Speaker 1: Now, CNA 938 rewind.
Speaker 2: We hear the word wildfire, we normally think of Australia
Speaker 2: or the US, uh, especially in the West Coast where
Speaker 2: such natural events tend to be quite commonplace, but this
Speaker 2: time we're seeing wildfires break out in Japan and it's
Speaker 2: the first time in decades that this is happening. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and firefighters, they are still struggling to contain the week-long
Speaker 2: wildfire in the northeastern coast.
Speaker 2: It's near Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture and that has
Speaker 2: engulfed more than 2600 hectares. That's equivalent to the size
Speaker 2: of about 2600 football fields. Now some 4600 people have
Speaker 2: been given evacuation orders. For more on the ongoing wildfires,
Speaker 2: we have joining us live now, Dr. Samuel Mandela.
Speaker 2: Visiting professor at the Institute of Fluid Science at Tohoku University,
Speaker 2: dialing in from Tokyo. Thank you for joining us on
Speaker 2: the Morning Report all the way from Japan. Um, wildfires,
Speaker 2: they don't tend to be common in Japan, uh, or
Speaker 2: rather they're not uncommon, uh, but this is quite uh
Speaker 2: a once in a few decades phenomenon.
Speaker 2: Uh, we normally see about 1200 such wildfires reported annually
Speaker 2: in Japan. Most of these do tend to occur during
Speaker 2: these few months. So what then makes makes this one different,
Speaker 2: the one in Iwate?
Speaker 2: Thank you very much for having me. So I think, um,
Speaker 2: one of the main things to understand is that when
Speaker 2: the wildland fire spreads into an urban area, this is
Speaker 2: called a wildland urban interface fire, and this is what
Speaker 2: we actually see a lot, as you mentioned, in LA
Speaker 2: and also um in Hawaii and many other countries in Australia.
Speaker 2: But in Japan, for example, when wildland fires have occurred,
Speaker 2: there hasn't been actually a large number of them actually
Speaker 2: spreading into urban areas and destroying so many buildings.
Speaker 2: And so that's what makes I think this particular fire
Speaker 2: very unique is that, um, Japan has not basically had
Speaker 2: a woo fire problem as we call it. And so, um,
Speaker 2: you know, as you mentioned, we've seen it in many
Speaker 2: other places. So it's a, it's a, it's a very
Speaker 2: unfortunate situation happening now.
Speaker 2: Uh, Doctor Manzello, just to help us contextualize this wildfire,
Speaker 2: how does it compare to the one that we saw
Speaker 2: in California earlier this year? So clearly, I mean, the
Speaker 2: one in California destroyed, um, you know, more than 10,000
Speaker 2: building structures. So this was a very huge amount of destruction. Um, uh, so,
Speaker 2: you know, currently, the one in Japan has not destroyed
Speaker 2: nearly that many um uh structures.
Speaker 2: Uh, what's the possible trigger that set off this fire
Speaker 2: near Ofunato City? You talked about how this had something
Speaker 2: to do with the urban environment as well. Uh, could
Speaker 2: you walk us through what might have sparked this? So
Speaker 2: I know that in this, um, uh, you know, they've
Speaker 2: had a record drought, um, that's occurring there and basically,
Speaker 2: you know, this is in northern Japan, so normally there
Speaker 2: would be much more snowfall and other kinds of activities
Speaker 2: that happen.
Speaker 2: And that hasn't, um, uh, been occurring and, you know,
Speaker 2: you're seeing these kind of events all over the world. Um,
Speaker 2: one thing that's important to point out, for example, in
Speaker 2: Northern Europe, um, this is an area that traditionally hasn't
Speaker 2: had this type of fire situation, but now, for example,
Speaker 2: you see in Norway or Sweden and these other countries,
Speaker 2: it's also burning. And so, you know, we've been saying
Speaker 2: for a long time from a research point of view
Speaker 2: that unfortunately, this problem has been growing and depending on
Speaker 2: where you live in the world, it might be only
Speaker 2: a matter of time before you experience it.
Speaker 2: So, not to give a negative message, but it's, it's
Speaker 2: something that's very important to, you know, everybody should pay
Speaker 2: attention to it because many countries also don't have any
Speaker 2: building codes, building standards or codes to deal with problems.
Speaker 2: So once the fire is spread into urban area, you
Speaker 2: could expect to see this sort of massive.
Speaker 2: destruction that you see. And judging by how more frequently
Speaker 2: these wildfires are happening in these areas, uh, what do
Speaker 2: the governments then need to do to safeguard against them
Speaker 2: or at least mitigate the amount of destruction, the next
Speaker 2: one might bring.
Speaker 2: So I think one thing that's very important is that
Speaker 2: in these fires is that when anything burns, you get
Speaker 2: the generation of very small particles which are called firebrands.
Speaker 2: And then these lock very long distances, for example, and
Speaker 2: make it very hard to control the fire. And so, um,
Speaker 2: I think it's important, um, uh, countries need to develop, uh,
Speaker 2: testing standards and methods for how to deal with these
Speaker 2: fire bright exposures. And also, another thing that's important, I
Speaker 2: think just in general, is that the public has to
Speaker 2: understand that, you know, just because you saw that in
Speaker 2: LA like it.
Speaker 2: Never happened to me. Actually, you, you shouldn't think that way,
Speaker 2: that actually, it could really happen anywhere, basically. And anywhere
Speaker 2: where you're near a forest, and, you know, you should
Speaker 2: consider that if your country or your town doesn't have any,
Speaker 2: any standards or codes or any preparation for this, you
Speaker 2: should be very concerned about it because there's a possibility
Speaker 2: it could happen to you. So, um, it's just important
Speaker 2: to get as much public attention to it. And so
Speaker 2: I'm very happy to have the chance to talk to
Speaker 2: you today because even in Singapore, I mean, other countries
Speaker 2: should be aware of these kind of problems.
Speaker 2: Doctor Manzello, firefighters are now fighting hard to control the blaze.
Speaker 2: What will the authorities need to be focusing on now
Speaker 2: to contain the fires apart from just fighting it as well?
Speaker 2: So I think the firebrands are the one big, big
Speaker 2: problem because for example, when a, let's say if you
Speaker 2: look at the videos, if a tree is burning or
Speaker 2: let's say a house or a home gets caught on fire, um,
Speaker 2: if under high winds, firebrands can then be transported very
Speaker 2: far distances. And so it's very hard to control and
Speaker 2: also predict that kind of fire spread.
Speaker 2: And so, um, they're hoping for some rain and other
Speaker 2: kind of activities there, so that should help the situation greatly, but, um,
Speaker 2: the fire rats are just a very sort of chaotic
Speaker 2: kind of problem that's very hard to deal with. So
Speaker 2: that's something that you have to look for. And also,
Speaker 2: as you know, probably Japan is a very mountainous country.
Speaker 2: And so because of the high mountains and the very
Speaker 2: difficult terrain, it makes it very difficult to deal with
Speaker 2: the problem. Well, looking at the way the fires.
Speaker 2: are spreading and the firebrands that are floating in the
Speaker 2: air and being carried by the wind and given those
Speaker 2: weather conditions, Dr. Mandela, how likely will it spread further
Speaker 2: into the city or spill over to other parts of
Speaker 2: Japan beyond Iwate?
Speaker 2: So there, there's always the possibility, I mean, of continued spread.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think what's important to understand is any
Speaker 2: other areas in Japan that are very force and, of course,
Speaker 2: if there's been droughts or other like type of activities,
Speaker 2: there's a possibility that these kind of fires could also occur.
Speaker 2: And so of course we're hoping it doesn't happen in
Speaker 2: other place, but it's just not, you know, I wouldn't
Speaker 2: consider it as something a very rare event that this
Speaker 2: type of disaster could happen, I think at any time,
Speaker 2: and I mean, it's very important to try to be
Speaker 2: as prepared for it as possible.
Speaker 2: We know the Japanese, they are well prepared for earthquakes
Speaker 2: with regular drills, but how prepared are they for wildfires
Speaker 2: given how rare these are in comparison?
Speaker 2: So I don't, Japan, I mean, has not prepared very well.
Speaker 2: I don't think, for the wood fire threat. Um, one
Speaker 2: thing that Japan has done very well in the past
Speaker 2: is that they've been subjected to very large scale urban fires.
Speaker 2: And so for example, because of the urban fire situation,
Speaker 2: but you probably can understand that when a wildlife fire
Speaker 2: comes into a city, the way that the fire is
Speaker 2: spreading into the city is different than what you have
Speaker 2: with an urban fire situation. And so, um, I think.
Speaker 2: You know, now these fires are happening, there, there will
Speaker 2: need to be a rethink and also, um, you know,
Speaker 2: a greater focus on how, how they can deal with
Speaker 2: these type of threats in the future. As, and I
Speaker 2: don't think it's specific to Japan. I mean, many countries
Speaker 2: are not prepared for this. And so, I mean, it's
Speaker 2: just important for the, for everybody to be aware that,
Speaker 2: you know, wherever you live, it might happen. So I mean,
Speaker 2: You know, be, be prepared for this type of event. Yeah,
Speaker 2: it's fair warning even to us here in Singapore as well. Now,
Speaker 2: if there are any of us that happen to find
Speaker 2: ourselves in a situation like the one in Iwate Prefecture,
Speaker 2: what can we do? I mean, we know we should
Speaker 2: uh heed the authorities's advice, seek an evacuation center perhaps, uh,
Speaker 2: but this is unfamiliar ground to many of us, especially
Speaker 2: here in Singapore. Uh, what should we do, Doctor Mandela?
Speaker 2: I think the most important thing is to listen to
Speaker 2: what the local authorities advise you to do. So I mean,
Speaker 2: if they, if they recommend evacuation orders, you should follow those, um, and, uh, um,
Speaker 2: you know, follow the advice of your local authorities and
Speaker 2: local government. Dr. Mandela, uh, we thank you for your
Speaker 2: time uh and for these timely updates as well. Uh,
Speaker 2: we hope that the situation will abate soon. In the meantime,
Speaker 2: we'll check in on you another time, but we thank
Speaker 2: you for uh joining us today.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much for having me and I appreciate
Speaker 2: the opportunity to, to, to talk about the dangers of
Speaker 2: this problem. Absolutely, pleasure is ours. Uh, Doctor Samuel Manalo,
Speaker 2: he's visiting professor at the Institute of Fluid Science at
Speaker 2: Tohoku University in Japan.