Yoko Ota
Disaster Prevention and Tourism Development Group Engineer
Urban & Regional Development Dept.
I am living my life to the fullest because I managed to work on community disaster prevention, my dream ever since I was a student. By meeting passionate and ambitious people from around the world, I myself also grow.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis made landfall in Myanmar in the densely populated Irrawaddy delta. The worst natural disaster in the recorded history of Myanmar caused 138,000 deaths and missing people, causing unprecedented human suffering. Based on the project-formation survey conducted in August in the same year, the lack of an information transmission system was pointed out as the reason why the damage was so severe. Although the weather warnings had been transmitted to the central government, provincial centers and cities, it didn’t reach far enough to the towns and villages.
Then, the project started with the purpose of developing a natural disaster early warning system. Being in charge of “Community Disaster Prevention,” I conducted research and field surveys, and used the results to hold disaster prevention workshops for the locals and conducted evacuation drills. Moreover, we also supported the locals not only regarding disaster prevention, but also about how to acquire the ability to solve the problems.
One of the challenges of survey and project work was working under the intense heat of 40 °C and facing the loss of several kilograms in a month. The infrastructure in these places was underdeveloped, creating a big challenge as to how we could provide a disaster prevention system. It can’t be predicted when natural disasters such as cyclones or tsunami will occur; thus, early detection measures are important.
I had previously visited Myanmar during my master’s program when I did an internship at the UN office in Bangkok. At the time, starting from political problems because of the military rule, the opportunities to provide technical support or material assistance were limited due to the severe sanctions being applied by the international community. I felt terrible not being able to help.
During the internship, the condition of not being able to do anything, no matter how much I wanted to, left a strong desire to go back to Myanmar after I gained enough work experience. I really didn’t think that my wish would come true.
For novice consultants, I think it is important to first experience one project. Then, it is possible to participate in project-formation work. I am excited to compete healthily with all the ambitious, passionate, and energetic people in this world and get the chance for both sides to grow and develop!