New system estimates tsunami flooding and potential damage following large earthquakes
– Jointly
developed by Tohoku University, Osaka University, NEC
Corporation, Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. and A2 Corporation for Japan’s Cabinet
Office –
May 25,
2017 – Tohoku University, Osaka
University, NEC Corporation, Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd. and A2 Corporation have announced
the joint development of a system which estimates tsunami flooding and damage.
It is to be adopted as part of the Integrated Disaster Prevention Information
System operated by Japan’s Cabinet Office.
The system is designed to perform tsunami
simulations immediately after an earthquake occurs and then estimate the
potential damage. It uses NEC’s SX-ACE supercomputer to create detailed
estimates of tsunami damage within 30 minutes of an earthquake taking place.
These estimates are provided in grids of 30 meters
for coastal areas of the Pacific Ocean spanning a total distance of 6,000 kilometers
for regions surrounding the Nankai Trough, a deep ocean fault line where
earthquakes frequently occur.
In order to improve fault tolerance, the system deploys
NEC’s SX-ACE supercomputer at two sites, Tohoku University (Sendai) and Osaka
University (Osaka), helping to ensure reliable operations 24 hours a day, 365
days a year.
“We are proud to be working with multiple
universities and private businesses to help strengthen disaster response
capabilities,” said Professor Shunichi Koshimura of the International Institute
for Disaster Science at Tohoku University. “Together we will develop, build and
operate one of the world’s most advanced disaster prevention systems that will quickly
provide vital information on flooding and damage from earthquake-induced
tsunamis.”
The system is expected to be operational in
November 2017.
***
About Tohoku University
Tohoku University
was established in 1907 as Japan’s third national university, and has
consistently ranked high among the country’s leading academic institutions. The
university has a diverse community of more than 18,000 students across academic
fields that include engineering, medicine, life sciences and the liberal arts.
With a strong history of innovation, Tohoku University is also home to leading,
groundbreaking research – most notably in materials science, physics and
chemistry – and actively encourages academic – industry – government
cooperation.
About Osaka University
http://www.osaka-u.ac.jp/en
About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is
a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit
businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products
and solutions that cross utilize the company’s experience and global resources,
NEC’s advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers.
NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to
empower people, businesses and society.
For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com
About Kokusai Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Kokusai Kogyo, as
a leading company of geospatial information technologies, has been contributing
to public services improvement for the past 70 years — using the most advanced
measurement technologies and offering a wide range of consulting services.
Kokusai Kogyo is
supporting the development of Green Communities — offering safe and secure
community development and building low-carbon societies responding to new
government policies and evolving world needs. Kokusai Kogyo is committed to
make a change — utilizing its worldwide long-term experience of advanced
analysis of geospatial information, using geographic information system (GIS),
and low-carbon community-building.
Kokusai Kogyo is a
subsidiary of Japan Asia Group Limited (3751: Tokyo).
About A2 Corporation
A2 Corporation is
a private company, established in 1989. A2 develops, produces, sells and
manages their network telecommunication devices, systems and services. Putting
effort into disaster prevention businesses, A2 offers the JMA-based Early
Earthquake Warning Service and original earthquake detection service using
their algorithm co-developed with the National Research Institute for Earth
Science and Disaster Resilience.
A2 also sells
network telephony systems with various interfaces to many enterprises and local
governments.
