Study on disaster risks and countermeasures influenced by the impact of the modernization process in historical mountain villages: A case study of Hanazawa historical village, Japan

This paper focuses on disaster risk reduction in preserved historical villages in mountainous regions subject to multiple hazard risks such as floods, debris flows, and declining and ageing populations. This study reveals how disaster risk factors and countermeasures were influenced by modernization processes in historical mountain villages and how these villages overcame the new disaster risk factors and sudden social changes. First, the actual disaster prevention situations such as the disaster risks, resident awareness, and lessons learned from past disasters, are investigated. Furthermore, the impact of modernization's influence on disaster risk factors and countermeasures is also analysed. It is found that new disaster risk factors are rooted in the development of new residential land, road improvements, neglected fields and devastated forests. Then, the effective past disaster countermeasures are examined. Finally, this study reveals that effective traditional measures, such as high basement stone walls, the pre-existing three-structure disaster management system, various disaster management-related laws and local organizations, are the key factors used to overcome various disasters and mitigate the impact of the modernization process.