11:15 AM - 11:30 AM
[HDS09-09] Tsunami evacuation planning and sustainability in depopulated and aging fishing communities: A case of Nishiki, Taiki Town, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Keywords:Disaster risk reduction, Tsunami evacuation, Depopulation and aging, Sustainability
"Literacy for disaster risk reduction (DRR)" is a concept basically related to knowledge about disaster prevention. Particularly, with regard to Nankai Trough earthquake countermeasures, the return to society of expert knowledge on earthquake mechanisms and the clarification of literacy that contributes to improving disaster prevention awareness and evacuation behavior are considered important issues. However, there are many areas in Japan today that are in danger of disappearing not only due to the earthquake, but also due to population decline (Masuda 2014). In light of the fact that disasters and disaster prevention are meaningful only if the community survives, literacy for DRR must also adress the nature of DRR with a view to its relationship to the sustainability of the community.
The southern coastal region of Mie Prefecture is a region where the above dilemma is acutely apparent. In this presentation, we use the Nishiki district of the Taiki Town as a case study, where the Town has taken the lead in promoting advanced tsunami disaster prevention since the 1990s (Nakaseko et al. 2008; Takahashi et al. 2008). In recent years, however, community-based activities for DRR in the Nishiki district has fallen into a state of stagnation due to extreme depopulation and aging. Recognizing that it is no longer feasible to evacuate those in need of assistance in an emergency under the current situation where elderly small households have become the mainstream, the Town is currently working on a pre-evacuation plan to relocate elderly people in their 80s or older to higher ground 20 meters above sea level in advance. Prior to the planning of the project, the Town conducted a survey of late-elderly residents of Nishiki on their intentions regarding relocation to higher ground. Based on the analysis of this questionnaire survey, our presentation examines the challenges facing upland relocation planning, as well as the relationship between DRR and sustainability in depopulated and aging fishing village communities.
The southern coastal region of Mie Prefecture is a region where the above dilemma is acutely apparent. In this presentation, we use the Nishiki district of the Taiki Town as a case study, where the Town has taken the lead in promoting advanced tsunami disaster prevention since the 1990s (Nakaseko et al. 2008; Takahashi et al. 2008). In recent years, however, community-based activities for DRR in the Nishiki district has fallen into a state of stagnation due to extreme depopulation and aging. Recognizing that it is no longer feasible to evacuate those in need of assistance in an emergency under the current situation where elderly small households have become the mainstream, the Town is currently working on a pre-evacuation plan to relocate elderly people in their 80s or older to higher ground 20 meters above sea level in advance. Prior to the planning of the project, the Town conducted a survey of late-elderly residents of Nishiki on their intentions regarding relocation to higher ground. Based on the analysis of this questionnaire survey, our presentation examines the challenges facing upland relocation planning, as well as the relationship between DRR and sustainability in depopulated and aging fishing village communities.