediment over a width of more than 100 meters, completely destroying four houses and killing six people. Landslide hazard areas are found throughout Japan, and the total number of landslide hazard areas is approximately 680,000. Why do landslides occur? Experts believe they are often triggered by heavy rainfall. In this episode, we'll look at the mechanism behind landslides and the latest research on reducing their damage.

The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 was one of the worst disasters in Japanese history. A magnitude 7.9 earthquake centered in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture caused buildings to collapse, landslides to occur, and a tsunami to hit the coastal areas. However, most of the victims did not die in these disasters; the main cause of death was fire. In one open space in Tokyo, almost all of the nearly 40,000 evacuees who had gathered there died in a fire. Yet this was not just any fire, but rather a fire whirl, or what is more commonly known as a "fire tornado."

In September 2018, the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake knocked out power of the entire region, affecting up to 2.95 million households. The tremor caused several power plants to shut down, disrupting the electrical frequency. This led to a chain reaction of other power plants to shut down. People's lives were greatly affected, as medical equipment failed and logistics systems were disrupted. What can we do to prevent such large-scale power outages? Find out what power companies and local communities are doing to take steps against massive blackouts.

Osaka, a city that thrives on rivers, has faced countless flood damage. Find out the latest measures protecting the city from typhoons and heavy rain.

Drones are proving particularly useful in the area of disaster response. Now, Osaka University is developing the world's first system to project evacuation information in the air.