TEC-FORCE
TEC-FORCE (Technical Emergency Control Force) is a specialist group, established in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, which provides fast technical assistance for the affected municipalities to help make fast damage assessment, prevent the occurrence or escalation of disaster, and implement faster restoration and any other temporary disaster responses against large-scale natural disasters, such as earthquakes, flood or landslide disasters, etc.
Here are some statistics of the TEC-FORCE dispatched in the Great East Japan Earthquake.
- On the day following the earthquake, an advance party of eight staffs from the other Regional Bureaus arrived.
- Total 255 staffs in 63 groups were mobilized at its peak (total 14,109 man-days as of May 17, 2011).
- A great contribution was made to damage assessment, operational support for disaster-relief machinery, establishing satellite communication system, etc.
The disaster management specialists gathered from the MLIT Regional Bureaus in Japan were scrambled for the cracked roads, collapsed slopes, fallen bridges, and destroyed harbors.
More than 200 members of this Technical Emergency Control Force, called TEC-FORCE for short, arrived at the affected areas two days after the disaster, to investigate the extent of damage. This fast initial response enabled fast temporary restoration works in early stage.
The members of the TEC-FORCE were also dispatched to the municipalities as support groups; they were engaged in extensive field of activities: gathering information about the damage, drainage by pumper trucks, coordination with the JSDF, receiving or procurement of relief supplies and equipment, etc.
Dispatching Conditions of TEC-FORCE
| Name | Total Number of People (As of May 17) | Conditions of Disaster Recovery Assistance of Each Regional Bureau |
|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau | 682 man-days | Hokkaido.pdf（1.1MB） |
| Tohoku Regional Bureau | 2,407 man-days | |
| Kanto Regional Development Bureau | 463 man-days | |
| Hokuriku Regional Development Bureau | 2,369 man-days | Hokuriku.pdf（625KB） |
| Chubu Regional Bureau | 2,542 man-days | Chubu.pdf（2.6MB） |
| Kinki Regional Development Bureau | 1,590 man-days | Kinki.pdf（1.1MB） |
| Chugoku Regional Development Bureau | 1,069 man-days | Chugoku.pdf（4.2MB） |
| Shikoku Regional Development Bureau | 1,003 man-days | Shikoku.pdf（3.6MB） |
| Kyushu Regional Development Bureau | 1,043 man-days | Kyushu.pdf（1.4MB） |
| National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management | 961 man-days | |
| Public Works Research Institute | ||
| Port and Airport Research Institute | ||
| Building Research Institute | ||
| Total | 14,109 man-days |
Main Dispatching Results of TEC-FORCE
- June 2008 The Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku Earthquake of 2008
408 members were dispatched (1,499 man-days) - July 2008 The Iwate Engan-Hokubu Earthquake of 2008
147 members were dispatched (381 man-days) - July 2009 The Chugoku-Kyushu-Hokubu Heavy Rainfall
119 members were dispatched (954 man-days) - August 2009 The Shizuoka Earthquake occurred near the Suruga Trough
92 members were dispatched (249 man-days) - In October 2010 Heavy Rainfall in Amami area
74 members were dispatched (299 man-days) - July 2011 Heavy Rainfall in Niigata and Fukushima areas
131 members were dispatched (262 man-days) - September 2011 Typhoon #12 (In Nara/Wakayama/Mie)
723 members were dispatched (5,185 man-days)