Disaster Cluster Activities

The city of Yokohama has served as the leading city of the CITYNET Disaster Cluster since 2013, and has promoted international cooperation in the field of disaster prevention with the CityNet Yokohama Project Office (CYO).

• Iloilo City (Philippines) Community Disaster Prevention Promotion Project
• Kathmandu City (Nepal) Earthquake Recovery Support Project

• MakatiCity (Philippines) Crisis Management Human Resource Development Support Project

The city of Iloilo in the Republic of the Philippines, a member of the CityNet, is a flood-prone area because it is located at the mouth of a river where multiple rivers flow into the sea. In response to a request from the Mayor of Iloilo for support to Yokohama city, which has knowledge of collaborative efforts between the government and the region in the field of disaster prevention, we cooperated by promoting community disaster prevention in Iloilo city as a grassroots technical cooperation project of JICA from July, 2012 to March, 2017.

In the "World Risk Report 2016" published by the United Nations University in 2016, which evaluated the possibility of being hit by natural disasters and the ability to deal with them, the Philippines ranked third in the world in terms of the possibility of being exposed to natural disasters. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also predicts that the economic losses from natural disasters in the Philippines could reach as high as around 35 trillion yen by 2090.For that reason, in the Philippines, local governments put aside 5% of their budgets for disaster response. Natural disaster response is positioned as one of the issues facing the nation.

The city of Iloilo is located in the center of the Republic of the Philippines and has a population of 450,000 people. It is also the political and economic center of the Western Visayas. The area is 78.34 kilometers square. This is roughly the size of the three wards of Kohoku Ward, Tsuzuki Ward, and Kanagawa Ward in our city. The city of Iloilo is located at the mouth of a river where multiple river systems flow into the sea. Furthermore, the Iloilo River flows meanderingly through the central part of the city so the flood damage caused by typhoons and heavy rain has become a serious problem in areas near the river. While the Japanese government's ODA (Yen loan project) was progressing with the development of the physical aspects such as water discharge canals and river renovation work, it was necessary to provide so-called soft support as an effort to improve citizen awareness and knowledge regarding disaster prevention.

This project was implemented as a JICA grassroots-technical cooperation project. It was split into phases 1 and 2.In phase 1 (July, 2012 to March, 2015), we gave support for the purpose of improving the disaster response capacity of local residents in five model districts selected by Iloilo City.

In phase 2 (March, 2015 to March, 2017), the Iloilo City Crisis Management Office, the Crisis Management Committee, disaster-vulnerable people, welfare personnel, and educational institutions were targeted for support for the purpose of improving the city's disaster response capacity.

The earthquake that occurred on Saturday, April 25, 2015 in central Nepal caused significant damage.In light of that situation, the City of Yokohama supported the following disaster victims and disaster-stricken areas.In order to have reconstruction and seismic retrofitting of public buildings and historical buildings in Nepal, it is urgent to develop the human resources of the technical staff of municipalities responsible for taking action.Yokohama City (Housing and Architecture Bureau, and International Affairs Bureau) and the CityNet Yokohama Project Office conducted human-resource development for such technical staff in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.In July, 2015, we dispatched our staff to the city of Kathmandu, and in March, 2016, we invited staff from the city of Kathmandu to Yokohama City for technical training on the theme of earthquake resistance measures for public buildings.After these activities, in June, 2016, a three-year memorandum was signed between the City of Yokohama, the City of Kathmandu, and the Citynet Yokohama Project Office to offer continuous support for the reconstruction after the earthquake disaster. Based on this memorandum, at the time of acceptance into Yokohama City, training consisting of lectures and site inspections on earthquake-resistant measures for buildings promoted by the City was conducted, and when dispatching to Kathmandu City, training on structural design, earthquake-resistant diagnoses, construction-violation measures, construction-quality control, safety measures and　inspections were conducted for technical staff from Kathmandu City and nearby cities.

The city of Yokohama dispatched technical staff (architects) to Nepal from Monday, July 27 to Saturday, August 1, 2015 to conduct a field survey as an effort to provide support for earthquake recovery.This field survey was conducted in response to a request from the Nepal Local Government Council and CityNet (Asia-Pacific Intercity Cooperation Network) to send experts to the city to provide technical evaluation and technical advice on formulating future reconstruction plans.

The City of Yokohama cooperated with the Yokohama Association for International Communications and Exchanges to raise funds for disaster victims.
With regard to the collected funds, on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, we gave our inventory to the United Nations WFP (World Food Programme), a food aid organization with an office in the city. The United Nations World Food Programme gave a letter of appreciation to the city. The donation was used to support reconstruction activities implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme in Nepal, such as offering food assistance and reconstruction of livelihoods.
Donation amount
￥2,960,441(confirmed amount)

The City of Yokohama and the Yokohama City Council presented condolence money to the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. On Tuesday, June 9, 2015, Deputy Mayor of Yokohama City Mr. Watanabe and Chairman of the Yokohama City Council Mr. Sato visited the Embassy in Tokyo and gave the inventory to Ambassador Bhattarai.
Gift amount
￥1,000,000(Yokohama City)
￥860,000(Yokohama City Council member)

The City of Yokohama served as the chair of the CityNet Disaster Prevention Cluster, an intercity network in the Asia-Pacific region, until 2022, and promoted international cooperation in the field of disaster prevention with the vice-chair Makati City, Republic of the Philippines.The City of Makati, the Republic of the Philippines, plans to establish a Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy (DRRM Academy). This is an educational and training facility for disaster prevention and mitigation targeting city officials and citizens. Since receiving a request for cooperation to setup this facility in February 2017 from Makati City to Yokohama City, we have conducted on-site surveys, inspections, and consultations. In November 2018, we formally signed a three-year memorandum for support, and we have cooperated with the development of crisis management personnel who will become lecturers at the Academy.

In the "World Risk Report 2016" published by the United Nations University in 2016, which evaluated the possibility of being hit by natural disasters and the ability to deal with them, the Philippines ranked third in the world in terms of the possibility of being exposed to natural disasters. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also predicts that the economic losses from natural disasters in the Philippines could reach as high as around 35 trillion yen by 2090.
For that reason, in the Philippines, local governments put aside 5% of their budgets for disaster response. Natural disaster response is positioned as one of the issues facing the nation.

Makati City Location

Makati City is part of the Manila Metropolitan Area. It is the economic center of the Philippines and is home to many offices of foreign companies and financial related companies. The population is approx. 580,000 people (2015) but it is said that the daytime population ranges from 3 to 4 million people because of the fact that it is an office town. The area of the city is 27.36 kilometers square. This is roughly the same size as Tsuzuki-ku. (The area of Yokohama City is 437 kilometers square) Makati City is at risk of natural disasters including typhoons, torrential rains, and earthquakes. Measures for these are an urgent issue. The "Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Academy" established by Makati City will provide lectures and training on basic knowledge of disaster prevention, the operation of shelters, emergency medical care and public health in the event of a disaster, and life-saving rescue. In the future, they aim to improve the capacity of crisis management personnel not only in Makati City but also in other cities in the Philippines and CityNet member cities.

Inspection of Yokohama City Emergency Medical Technician Training School

Makati City Firefighter Acceptance Training (1)

Makati City Firefighter Acceptance Training (2)

Dispatch training to Makati City (1)

Dispatch training to Makati City (2)

Online Training for Makati City

Contact details
Global Networks Division, International Affairs Bureau
Tel: (+81)-45-671-4703
Fax: 045-664-7145
e-mail: ki-citynet@city.yokohama.jp