World Bosai Award

Yamana Soshin was a representative businessman of the Tono region during the Meiji period, and was active in many areas, including sericulture, establishing an agricultural research institute, and running a private library. Immediately after the Meiji Sanriku earthquake and tsunami that occurred in 1896 (Meiji 29), Yamana traveled on foot, by horseback, and by boat for about 44 days from July 28, 1896, to survey the coastal area of ​​about 700 km in total, from Kesen District (now Rikuzentakata City) to Kunohe District (now Hirono Town) in Iwate Prefecture, and left detailed records. This survey was not just a record of the damage, but also included consideration of industrial promotion measures (employment methods) for the reconstruction of the disaster-stricken areas, and was carried out at the request of Iwate Prefecture.

The main materials created and donated by Yamana are as follows, and are held at the National Diet Library and Tono City Museum.

三陸大海嘯岩手縣沿岸見聞誌一班(Sanriku Great Tsunami Iwate Prefecture Coastal Observation Journal I): Contains maps and damage conditions for 41 towns and villages.

岩手縣沿岸大海嘯部落見取繪圖(Illustrated Maps of Villages Along the Iwate Prefecture Coast After the Great Tsunami): 168 drawings containing detailed records of the number of houses washed away or destroyed, the number of casualties, and the height of the tsunami.

岩手縣沿岸大海嘯取調書(Investigation Records of the Great Tsunami Along the Iwate Prefecture Coast): Contains a wide range of information on 37 towns and villages, including the new locations of fishing villages, the customs of fishermen, the state of the bay, and commercial surveys.

巖手沿岸古地名考(Studies on Ancient Place Names Along the Iwate Coast): A collection of place names that records the origins and locations of place names related to the tsunami.

These materials are considered valuable primary sources for understanding the damage situation, topography, and changes in place names at the time, and have made an enormous contribution to later research on the disaster and the history of the region.

Dr. Kintanar is a renowned Philippine meteorologist and served as the head of the Philippine Weather Administration (PAGASA) for nearly 40 years.

He was appointed head of the Bureau of Meteorology in 1958 at the young age of 29, making him the youngest head of the Philippine government at the time. He subsequently contributed to the establishment and development of PAGASA, and promoted the strengthening of forecasting and warning systems for natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes. In particular, in response to the typhoon damage in the 1970s, he led the introduction of a typhoon mitigation program and a flood forecasting system to strengthen preparedness for meteorological disasters.

Internationally, he served as President of the 8th General Assembly of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) from 1979 to 1983, becoming the first Filipino to hold the position. He also contributed to the establishment of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee Secretariat in 1986, contributing to the strengthening of disaster prevention cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

For his achievements, Dr. Kintanar has received numerous awards. He was awarded the Parangal ng PAGASA in 1978, the Lingkod Bayan in 1980, the International Meteorological Organization Award in 1995, the Presidential Citation in 1996, and the Philippine Medal of Honor (Marangal na Pinuno) in 2007. In his honor, an asteroid was named after him in 2007. The asteroid orbits between Mars and Jupiter, and his contributions to science are also engraved in the universe.

Dr. Roman L. Kintanar has made significant contributions to the development of meteorology and the strengthening of disaster prevention systems in the Philippines and abroad, and his legacy continues to inspire many people today.