WEBVTT - Japan's worst wildfire in half a century spreads

0:00:01.080 --> 0:00:04.000
<v Speaker 1>Now, CNA 938 rewind.

0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:09.670
<v Speaker 2>We hear the word wildfire, we normally think of Australia

0:00:09.670 --> 0:00:12.710
<v Speaker 2>or the US, uh, especially in the West Coast where

0:00:12.710 --> 0:00:15.600
<v Speaker 2>such natural events tend to be quite commonplace, but this

0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.520
<v Speaker 2>time we're seeing wildfires break out in Japan and it's

0:00:19.520 --> 0:00:23.389
<v Speaker 2>the first time in decades that this is happening. Yeah,

0:00:23.479 --> 0:00:26.718
<v Speaker 2>and firefighters, they are still struggling to contain the week-long

0:00:26.719 --> 0:00:29.110
<v Speaker 2>wildfire in the northeastern coast.

0:00:29.424 --> 0:00:33.505
<v Speaker 2>It's near Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture and that has

0:00:33.505 --> 0:00:38.735
<v Speaker 2>engulfed more than 2600 hectares. That's equivalent to the size

0:00:38.735 --> 0:00:43.903
<v Speaker 2>of about 2600 football fields. Now some 4600 people have

0:00:43.904 --> 0:00:47.744
<v Speaker 2>been given evacuation orders. For more on the ongoing wildfires,

0:00:47.865 --> 0:00:50.875
<v Speaker 2>we have joining us live now, Dr. Samuel Mandela.

0:00:51.369 --> 0:00:55.209
<v Speaker 2>Visiting professor at the Institute of Fluid Science at Tohoku University,

0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:58.450
<v Speaker 2>dialing in from Tokyo. Thank you for joining us on

0:00:58.450 --> 0:01:02.369
<v Speaker 2>the Morning Report all the way from Japan. Um, wildfires,

0:01:02.450 --> 0:01:05.489
<v Speaker 2>they don't tend to be common in Japan, uh, or

0:01:05.489 --> 0:01:08.709
<v Speaker 2>rather they're not uncommon, uh, but this is quite uh

0:01:08.709 --> 0:01:11.139
<v Speaker 2>a once in a few decades phenomenon.

0:01:11.510 --> 0:01:16.069
<v Speaker 2>Uh, we normally see about 1200 such wildfires reported annually

0:01:16.069 --> 0:01:18.830
<v Speaker 2>in Japan. Most of these do tend to occur during

0:01:18.830 --> 0:01:22.669
<v Speaker 2>these few months. So what then makes makes this one different,

0:01:22.830 --> 0:01:23.750
<v Speaker 2>the one in Iwate?

0:01:24.610 --> 0:01:28.000
<v Speaker 2>Thank you very much for having me. So I think, um,

0:01:28.050 --> 0:01:30.250
<v Speaker 2>one of the main things to understand is that when

0:01:30.250 --> 0:01:33.129
<v Speaker 2>the wildland fire spreads into an urban area, this is

0:01:33.129 --> 0:01:36.010
<v Speaker 2>called a wildland urban interface fire, and this is what

0:01:36.010 --> 0:01:38.839
<v Speaker 2>we actually see a lot, as you mentioned, in LA

0:01:38.839 --> 0:01:41.879
<v Speaker 2>and also um in Hawaii and many other countries in Australia.

0:01:42.220 --> 0:01:45.000
<v Speaker 2>But in Japan, for example, when wildland fires have occurred,

0:01:45.330 --> 0:01:48.010
<v Speaker 2>there hasn't been actually a large number of them actually

0:01:48.010 --> 0:01:50.209
<v Speaker 2>spreading into urban areas and destroying so many buildings.

0:01:50.550 --> 0:01:52.559
<v Speaker 2>And so that's what makes I think this particular fire

0:01:52.559 --> 0:01:55.910
<v Speaker 2>very unique is that, um, Japan has not basically had

0:01:55.910 --> 0:01:58.669
<v Speaker 2>a woo fire problem as we call it. And so, um,

0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:00.319
<v Speaker 2>you know, as you mentioned, we've seen it in many

0:02:00.319 --> 0:02:02.870
<v Speaker 2>other places. So it's a, it's a, it's a very

0:02:02.870 --> 0:02:04.559
<v Speaker 2>unfortunate situation happening now.

0:02:05.419 --> 0:02:09.899
<v Speaker 2>Uh, Doctor Manzello, just to help us contextualize this wildfire,

0:02:10.020 --> 0:02:12.419
<v Speaker 2>how does it compare to the one that we saw

0:02:12.419 --> 0:02:15.380
<v Speaker 2>in California earlier this year? So clearly, I mean, the

0:02:15.380 --> 0:02:18.990
<v Speaker 2>one in California destroyed, um, you know, more than 10,000

0:02:18.990 --> 0:02:23.779
<v Speaker 2>building structures. So this was a very huge amount of destruction. Um, uh, so,

0:02:23.860 --> 0:02:26.339
<v Speaker 2>you know, currently, the one in Japan has not destroyed

0:02:26.339 --> 0:02:28.380
<v Speaker 2>nearly that many um uh structures.

0:02:29.350 --> 0:02:33.470
<v Speaker 2>Uh, what's the possible trigger that set off this fire

0:02:33.470 --> 0:02:35.910
<v Speaker 2>near Ofunato City? You talked about how this had something

0:02:35.910 --> 0:02:38.429
<v Speaker 2>to do with the urban environment as well. Uh, could

0:02:38.429 --> 0:02:42.570
<v Speaker 2>you walk us through what might have sparked this? So

0:02:42.570 --> 0:02:45.070
<v Speaker 2>I know that in this, um, uh, you know, they've

0:02:45.070 --> 0:02:48.258
<v Speaker 2>had a record drought, um, that's occurring there and basically,

0:02:48.550 --> 0:02:50.630
<v Speaker 2>you know, this is in northern Japan, so normally there

0:02:50.630 --> 0:02:53.229
<v Speaker 2>would be much more snowfall and other kinds of activities

0:02:53.229 --> 0:02:53.770
<v Speaker 2>that happen.

0:02:54.199 --> 0:02:56.630
<v Speaker 2>And that hasn't, um, uh, been occurring and, you know,

0:02:56.669 --> 0:02:59.228
<v Speaker 2>you're seeing these kind of events all over the world. Um,

0:02:59.389 --> 0:03:01.309
<v Speaker 2>one thing that's important to point out, for example, in

0:03:01.309 --> 0:03:04.418
<v Speaker 2>Northern Europe, um, this is an area that traditionally hasn't

0:03:04.419 --> 0:03:06.990
<v Speaker 2>had this type of fire situation, but now, for example,

0:03:07.029 --> 0:03:09.029
<v Speaker 2>you see in Norway or Sweden and these other countries,

0:03:09.070 --> 0:03:12.550
<v Speaker 2>it's also burning. And so, you know, we've been saying

0:03:12.550 --> 0:03:13.990
<v Speaker 2>for a long time from a research point of view

0:03:13.990 --> 0:03:17.149
<v Speaker 2>that unfortunately, this problem has been growing and depending on

0:03:17.149 --> 0:03:18.538
<v Speaker 2>where you live in the world, it might be only

0:03:18.538 --> 0:03:20.389
<v Speaker 2>a matter of time before you experience it.

0:03:20.809 --> 0:03:22.728
<v Speaker 2>So, not to give a negative message, but it's, it's

0:03:22.729 --> 0:03:25.769
<v Speaker 2>something that's very important to, you know, everybody should pay

0:03:25.770 --> 0:03:28.610
<v Speaker 2>attention to it because many countries also don't have any

0:03:28.610 --> 0:03:32.160
<v Speaker 2>building codes, building standards or codes to deal with problems.

0:03:32.210 --> 0:03:35.089
<v Speaker 2>So once the fire is spread into urban area, you

0:03:35.089 --> 0:03:36.490
<v Speaker 2>could expect to see this sort of massive.

0:03:36.630 --> 0:03:41.089
<v Speaker 2>destruction that you see. And judging by how more frequently

0:03:41.089 --> 0:03:45.210
<v Speaker 2>these wildfires are happening in these areas, uh, what do

0:03:45.210 --> 0:03:48.210
<v Speaker 2>the governments then need to do to safeguard against them

0:03:48.210 --> 0:03:51.100
<v Speaker 2>or at least mitigate the amount of destruction, the next

0:03:51.100 --> 0:03:52.410
<v Speaker 2>one might bring.

0:03:53.270 --> 0:03:54.940
<v Speaker 2>So I think one thing that's very important is that

0:03:54.940 --> 0:03:57.539
<v Speaker 2>in these fires is that when anything burns, you get

0:03:57.539 --> 0:04:00.899
<v Speaker 2>the generation of very small particles which are called firebrands.

0:04:01.179 --> 0:04:03.699
<v Speaker 2>And then these lock very long distances, for example, and

0:04:03.699 --> 0:04:06.509
<v Speaker 2>make it very hard to control the fire. And so, um,

0:04:06.539 --> 0:04:09.979
<v Speaker 2>I think it's important, um, uh, countries need to develop, uh,

0:04:09.990 --> 0:04:12.139
<v Speaker 2>testing standards and methods for how to deal with these

0:04:12.139 --> 0:04:14.619
<v Speaker 2>fire bright exposures. And also, another thing that's important, I

0:04:14.619 --> 0:04:17.260
<v Speaker 2>think just in general, is that the public has to

0:04:17.260 --> 0:04:18.820
<v Speaker 2>understand that, you know, just because you saw that in

0:04:18.820 --> 0:04:19.380
<v Speaker 2>LA like it.

0:04:19.488 --> 0:04:22.200
<v Speaker 2>Never happened to me. Actually, you, you shouldn't think that way,

0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.720
<v Speaker 2>that actually, it could really happen anywhere, basically. And anywhere

0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:28.070
<v Speaker 2>where you're near a forest, and, you know, you should

0:04:28.070 --> 0:04:30.790
<v Speaker 2>consider that if your country or your town doesn't have any,

0:04:31.100 --> 0:04:34.160
<v Speaker 2>any standards or codes or any preparation for this, you

0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.519
<v Speaker 2>should be very concerned about it because there's a possibility

0:04:36.519 --> 0:04:39.359
<v Speaker 2>it could happen to you. So, um, it's just important

0:04:39.359 --> 0:04:41.320
<v Speaker 2>to get as much public attention to it. And so

0:04:41.320 --> 0:04:42.760
<v Speaker 2>I'm very happy to have the chance to talk to

0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:46.279
<v Speaker 2>you today because even in Singapore, I mean, other countries

0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:48.118
<v Speaker 2>should be aware of these kind of problems.

0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:53.359
<v Speaker 2>Doctor Manzello, firefighters are now fighting hard to control the blaze.

0:04:53.799 --> 0:04:57.829
<v Speaker 2>What will the authorities need to be focusing on now

0:04:57.829 --> 0:05:01.299
<v Speaker 2>to contain the fires apart from just fighting it as well?

0:05:01.630 --> 0:05:03.760
<v Speaker 2>So I think the firebrands are the one big, big

0:05:03.760 --> 0:05:05.989
<v Speaker 2>problem because for example, when a, let's say if you

0:05:05.988 --> 0:05:07.829
<v Speaker 2>look at the videos, if a tree is burning or

0:05:07.829 --> 0:05:10.649
<v Speaker 2>let's say a house or a home gets caught on fire, um,

0:05:10.670 --> 0:05:13.618
<v Speaker 2>if under high winds, firebrands can then be transported very

0:05:13.619 --> 0:05:16.470
<v Speaker 2>far distances. And so it's very hard to control and

0:05:16.470 --> 0:05:18.269
<v Speaker 2>also predict that kind of fire spread.

0:05:18.670 --> 0:05:21.479
<v Speaker 2>And so, um, they're hoping for some rain and other

0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:25.339
<v Speaker 2>kind of activities there, so that should help the situation greatly, but, um,

0:05:25.678 --> 0:05:27.779
<v Speaker 2>the fire rats are just a very sort of chaotic

0:05:27.779 --> 0:05:29.559
<v Speaker 2>kind of problem that's very hard to deal with. So

0:05:29.559 --> 0:05:31.799
<v Speaker 2>that's something that you have to look for. And also,

0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.469
<v Speaker 2>as you know, probably Japan is a very mountainous country.

0:05:34.760 --> 0:05:36.519
<v Speaker 2>And so because of the high mountains and the very

0:05:36.519 --> 0:05:39.119
<v Speaker 2>difficult terrain, it makes it very difficult to deal with

0:05:39.119 --> 0:05:41.808
<v Speaker 2>the problem. Well, looking at the way the fires.

0:05:41.875 --> 0:05:45.385
<v Speaker 2>are spreading and the firebrands that are floating in the

0:05:45.385 --> 0:05:48.605
<v Speaker 2>air and being carried by the wind and given those

0:05:48.605 --> 0:05:52.975
<v Speaker 2>weather conditions, Dr. Mandela, how likely will it spread further

0:05:52.975 --> 0:05:57.183
<v Speaker 2>into the city or spill over to other parts of

0:05:57.184 --> 0:05:58.743
<v Speaker 2>Japan beyond Iwate?

0:05:59.540 --> 0:06:02.709
<v Speaker 2>So there, there's always the possibility, I mean, of continued spread.

0:06:02.790 --> 0:06:05.070
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I think what's important to understand is any

0:06:05.070 --> 0:06:07.799
<v Speaker 2>other areas in Japan that are very force and, of course,

0:06:07.829 --> 0:06:10.950
<v Speaker 2>if there's been droughts or other like type of activities,

0:06:10.988 --> 0:06:13.660
<v Speaker 2>there's a possibility that these kind of fires could also occur.

0:06:13.910 --> 0:06:15.910
<v Speaker 2>And so of course we're hoping it doesn't happen in

0:06:15.910 --> 0:06:19.058
<v Speaker 2>other place, but it's just not, you know, I wouldn't

0:06:19.059 --> 0:06:21.390
<v Speaker 2>consider it as something a very rare event that this

0:06:21.390 --> 0:06:24.260
<v Speaker 2>type of disaster could happen, I think at any time,

0:06:24.549 --> 0:06:26.708
<v Speaker 2>and I mean, it's very important to try to be

0:06:26.709 --> 0:06:28.420
<v Speaker 2>as prepared for it as possible.

0:06:29.029 --> 0:06:32.099
<v Speaker 2>We know the Japanese, they are well prepared for earthquakes

0:06:32.100 --> 0:06:37.510
<v Speaker 2>with regular drills, but how prepared are they for wildfires

0:06:37.510 --> 0:06:40.470
<v Speaker 2>given how rare these are in comparison?

0:06:41.420 --> 0:06:44.899
<v Speaker 2>So I don't, Japan, I mean, has not prepared very well.

0:06:44.950 --> 0:06:47.899
<v Speaker 2>I don't think, for the wood fire threat. Um, one

0:06:47.899 --> 0:06:49.649
<v Speaker 2>thing that Japan has done very well in the past

0:06:49.649 --> 0:06:53.130
<v Speaker 2>is that they've been subjected to very large scale urban fires.

0:06:53.420 --> 0:06:56.140
<v Speaker 2>And so for example, because of the urban fire situation,

0:06:56.220 --> 0:06:58.779
<v Speaker 2>but you probably can understand that when a wildlife fire

0:06:58.779 --> 0:07:01.100
<v Speaker 2>comes into a city, the way that the fire is

0:07:01.100 --> 0:07:03.058
<v Speaker 2>spreading into the city is different than what you have

0:07:03.059 --> 0:07:06.730
<v Speaker 2>with an urban fire situation. And so, um, I think.

0:07:07.029 --> 0:07:09.299
<v Speaker 2>You know, now these fires are happening, there, there will

0:07:09.299 --> 0:07:11.489
<v Speaker 2>need to be a rethink and also, um, you know,

0:07:11.730 --> 0:07:13.690
<v Speaker 2>a greater focus on how, how they can deal with

0:07:13.690 --> 0:07:16.010
<v Speaker 2>these type of threats in the future. As, and I

0:07:16.010 --> 0:07:18.329
<v Speaker 2>don't think it's specific to Japan. I mean, many countries

0:07:18.329 --> 0:07:21.369
<v Speaker 2>are not prepared for this. And so, I mean, it's

0:07:21.369 --> 0:07:24.119
<v Speaker 2>just important for the, for everybody to be aware that,

0:07:24.170 --> 0:07:26.809
<v Speaker 2>you know, wherever you live, it might happen. So I mean,

0:07:27.140 --> 0:07:30.279
<v Speaker 2>You know, be, be prepared for this type of event. Yeah,

0:07:30.350 --> 0:07:33.670
<v Speaker 2>it's fair warning even to us here in Singapore as well. Now,

0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:37.519
<v Speaker 2>if there are any of us that happen to find

0:07:37.519 --> 0:07:41.839
<v Speaker 2>ourselves in a situation like the one in Iwate Prefecture,

0:07:42.040 --> 0:07:44.630
<v Speaker 2>what can we do? I mean, we know we should

0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:50.399
<v Speaker 2>uh heed the authorities's advice, seek an evacuation center perhaps, uh,

0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:53.160
<v Speaker 2>but this is unfamiliar ground to many of us, especially

0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.239
<v Speaker 2>here in Singapore. Uh, what should we do, Doctor Mandela?

0:07:56.709 --> 0:07:58.850
<v Speaker 2>I think the most important thing is to listen to

0:07:58.850 --> 0:08:01.089
<v Speaker 2>what the local authorities advise you to do. So I mean,

0:08:01.130 --> 0:08:05.820
<v Speaker 2>if they, if they recommend evacuation orders, you should follow those, um, and, uh, um,

0:08:05.850 --> 0:08:08.570
<v Speaker 2>you know, follow the advice of your local authorities and

0:08:08.570 --> 0:08:11.730
<v Speaker 2>local government. Dr. Mandela, uh, we thank you for your

0:08:11.730 --> 0:08:14.209
<v Speaker 2>time uh and for these timely updates as well. Uh,

0:08:14.269 --> 0:08:18.769
<v Speaker 2>we hope that the situation will abate soon. In the meantime,

0:08:18.809 --> 0:08:21.130
<v Speaker 2>we'll check in on you another time, but we thank

0:08:21.130 --> 0:08:23.239
<v Speaker 2>you for uh joining us today.

0:08:23.750 --> 0:08:25.269
<v Speaker 2>Thank you very much for having me and I appreciate

0:08:25.269 --> 0:08:27.829
<v Speaker 2>the opportunity to, to, to talk about the dangers of

0:08:27.829 --> 0:08:31.480
<v Speaker 2>this problem. Absolutely, pleasure is ours. Uh, Doctor Samuel Manalo,

0:08:31.549 --> 0:08:34.630
<v Speaker 2>he's visiting professor at the Institute of Fluid Science at

0:08:34.630 --> 0:08:36.309
<v Speaker 2>Tohoku University in Japan.