[HCG34-P06] Vulnerable people and hazard map
Keywords:vulnerable to disaster, hazard map, mental barrier-free
In the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake on March 11, 2011, more than 22,000 people were killed or missing, and about 90% of deaths were caused by tsunamis. The death rate of people aged over 65 was accounted for 60% of the total, and the mortality rate of persons with disabilities was twice that of the entire population. Based on self-examination on many victims of the handicapped of this earthquake, the government has mandated that local governments create a list of vulnerable people in disasters. It is recommended that an “individual evacuation plan” will be created on the basis of the list. However, there is a shortage of supporters due to the aging of residents and the weight of responsibility, and the preparation of “individual evacuation plans” has not progressed.
In recent years, attempts have been made to protect vulnerable people from disasters. Attempts to achieve visually impaired people’s understanding of hazard maps have begun in various places. The NPO "Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster" is promoting a preparation for the tsunami caused by the Nankai Trough Mega Earthquake by holding a workshop for these people showing the heaped tsunami inundation area on hazard maps. At the Kure City Association for the Visually impaired in Hiroshima Prefecture, a reading volunteer recorded the contents of the hazard map on a CD, and a study session was held in which visually impaired persons checked the location of shelters near their homes and the location of landslide warning areas. The Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion has created a "Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map for Japan " that takes into account the color scheme so that people with color vision impairment can easily understand it. These efforts have given hope to the visually impaired who have given up on evacuation.
In 2017, the NPO “Hyogo Center for the Disabled” conducted a questionnaire survey of persons with disabilities in the prefecture, and nearly half of those answered that they did not know the hazard map. This result showed that the importance of the hazard map was not visible. In recent years, the flooding of rivers caused by heavy rain has caused flooding of facilities and hospitals for the elderly. Many of these facilities are located in estimated flood areas on hazard maps. Such facilities for the vulnerable people of the disaster should be located in a safe place, but safe areas on the hazard map have high land prices, and the relocation of these facilities to a safe place is not progressing.
Under these circumstances, it is necessary to repeat evacuation drills in order to protect the vulnerable people from disasters. In a disaster, for the handicapped who are not in the facilities, the local residents around them will be reliable. It is important that vulnerable people and neighboring residents cooperate with each other to conduct evacuation drills. The organizer of the evacuation drill must actively encourage the vulnerable people to participate. By evacuation training, it is expected that the hazard map will be widely known. In elderly facilities, daily evacuation drills are important because dozens to hundreds of elderly people must be evacuated to a safe building outside facilities or to over second floors inside facilities. We must note that disasters larger than predicted on the hazard map can occur to determine whether the evacuation site is safe enough.
The most necessary thing to protect the vulnerable from disasters is "Mental barrier-free". Mental barrier-free refers to thinking and acting as a person who can understand the feelings of vulnerable people in disasters.
In recent years, attempts have been made to protect vulnerable people from disasters. Attempts to achieve visually impaired people’s understanding of hazard maps have begun in various places. The NPO "Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster" is promoting a preparation for the tsunami caused by the Nankai Trough Mega Earthquake by holding a workshop for these people showing the heaped tsunami inundation area on hazard maps. At the Kure City Association for the Visually impaired in Hiroshima Prefecture, a reading volunteer recorded the contents of the hazard map on a CD, and a study session was held in which visually impaired persons checked the location of shelters near their homes and the location of landslide warning areas. The Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion has created a "Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Map for Japan " that takes into account the color scheme so that people with color vision impairment can easily understand it. These efforts have given hope to the visually impaired who have given up on evacuation.
In 2017, the NPO “Hyogo Center for the Disabled” conducted a questionnaire survey of persons with disabilities in the prefecture, and nearly half of those answered that they did not know the hazard map. This result showed that the importance of the hazard map was not visible. In recent years, the flooding of rivers caused by heavy rain has caused flooding of facilities and hospitals for the elderly. Many of these facilities are located in estimated flood areas on hazard maps. Such facilities for the vulnerable people of the disaster should be located in a safe place, but safe areas on the hazard map have high land prices, and the relocation of these facilities to a safe place is not progressing.
Under these circumstances, it is necessary to repeat evacuation drills in order to protect the vulnerable people from disasters. In a disaster, for the handicapped who are not in the facilities, the local residents around them will be reliable. It is important that vulnerable people and neighboring residents cooperate with each other to conduct evacuation drills. The organizer of the evacuation drill must actively encourage the vulnerable people to participate. By evacuation training, it is expected that the hazard map will be widely known. In elderly facilities, daily evacuation drills are important because dozens to hundreds of elderly people must be evacuated to a safe building outside facilities or to over second floors inside facilities. We must note that disasters larger than predicted on the hazard map can occur to determine whether the evacuation site is safe enough.
The most necessary thing to protect the vulnerable from disasters is "Mental barrier-free". Mental barrier-free refers to thinking and acting as a person who can understand the feelings of vulnerable people in disasters.