Peru, like Japan, is located in the Pacific Rim seismic zone and is one of the most earthquake and tsunami prone countries in the world. Several major earthquakes with magnitudes exceeding 7.0 on the Richter scale have occurred in Peru, each of which has caused many casualties and economic damage, to the detriment of sustainable development. In particular, if a major earthquake were to occur in the Lima metropolitan area (approximately 10 million people), which accounts for more than 30% of the country’s total population, serious damage to major social infrastructure and lifelines would be unavoidable, and the social and economic impact would be immeasurable. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess vulnerability and risk based on scientific data and to promote disaster prevention and mitigation efforts in the country. However, there is a need to organically link these studies to contribute to early assessment of the degree of damage to structures, including infrastructure, reduction of casualties and prevention of secondary damage through safe evacuation guidance, and early restoration of services. This cooperation aims to establish an expert system in the Lima metropolitan area that integrates information from advanced damage forecasting and an immediate damage assessment system for buildings and lifelines, and to develop human resources to utilize the system, thereby strengthening Peru’s disaster response capacity to earthquakes and tsunamis (i.e., reducing secondary damage, restoring and recovering from damage). This will contribute to strengthening Peru’s disaster response capabilities to earthquakes and tsunamis (reducing secondary damage and speeding up recovery and reconstruction).
© Source JICA