“Simultaneous simultaneous reports” will rescue come to you December 12:19:19
"Do you feel like killing me!"
It is a word that firefighters pointed out by residents.
Report of “that day” obtained by NHK. It was the “limit of fire fighting power” that emerged from over 600 reports.
The rescue may not come to you ...
(Utsunomiya Broadcasting Station reporter Yasushi Takahashi, Noboru Hirayama / Director of Network Press Motoki Tanaka)
"Help!"
The 119th report sent to Tochigi City Fire Department due to the heavy rain of Typhoon No.19 in October.
Occasionally, screams can be heard and the imminent voices of the residents are recorded.
Residents "Please help me, please help me.
The door at the entrance breaks, water gets into it, and it's already on the floor. Amazing water "
Firefighting "I don't have a fire truck to go.
Go to a high place or a nearby two-story house. "
The rushed fire fighting directive ...
Mr. Tatsuya Tasaki, who was in charge of ordering members on the day.
In response to the typhoon, the communication command room responded by increasing telephone lines and personnel more than twice as much as usual, but in reality it was far beyond imagination.
Mr. Tasaki “It was a noisy communication command room that I had never experienced before receiving the next report immediately after receiving one case.”
Report record obtained by NHK.
It can be seen that the line was in a punctured state due to floods of rescue requests from residents left behind in the flooded area.
It seems that there were quite a few calls that were not connected to 119.
Analyzing the report records
What happened in Tochigi City that day?
We decided to analyze the report records and drop the time and source data into the map.
The two rivers that flow north and south in Tochigi City are the Nagano River and the Tonami River.
The area shown in pink is the assumed inundation area of the hazard map, which extends around these two rivers.
Two rivers flooded around 8am on October 12th.
It can be seen that the number of reports to the fire department indicated by the red bar has increased rapidly from this time.
The total number of cases received from 7:00 pm on the 12th, when the inundation began, until 5:00 am the next morning when water began to drain, totaled 602.
Most of the reports were sent from the assumed inundation area of the hazard map. Of these, only 40 were firefighters.
A boat to help the residents ...
Why are there only 40 dispatches?
Members of the rescue team at the scene said the “water flow” was a major obstacle.
Mr. Yoshie Kobayashi of the Tochigi City Fire Department headed to the residents who were left behind at around 9:00 pm after receiving a rescue request.
Although I went nearby, water was flowing like a muddy stream on the road, so I decided to get off the fire truck and walk to the site while pulling the boat. It was when I reached another 30 meters while getting into the water.
Mr. Kobayashi: “The members of the team were about to be swept away, and we had to give up the rescue.”
Mr. Kobayashi revealed that the “boat” to rescue the residents made it difficult for the members.
Mr. Kobayashi "I tried to move forward, but it was a situation where the flow was so strong that it was swept away. Even if I wanted to go to the rescue, I couldn't go and had a conflict. ''
Why are there many simultaneous reports?
In this heavy rain, many people were left in the flooded area, but when the weather data was overlaid on the map, the cause became apparent.
Around 8:00 pm, when the number of reports increased, the upstream part of the river on the north side continued to be covered with rain clouds, indicated by red and orange, which caused a lot of rain.
On the other hand, in the downstream urban area where residents were left behind, the rain was not as strong as the upstream.
Looking at the water level downstream of the Nagano River, it has risen sharply since the evening.
In other words, the rain that fell in the upstream section flooded downstream at once.
At the same time, firefighters were flooded with rescue requests.
"If you evacuate early ..."
Residents who were left behind while seeking help look back, "If you are evacuating early."
Around the flooded Nagano River, Mr. Shigenori Takano's house was surrounded by a brown muddy stream, and the house was also flooded.
He reported before midnight but was told that he was urged to evacuate on his own, saying that the fire engine was submerged and the fire brigade could not reach the site.
Mr. Takano spoke of his thoughts at the time.
Mr. Takano: “I was not sure what to do with my head turned white. From now on, it is very important to check the hazard map in advance for the worst case and to evacuate early. thought so"
“Don't overestimate the firepower”
Mr. Tatsuya Tazaki, who was in charge of ordering members of the site, expressed his complicated thoughts.
Mr. Tasaki “I was really regretful because of the words of“ I ’m going to kill you ”. There is a limit to what we can do with fire. There is a need to evacuate on our own in this disaster. I felt that I had to convey it properly. ''
What should I do with “rapid rescue”?
Prof. Shozo Nagata of Kansai University, who is familiar with firefighting administration, points out that there is a need to improve the on-site rescue, the so-called “rapid rescue” system.
Prof. Nagata “There is a limit to the number of personnel and expertise of a small firefighting headquarters. Rapid rescue is also a risk to the rescuer in a special field even in the case of water rescue. We should consider deploying a state-specific equipment and specialized units in each prefecture that take the lead and specialize in rapid rescue. "
On top of that, Professor Nagata said, “It is important to evacuate early with self-help when there is a major disaster because fire fighting does not always help in an emergency.” .
This time, in Tochigi City, no one was left behind in the flooded area and died, but the report shows that it was a serious situation that was not strange even if a lot of human damage occurred.
"In case of emergency, you may not be able to help ..."
This time, even those who were not affected by the disaster felt that it was important to think of themselves as such and take actions to protect their lives.
Utsunomiya Broadcasting Station reporter Yasushi Takahashi
Utsunomiya Broadcasting Station reporter Noboru Hirayama
Director of Network Press
Mototaka Tanaka