Item: Incident Report: The Social Impact of Mount Masago Avalanche in the Tateyama Area (Nov 23, 2013)
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Title: Incident Report: The Social Impact of Mount Masago Avalanche in the Tateyama Area (Nov 23, 2013)
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop 2014 Proceedings, Banff, Canada
Authors:
- Azusa Degawa [ Japan Avalanche Network, Yokohama, Japan ]
- Yusuke Hirota [ Japan Avalanche Network, Yokohama, Japan ]
- Damian Banwell [ Japan Avalanche Network, Yokohama, Japan ]
Date: 2014-09-29
Abstract: On Nov 23rd 2013, a size 3 avalanche occurred on Mount Masago in Japan, which involved 7 people from 2 groups. All were buried. Although immediate rescue was conducted by skiers and snowboarders who were near by, the incident resulted in 7 fatalities. This was the largest avalanche tragedy in the last two decades. The avalanche was a deep persistent slab, combined with melt-freeze crust and facets. This incident resulted in significant public discussion and commotion as 1) this happened in the Tateyama alpine area with easy public transportation access, 2) the area has become popular as the first skiing area in the at the start of the season, and 3) expansion of internet media such as social networking. In this article, we report the avalanche data such as terrain, snowpack and weather, human factors, as well as the intense interest by media and its correspondence. The accident gave a big impact to the local society. The local government started to provide a new guideline of usage for Tateyama area.
Object ID: ISSW14_paper_P4.07.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s):
Keywords: avalanche accidents, rescue, public safety, human factors, deep slab
Page Number(s): 2059-2064
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