PUBLIC-ACADEMIC COLLABORATION ON NATURAL DISASTER MITIGATION MEASURES IN THE KUMAGAWA RIVER BASIN

Abstract

In 2012, National Institute of Technology, Kumamoto, and Yatsushiro River and National Highway Office concluded a collaboration agreement for the joint research and education on the disaster prevention and mitigation in the Kumagawa River basin. The Watari region has often suffered inundation damages in the flood season, and we have examined countermeasures against disasters in the region. While a hydraulic model experiment was carried out to examine countermeasure construction, a lot of inhabitants and students, participating in the experiment, received education and information about how to cope with disasters. Through this public-academic collaboration, a training levee was constructed based on the experimental results, and the participants in the experiment became more conscious about their natural disaster prevention and mitigation.