The Forestry Agency is calling on local governments to conduct 3D forest surveys employing aircraft laser to get terrain information. Data obtained by such surveys can be used for disaster responses by analyzing terrain changes after earthquakes or heavy rain, in addition to forest and road management. The agency worked with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan to conduct a laser survey for a terrain analysis of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture after a powerful earthquake caused landslides in a wide swath of the area in January last year. A laser survey provides information about collapsed roads and ground fissures in places covered with woods, which are hard to observe visually. Such a survey “allows us to detect possible locations of secondary disasters and take preventive measures,” a Forestry Agency official said.