The Tohoku Disasters: Preliminary Findings Concerning the Post Disaster Humanitarian Logistics Response

Abstract

This paper describes the preliminary findings of the research conducted by the authors on the humanitarian logistic efforts after the cascading disasters that descended on the Tohoku region after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11th, 2011. Using a combination of in depth interviews with participants in the relief efforts, meta analyses of news accounts, the authors identified a list of preliminary findings, policy implications and suggestions for improvement.