9:03 AM - 9:18 AM
[O03-01] Learning Disaster Risk Reduction in High School Geography
★Invited Papers
Keywords:trigger, predisposing factors, hazard map, topography
Natural disasters occur when heavy rains or strong earthquakes cause injuries, damage to homes and roads, and other physical damage to people's bodies, lives, and social activities, i.e., when the effects of nature exceed people's ability to prevent disasters. Although it is difficult to completely stop the damage caused by natural disasters, it is possible to reduce it. The Japanese word BOSAI is "Disaster Risk Reduction" in English, which is also called GENSAI in that means.
Disaster reduction efforts, organized along a time axis, include (1) preparing for a disaster before it occurs, (2) responding to a disaster when it occurs, and (3) rebuilding after a disaster. At each stage, individuals and families (self-help), residents' organizations such as voluntary disaster reduction organizations (mutual help), and municipalities, prefectures, and the national government (public assistance) are required to take action. For example, evacuation is mainly a self-help issue in stage (2), while the construction of levees and dams is a public assistance issue in stage (1). In addition, the three parties responsible for the efforts are required to work together.
A basic understanding of the mechanisms of disaster occurrence is necessary and effective as a basis for practical disaster prevention. In Japan, which has experienced many natural disasters, a "disaster theory" on the causes of disasters has long been cultivated. Natural disasters are considered to be caused by a combination of "triggers" such as heavy rainfall or strong earthquakes and "predisposing factors" in the (disaster) area, which determine the presence or absence and severity of damage. Predisposing factors are a group of physical conditions (land conditions) such as topography and ground, and social conditions including economic power, and refer to a group of conditions that existed in the (disaster-affected) area before the occurrence of the disaster. It refers to the mechanisms (causes) of disasters, including not only natural phenomena but also social conditions, by considering heavy rainfall and strong earthquakes as triggers of disasters.
Disaster education generally refers to education on practical skills and knowledges, but education on the basics of disaster prevention (the mechanism of occurrence of disasters) is also important. In school subjects, for example, students can learn about practical disaster prevention in home economics, while those in science, social studies, and geography are expected to learn mainly about the basics of disaster prevention. In geography, disaster prevention is one of the important pillars, and students are expected to learn how to read hazard maps, especially in relation to topography as a land condition of "predisposing factors. The acquisition of map-related skills for this purpose is also desired. For example, it is clear that if the land is high, it is less likely to be inundated by floods and tsunamis, and if it is low, it is more likely to be inundated. The topography of a location is critically important to the depth of inundation. The risk of landslides is directly related to slope and other factors. Soft ground is more likely to shake during earthquakes and solid ground is less likely to shake, but the surface geology is strongly related to the topography. In other words, if we know the topography of a site and its surroundings, we can get a pretty good idea of the multiple disaster risks of that site. By taking into account the topography, we can read the hazard map more deeply and think about its unexpectedness. In addition to map reading (map-reading skills), it may be even more useful to conduct a community survey to actually observe and think about the local conditions. You will be able to see that in many areas of Japan, there have been efforts by our ancestors to prevent disasters. In geography, these studies are expected to play a role in connecting the basics and the practical disaster prevention.
Disaster reduction efforts, organized along a time axis, include (1) preparing for a disaster before it occurs, (2) responding to a disaster when it occurs, and (3) rebuilding after a disaster. At each stage, individuals and families (self-help), residents' organizations such as voluntary disaster reduction organizations (mutual help), and municipalities, prefectures, and the national government (public assistance) are required to take action. For example, evacuation is mainly a self-help issue in stage (2), while the construction of levees and dams is a public assistance issue in stage (1). In addition, the three parties responsible for the efforts are required to work together.
A basic understanding of the mechanisms of disaster occurrence is necessary and effective as a basis for practical disaster prevention. In Japan, which has experienced many natural disasters, a "disaster theory" on the causes of disasters has long been cultivated. Natural disasters are considered to be caused by a combination of "triggers" such as heavy rainfall or strong earthquakes and "predisposing factors" in the (disaster) area, which determine the presence or absence and severity of damage. Predisposing factors are a group of physical conditions (land conditions) such as topography and ground, and social conditions including economic power, and refer to a group of conditions that existed in the (disaster-affected) area before the occurrence of the disaster. It refers to the mechanisms (causes) of disasters, including not only natural phenomena but also social conditions, by considering heavy rainfall and strong earthquakes as triggers of disasters.
Disaster education generally refers to education on practical skills and knowledges, but education on the basics of disaster prevention (the mechanism of occurrence of disasters) is also important. In school subjects, for example, students can learn about practical disaster prevention in home economics, while those in science, social studies, and geography are expected to learn mainly about the basics of disaster prevention. In geography, disaster prevention is one of the important pillars, and students are expected to learn how to read hazard maps, especially in relation to topography as a land condition of "predisposing factors. The acquisition of map-related skills for this purpose is also desired. For example, it is clear that if the land is high, it is less likely to be inundated by floods and tsunamis, and if it is low, it is more likely to be inundated. The topography of a location is critically important to the depth of inundation. The risk of landslides is directly related to slope and other factors. Soft ground is more likely to shake during earthquakes and solid ground is less likely to shake, but the surface geology is strongly related to the topography. In other words, if we know the topography of a site and its surroundings, we can get a pretty good idea of the multiple disaster risks of that site. By taking into account the topography, we can read the hazard map more deeply and think about its unexpectedness. In addition to map reading (map-reading skills), it may be even more useful to conduct a community survey to actually observe and think about the local conditions. You will be able to see that in many areas of Japan, there have been efforts by our ancestors to prevent disasters. In geography, these studies are expected to play a role in connecting the basics and the practical disaster prevention.