2026 SAG Award Winners

Wajima City

Project Goal

Following the 2007 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Wajima City introduced a municipal site license and has since continuously worked to build a shared GIS infrastructure and develop human resources. This project leverages those accumulated efforts to create a disaster response platform that enables real-time visualization and sharing of damage conditions, survey progress, and recovery status during the compound disaster of the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and the Oku-Noto Heavy Rainstorm. By integrating a wide range of operational data—such as emergency risk assessments, housing damage surveys, temporary housing construction, and water supply restoration—into a GIS platform, and by establishing an information-sharing environment accessible to both on-site and remote organizations, the project aims to support rapid decision-making and enhance the efficiency of municipal disaster response.
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Business Problem Solved

Immediately after a disaster, local governments often face the challenge that damage information and survey results are dispersed across multiple formats—such as paper documents and Excel files—and managed separately by different departments. This fragmentation makes it difficult and time-consuming to grasp the overall situation and share information effectively. In particular, when numerous tasks such as emergency hazard assessments and the restoration of essential services are carried out simultaneously, delays in updating and sharing information tend to occur.
To address these issues, this project established a GIS-based data-sharing environment and introduced a system that allows field survey data to be collected and visualized directly from mobile devices. As a result, damaged conditions and task progress could be shared in real time, significantly improving internal coordination within the local government and collaboration with external support organizations.

Technology Implemented

In this project, we developed a disaster response information-sharing environment based on ArcGIS Online. Field surveys were conducted using ArcGIS Survey123, enabling emergency hazard assessment data to be entered directly from mobile devices. The collected data was then integrated into web maps, and ArcGIS Dashboards were used to visualize damage conditions and survey progress in real time.
In addition, information was shared not only within the municipality but also with external stakeholders—such as the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience and university researchers—through a web application. This established an environment that supports effective remote collaboration and assistance during disaster response.

Development Team Biography

This project was implemented through collaboration between Wajima City and external research institutions and universities. In Wajima City, municipal employees took the lead in on-site data collection, daily GIS operations, and the integration of GIS into routine administrative work. Since the 2007 earthquake, the city has continuously invested in developing personnel capable of using GIS in practical settings, and during this project as well, municipal staff proactively operated GIS for disaster response.
Researchers from the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience and universities provided technical assistance and data analysis, while Esri Japan supported the operation of the ArcGIS platform. Through close collaboration between the local government and specialized external organizations, the project successfully achieved practical and effective GIS-based disaster response.

Company Overview

Wajima City is a municipality with a population of approximately 20,000, located in the northern part of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture—an area known for its rich traditional culture and historic landscapes. Following the 2007 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the city introduced a municipal GIS site license and has since actively promoted the use of GIS in administrative operations and disaster preparedness.
In 2024, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake caused widespread damage throughout the city, and the situation was further compounded by subsequent heavy rainfall in the Oku-Noto region, resulting in a complex, multi-hazard disaster. Under these circumstances, Wajima City made full use of the GIS infrastructure it had previously established to implement data-driven disaster response measures, including damage assessment, survey progress management, and the formulation of recovery plans.

Return on Investment

The GIS infrastructure developed over many years proved to be highly effective during the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. By digitizing field survey data, the speed of surveys increased significantly compared with traditional paper-based methods, enabling real-time monitoring of damage conditions and operational progress. Visualization through ArcGIS Dashboards further supported timely and informed decision-making within the municipal administration, as well as efficient information sharing with external support organizations, thereby streamlining overall disaster response efforts.
Moreover, the accumulated data is expected to serve as a critical foundation for decision-making in future recovery and reconstruction planning. These results demonstrate that sustained, long-term investment in municipal GIS infrastructure plays a vital role in enhancing disaster response capabilities and supporting resilient sustainable regional recovery.