Photo/Illutration A drone flies over the Ichinomiya coast in Ichinomiya, Chiba Prefecture, during a trial run in March. (Provided by Blue Innovation Co.)

ICHINOMIYA, Chiba Prefecture--A drone-based tsunami detection is taking shape along this famed surfing coastline to ensure a speedy evacuation of beach-goers in an emergency.

The town of Ichinomiya said it is integrating the National Early Warning System (J-Alert) into its own framework as a safety measure for the 700,000 or so surfers who turn up here each year.

A demonstration flight held for the media on May 20 involved a drone taking off from the town government office and sounding its siren from a height of 25 meters to explain a training exercise was in progress.

The drone then began urging surfers to “immediately evacuate to elevated land” while repeating a “towering tsunami alert.”

Takayuki Kumada, the CEO of Tokyo-based Blue Innovation Co., was pleased with the test flight and said the testing program the company developed is “able to respond to a wide range of disasters, such as floods and forest fires.”

However, the bulk of the tsunami alert was lost to those on the ground due to the noise of pounding waves and the wind.

Kumada acknowledged, “There is still room for improvement.”

The tsunami disaster triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 that devastated northeastern Japan left 30 homes in Ichinomiya inundated with water above floor level.

Since then, officials said the municipality’s 7.5-kilometer coastline had proven to be too lengthy to exhaustively disseminate disaster information to surfers and fishermen in the area.

DRONES ONLY VIABLE SYSTEM

The community wireless system proved unsatisfactory in conveying announcements over long distances. Deploying dedicated personnel to warn people in person was deemed even less feasible given the challenges in securing their safety.

With these difficulties in mind, the idea of using drones offered the most sensible solution. Blue Innovation was selected as project partner because it had previously set up a similar tsunami alarm system involving drones in Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan.

A key factor in the Blue Innovation system is its utilization of J-Alert, which can instantly deliver information on incoming ballistic missiles as well as earthquakes via email or emergency disaster radio broadcasts.

Ichinomiya earmarked 40 million yen ($275,000) to incorporate the aerial warning system in fiscal 2024. Specialized stations for drones were installed on the rooftops of the municipal government office building and the town-run Torami Elementary School.

As soon as warnings are issued about waves exceeding a certain height, a pair of drones are able to autonomously depart and patrol separate areas of the coastline.

The drones have to return to the stations after 15 or 20 minutes for automatic recharging. This feature allows the drones to go out repeatedly.

“Our service could help labor-strapped local governments as well as communities with increasingly aging populations,” Kumada said. “We will now work toward building and establishing unstaffed disaster mitigation infrastructure.”

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