The evacuation information released by the local government will change significantly from next year.

The national working group has put together a proposal that includes unifying "evacuation advisories" and "evacuation orders" into "evacuation orders" and changing "evacuation preparation information" to "evacuation of the elderly, etc." On the 24th, I submitted it to the Minister of State for Disaster Management, Okonogi.

The national working group, which has been studying evacuation information in light of a series of disasters such as typhoon No. 19 last year, has been considering the five levels of "heavy rain warning level" and the improvement of evacuation information, which started operation last year.



In this proposal, the name of Level 3 "evacuation preparation information" will be changed to "evacuation for the elderly, etc." in order to clarify the target and lead to quicker evacuation.



It emphasizes that people who take time to evacuate, such as the elderly and disabled, should be asked to start evacuation.



Level 4 "evacuation advisory" and "evacuation order" are unified into "evacuation order" because it is difficult to understand the difference.



Everyone in a dangerous place needs to evacuate.



The name of Level 5 "Disaster Occurrence Information" will be changed to "Emergency Safety Assurance" because it is difficult to understand what actions the residents should take.



In the event of a disaster or imminent situation, we request actions to ensure safety, such as vertical evacuation to the second floor of your home.



However, "emergency safety assurance" is not always announced.



A line is drawn between levels 4 and 5 in the table of recommendations that it is important to complete evacuation by the level 4 "evacuation order".



In addition, the policy is to make all municipalities obliged to make efforts in the "individual plan", which is a plan that defines where and how people in need of assistance, such as the elderly and disabled, who take time to evacuate, escape. Is also newly included.



After handing over the proposal to the Minister of State for Disaster Management, Okonogi, the chair of the working group and specially appointed professor at the University of Tokyo's graduate school, Atsushi Tanaka, said, "Last year, the change was just introduced at the alert level. After that, I want you to create a culture that leads to evacuation behavior with the aim of establishing information. "



The Cabinet Office plans to introduce new evacuation information by the time of heavy rain and typhoon next year.

Evacuation information Successive name changes

The names and contents of evacuation information have been changed repeatedly in response to a series of disasters in recent years.



For example, this is the third name change for information on "evacuation of the elderly, etc."



Due to a series of floods such as the landing of 10 typhoons, which is the largest number in statistics in 2004, it was first established in 2005 as "evacuation preparation (evacuation for people requiring assistance) information".



Not only did the elderly and disabled people start evacuating, but it also meant that the general public would start preparing for evacuation.



However, in subsequent discussions, it was pointed out that the name "evacuation of people requiring assistance" was perceived as information only for the elderly and disabled, making it difficult for local governments to announce it. It became "evacuation preparation information".



After that, in 2017, it was changed to "preparation for evacuation / evacuation of the elderly, etc."



In 2016, the year before, nine residents died at a group home where elderly people live in Iwaizumi Town, Iwate Prefecture, due to flood damage caused by a typhoon, and it is time for elderly people and people with disabilities to start evacuating. The purpose was to emphasize.



And this time, it will be "evacuation of elderly people".



The local governments that announce information through such successive name changes also hear confused voices.



Koichi Sugimura, chief of the Crisis Management Division of Shizuoka City, said, "Even if the name of the information changes a little, I don't really feel how much it is being conveyed to the residents. I would like to ask you positively. "

"Familiarity with evacuation information" is an issue

There are also data that question whether changing the name of the information will lead to effective evacuation in the first place.



Shizuoka City surveyed more than 500 citizens in 2018 and four years ago in 2016 about what to do when evacuation information is announced.



Among them, the percentage of those who answered "evacuate immediately


" was 48% for "evacuation order", a decrease of 4 points from the previous survey, and


▽ "evacuation advisory" was 11%, a decrease of 17 points,


▽ " "Information on evacuation preparation" was 2%, down 2 points.



In 2016, Shizuoka City announced evacuation preparation information three times, and in 2018, it issued evacuation preparation information and evacuation advisories seven times.



The city believes that some residents may be accustomed to evacuation information.



Koichi Sugimura, chief of the City Crisis Management Division, said, "I feel that the urgency of evacuation information to residents and the proportion that leads to action are declining."

Expert "The effect of information needs to change approach to peak"

Professor Katsuya Yamori of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, who is familiar with the evacuation behavior of residents, said that the improvement of information so far has contributed to the reduction of damage, but "The effect of information is already leveling off. Instead of focusing on improvement, we need to change our approach so that information can be linked to concrete actions. "



On top of that, he said, "It is necessary to take a step forward from the standpoint that the residents themselves are the recipients of information and change their consciousness to select information by themselves." He said, "The color of nearby rivers changes and the water level rises." He points out that it is necessary to take proactive measures, such as deciding the criteria for starting evacuation using information and incidents, and the "evacuation switch."