Seismic intensity 6+ for 2 weeks 2 towns in Fukushima Prefecture Night evacuation drill changed to "necessary"

It has been two weeks in 30 days since the earthquake that occurred on the night of the 16th of this month and observed shaking with a maximum seismic intensity of 6 or higher in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.

When NHK asked the municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture where they observed shaking with a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher, they asked about the need for evacuation drills assuming a nighttime disaster. This time, I answered, "I felt it was necessary."

NHK said that among the municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture that observed shaking with a seismic intensity of 5 lower or higher in the earthquake two weeks ago, they had never conducted an evacuation drill assuming a nighttime disaster since the Great East Japan Earthquake39. We asked the municipalities if the earthquake changed their perceptions of the need for evacuation drills in the event of a nighttime disaster.

As a result, Inawashiro Town and Yabuki Town, which were "not necessary" in a similar survey conducted last month, answered "I felt it was necessary".

Including the local governments that answered that they needed it, 46% of all 18 municipalities answered that they became more aware of the need for night training after the earthquake.

Also, in last month's survey, only three cities and towns, including Fukushima City, answered that they had conducted training assuming a nighttime disaster in the last 11 years.

On the other hand, in this survey, three towns, Koori Town, Hirono Town, and Aizumisato Town, which had not been trained, said, "There is a growing awareness that it is necessary, and we will conduct training assuming that a disaster will occur at night in the future. I am considering it. "

Fukushima City where training was conducted “I was able to respond calmly”

It is said that Fukushima City, which had been conducting evacuation drills assuming the occurrence of a disaster at night, was able to calmly respond even during a power outage by making use of the training experience in the earthquake two weeks ago when the shaking with a seismic intensity of 6 lower was observed.

In Fukushima City, a large-scale power outage occurred in the earthquake in February last year, and electricity was unavailable at the evacuation center for several hours. Therefore, in September of last year, training was conducted assuming a similar situation.

The earthquake on the 16th of this month caused a power outage due to the shaking of seismic intensity 6 lower again, but thanks to the training at this time, the city staff in charge of the evacuation center calmed down by using the emergency lights that are always available. It is said that he was able to guide the evacuation.

Since the power outage was restored in a few hours, we did not actually use it, but as we had decided in advance, we dispatched an electric vehicle to a partner car dealer as an emergency power source for the evacuation center in the event of a long-term power outage. I requested.

Katsutoshi Akaishi, Crisis Management Supervisor of the Fukushima City Crisis Management Office, said, "Three years ago, Typhoon No. 19 caused heavy rain at night, and last February and this month's earthquakes also occurred at night. Considering the current situation, I think it will be necessary to involve residents not only during the day but also at night for disaster prevention training. For that purpose, how to invite residents to participate and how to implement specific training, And we have to think about ensuring safety during evacuation. "