Hello, geographers.

My name's Mrs. Hormigo.

I'm really looking forward to teaching you today.

I hope you're gonna enjoy the lesson and learn lots.

Let's get started.

Today's lesson looks at two different countries and how they prepare and respond to tropical cyclones.

And by the end of the lesson, you'll understand how the effects of tropical cyclones will depend on a country's ability to prepare and respond.

There are three key words for today's lesson, response, infrastructure, and preparation.

Response are the efforts made to manage and mitigate the effects of a tropical cyclone after it occurs.

Infrastructure are basic physical systems and structures that are needed for the operation of a society, such as roads and bridges.

And preparation are the actions taken to ready an area or community for an incoming tropical cyclone.

There are two parts for today's lesson.

We're going to look first at the preparation and response to typhoons in Japan, and secondly, the preparation and response to cyclones in Bangladesh.

Let's get started with our first learning cycle.

Before we look specifically at Japan, let's think.

Why is it that countries respond differently to tropical cyclones? Government and planning.

Stronger governments with disaster agencies will be able to coordinate better responses.

Experience and awareness.

Countries with a history of cyclones have more experience and public education on how to prepare.

Economic resources.

The higher income and wealthier countries can afford advanced technology, infrastructure, and disaster response systems. And the location and frequency.

Those countries that are in tropical regions experience more tropical cyclones so they have better systems in place.

Check for you now.

Countries all respond to tropical cyclones in the same way.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and come back when you've decided, I hope you all said false.

If so, well done.

But why did you choose that? Can you explain your reasons? Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

I imagine you might have said something like this.

Countries that regularly experience tropical cyclones have greater awareness and experience and better response systems in place.

The higher income countries have more resources to develop disaster response systems, and they use more advanced technology and infrastructure.

Well done.

Let's look now at Japan.

Its location puts it in the path of tropical cyclones that form around the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.

And we can see there on the map the area that experiences typhoons.

Japan, on average, experiences four to five typhoons each year.

And if we remember, hurricane cyclones and typhoons are all the same idea.

They're just called different things around the world.

This map shows as population density of Japan.

The darker green of Japan shows it has a high population density.

This combined with the fact it experiences regular typhoons has meant it has had to develop ways of managing it to reduce the vulnerability of the population and the infrastructure.

Typhoon Jebi hit Japan in 2024.

It was a category five super typhoon with winds of up to 215 kilometres an hour.

We can see there looking at this map that it caused extensive damage in the west of Japan, in cities such as Kobe and Osaka.

The cost of the damage was estimated at $15 billion.

But because of Japan's advanced and effective disaster management system, it was able to reduce the damaging effects of this typhoon.

Japan mitigates the impact of typhoons through good monitoring and warning systems, good education and public awareness, making sure that people are prepared, and advanced engineering of buildings and defences.

Monitoring and warning then.

The early warning and forecasting is carried out by the Japanese Meteorological Agency.

They are responsible for tracking typhoons and then issuing the forecasts and warnings to the population.

And they use satellite data, radar, and they monitor the development and the movement of those typhoons.

We can see here on this image the red area shows the cyclone's path.

And by tracking this, they can forecast its intensity and where it's likely to make the landfall.

The Japanese public will receive warnings about the progress of the tropical cyclone and any potential hazards as it makes landfall such as strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surges.

Education.

So across Japan, local governments will have detailed evacuation plans with designated places for people to go, such as schools and community halls.

They have regular drills to prepare people and these are conducted by local governments.

They're conducted at schools and in businesses, and they include how to evacuate, how to secure buildings, and how to prepare emergency kits.

Public education campaigns will teach people in Japan about the risks of typhoons, and how to prepare their homes, and how to respond to warnings when they are issued.

Japan's self-defense forces and their local emergency services and volunteer networks are highly trained, and they respond very quickly to typhoons, conducting any rescues that are required, helping with evacuations, and providing emergency relief.

We look now at the engineering of building and defences.

In Japan, they have very strict building codes so that the buildings are made to withstand typhoon force winds.

We can see here we've got an image of one.

It's aerodynamically shaped, so it's curved, and this reduces the wind pressure during the storms. You can see that the diagonal braces form an extra layer of support to the structure.

It's flexible so it can sway slightly in the wind, rather than being rigid and trying to withstand the winds.

Let's have a check for you now.

Can you label these images of ways in which Japan prepares for tropical cyclones? Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

For the first image, you might have put forecasting and predicting using satellites and computer modelling.

For the second picture, you may have put buildings designed to withstand strong winds.

And for the third picture, evacuation plans, disaster preparedness drills, and emergency kits, always educating the public and helping them to become prepared and aware.

So Japan has invested in extensive coastal defences such as sea walls and dikes, and these protect the low-lying areas from the risks of storm surges and flooding during typhoons.

We can see here this image of the sea walls that can be found along the coast near Kobe and Osaka on the west of Japan.

They also have river management systems that try to reduce the likelihood of flooding during intense rainfall.

They have flood dams, levies, and diversion channels.

But what are the challenges in preparing and responding to typhoons in Japan? A densely populated coastal area, so lots of people to evacuate to safety should a typhoon hits.

Japan has an ageing population, which may make evacuations more difficult.

It has an increasing intensity and frequency of typhoons and ongoing costs to maintain and upgrade the typhoon defences are expensive and take a lot of resources from the government.

What are the strengths to Japan's preparation and response? It has typhoon-resistant buildings, sea walls, and flood control, which all use fairly advanced technology.

They have regular disaster drills and public education campaigns to ensure people are educated and know how to react.

They have advanced early warning systems so people can move to safety and are prepared.

And self-defense forces, local services, and volunteers react very quickly, providing the help that's needed for rescues, evacuations, and emergency relief.

A check for you now.

Which of these make Japan's preparation and response to typhoons more difficult? Is it A, advanced technology for forecasting and predicting typhoons, B, high population density along the coastline, C, public awareness campaigns to educate and inform the population about typhoon risks, and climate change increasing frequency and intensity of typhoons? Pause a video, read them through, and see which ones you think are correct.

Did you tick B and D? If so, well done.

So the high population density along the coastline means that there are a lot of people to move to safety when a typhoon hits.

And climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of typhoons means that they are having to manage more severe typhoons every year.

Your first practise task now.

Japan's preparation and response to typhoons has strengths and weaknesses.

Can you give an example of each? You may want to complete it in a table as I've shown below.

Andeep says, "I could explain the issue with population density along the coast as a weakness, but good prediction and forecasting as a strength.

I must make sure I explain the reasons why." Pause the video and have a go.

Come back when you're ready.

Your answers may have looked something like this.

So for the strength, the JMA provides advanced warning using satellites and computer modelling.

This helps them to know when and where the typhoon will make landfall.

This helps to focus the evacuations and emergency services in high risk areas.

And for your weakness, Japan has a high population density along the coastline.

This is the most vulnerable area during a typhoon, and this makes it more difficult to evacuate and provide emergency supplies as there are so many people.

Well done if you've got answers similar to these, let's move now to learning cycle two, and have a look at the preparation and responses to cyclones in Bangladesh.

So Bangladesh is located in South Asia, near the Bay of Bengal.

It experiences frequent tropical cyclones, on average, two to three major ones every year.

Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to tropical cyclones, and we've got a map here to show why.

The map on the right shows the elevation and we can see that the area next to the coast is very low-lying, which makes it very vulnerable to storm surges.

The map on the right shows us population density, and we can see there that Bangladesh has a high population density, which means a lot of people are going to be affected when a tropical cyclone hits.

Bangladesh has developed a national disaster management framework, and this coordinates government agencies, local authorities, and NGOs I n providing relief and recovery after cyclones.

International aid plays an important role in preparing and responding to severe tropical cyclones in Bangladesh.

We've got there the image from UNICEF, and that is an NGO that works with Bangladesh.

Similar to Japan, Bangladesh mitigates the impact of cyclones in these three main ways, monitoring, warning, and evacuation, education, and creating defences.

But how do they differ to Japan's? So Bangladesh has an early warning system that is connected to Bangladesh's meteorological departments.

Storms attract and warnings are broadcast on television, radio, and through text alerts to ensure that warnings are widespread.

The Cyclone Preparedness Programme, CPP, has volunteers who provide community , and they also act as local messengers during storms. As Bangladesh is a lower-income country, this makes sure that people who don't have access to the TV to radio or mobile phones will get these warnings in time in order to act on them.

We can see here this image is showing one way in which these messages are shared with people across Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has also built 4,500 cyclone shelters across coastal areas, and these are to protect residents from storm surges and strong winds.

So people can go to these during a tropical cyclone in order to stay safe.

Evacuation plans are well coordinated and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society and local authorities will oversee evacuations in storm-prone areas.

So people are helped during this.

The government and NGOs conduct regular cyclone preparedness drills in schools and communities, particularly focused in areas which are at high risk.

The public education campaigns use posters, radio programmes, and community meetings.

They're also creating defences to protect coastal and riverbank areas from the impact of storm surges and floodings.

The flood control projects, such as dams and embankments, have been implemented, and mangrove reforestation initiatives have been set up in the Sundarbans region.

And we can see there an image of people replanting the mangrove forest along the coastline to try to help protect that coastline should storm surges hit.

A check for you now.

Which of the following are widely used in Bangladesh to provide for tropical cyclones? A, strict building codes, B, cyclone shelters, or C, flood control projects, D, deforestation projects.

Make your decision and come back when you're ready.

I hope you ticked B and C cyclone shelters and flood control projects.

The strict building codes are what we use in Japan and deforestation projects would not be helpful as that would be removing trees and mangrove forests that are actually able to protect from flooding.

So let's have a look at the strengths to Bangladesh's preparation and response to cyclones.

It's got an early warning system through media, SMS, texting, and local volunteers.

If we remember, it uses people to go round to the communities, not just relying on technology, as people don't always have access to the technology.

Cyclone shelters providing a safe refuge for millions of people, and overseen by NGOs and charities to help ensure people are safe.

The coordination of international aid and NGOs to support.

Public awareness campaigns and regular drills and improved infrastructure, so embankments, and flood control, and mangrove protection.

But what are the weaknesses in Bangladesh's preparation and response to cyclones? Many buildings in the rural areas are easily damaged by the winds and floods, overcrowded shelters and flooded Evacuation routes can make things difficult during a cyclone.

The cost of maintaining flood protection infrastructure puts huge pressure on government spending.

And coordination challenges and issues with corruption can affect the responses, so it may or may not be that the money is reaching the right people in order to do this.

True or false for you now.

As a lower income country, Bangladesh relies completely on international aid for its preparation and response to tropical cyclones.

Pause the video and make your decision.

Did you say false? If so, well done.

But why did you choose that? I bet you said something like this.

Bangladesh has its own preparation and response systems and infrastructure.

It does coordinate this with additional support from international aid and NGOs, for example, UNICEF and Red Crescent, especially to help with responses to very severe tropical cyclones.

Task for you now.

Can you complete this spider diagram with four ways Bangladesh prepares and responds to cyclones? And for number two, can you give a reason why preparation and response to tropical cyclones differs between Japan and Bangladesh? Let's have a look at what Jun says before you get started.

"Japan is a higher income country and Bangladesh is a much lower income country.

Therefore, I need to think how this affects each country's preparation and response." Pause the video and come back when you're ready.

Did your answers look something like this? Cyclone shelters provide safe refuge for millions, especially in coastal areas.

International aid and NGOs support the provision of essential relief after disasters, public awareness campaigns to inform and educate communities, and the planting of mangrove forests along the coast.

If so, that's a great answer for question one.

And for question two, your answer might have included.

The methods used are very similar, early warnings, flood defences, and building design, together with public awareness.

However, as Japan is a higher income country and Bangladesh is a lower income country, Japan has greater resources access to better and more advanced technology.

And so their forecasting, the issuing of warnings and building designs will all be more effective than in Bangladesh.

Well done if you've managed to explain your answer in a similar way to this.

That's the end of today's lesson.

Let's have a little look at the summary.

Countries prepare and respond differently to tropical cyclones due to government planning, economic resources, and experience.

Both Japan and Bangladesh use early warning systems, coastal defences, building design, and public awareness schemes to prepare and respond to tropical cyclones.

Japan, as a higher income country, has more resources and advanced technology.

Bangladesh, as a lower income country, is supported by international aid and NGOs.

Well done.

There's lots to think about there and lots of specific details for each country.

I hope you now understand why countries prepare and respond differently to tropical cyclones.

I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Well done.