Earticle

Along with the rapid urbanization, the number of urban poor is increasing at high speed in Kathmandu Valley and their housing facility is getting scarce day by day. As a result, the number of slums and squatters are increasing at very high level. The overall objective of this study was to find out the number of housing units required to fulfill the housing needs for the low income group. Questionnaire survey and interview have been conducted with the residents of the study area to assess the current housing scenario and their perception about the fulfillment of the housing need. Descriptive analysis was carried out in order to find out number of housing units and the perception of the low income groups about the fulfillment of their housing need. Similarly Relative Importance Index (RII) was calculated to address the research objectives. Over seventy percentage of the people of the low income groups in the study area were uneducated. Easy access to the market along with the urban facilities contribute towards the employment opportunities eventually uplifting the economic status of the low income group people living in the study area.

Japan is located in the Circum-Pacific Mobile Belt where seismic and volcanic activities occur constantly. We have learned lessons from previous big disasters in Japan. In this paper, we pointed out that one of serious issue the awareness and promote the self-prevention for foreign residents at the time of disaster. The number of foreign residents at the end of 2016 was 2,382282 and increase of 156,333(6.7%) compared to 2015 in Japan. In fact foreign residents and visitors are categorized vulnerable peoples. We describe that foreign residents and local community people’s behaviors are taking different action to adaption of evacuation at a time of crisis. A difference in the degree of severity and type of harm caused by natural disasters depending on age, gender and living terms are impact to their well-being after the disaster. This is for that how disaster experience can utilize people's well‐eing and operational performance of safety living in the community. School facilities are utilizing to evacuation site/shelters in case of Japan. We discuss about the school nurse teacher’s relief effort for school children after the disaster treatment psychologically and adaption of normal education styles. Evacuation shelters should operate in the short term, thereby allowing classes to resume as quickly as possible. It is necessity to analyze the disaster impact and their potential for facilitating the identification of high risk situations and training needs.

The purpose of this research is to identify problems of and suggest some plans for improving the disaster prevention methods of marine vessel accidents between Korea and China. For accomplishing the research goal, we conducted comparative analysis of two cases respectively in each country. The one is Sewol ferry accident in South Korea, 2014 and the other is Eastern Star ferry accident in China, 2015. First, the disaster management systems of two countries such as Korea and China, were analyzed from two aspects of theory and legal system. After that, this research put forward three common problems existed in the disaster prevention stage. The next, some suggestions for improvement are put forward from three aspects of government department, shipping company, and crews.

Saga Plain faces the Ariake Sea whose tidal range is largest in Japan. It is significantly difficult to manage storm surge and flood damage in this area because of the unique terrain condition. Under the increase of natural hazard intensity due to climate change, etc., a traditional flood management system applied to this area is useful for the future increasing natural hazard and risk mitigation. In this study, the characteristics of water-related disasters in Saga Plain are reviewed and the usefulness of the traditional flood management technology is clarified by focusing on the historic remains of the watershed's flood management.

Group theory was used to analyze how the related interest groups struggle with each other in the sponge city construction boom in China. The Chinese central government, local city government, banks or financial companies, construction companies, and the publics were included in the analysis. In the recent two years after the start of the first batch of sponge city construction pilot project, the following problems occurred. There is lack of related technology standard and regulation. There exist the fragmentation problems in several aspects. And the difficulties on construction plan design due to the geographical diversity have to been faced up. It is hard to draw out the final conclusion since the sponge city project is still going on now. In the long term, the sponge city construction should be the right direction for city development. But more research and related scientific top-level design is needed.