One week after an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 6 or higher There are also issues such as sharing information with people who need assistance

In the areas affected by the earthquake a week ago, there were areas where the safety of "evacuation action supporters" who needed assistance in evacuation, such as the elderly, was quickly confirmed by taking advantage of the lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake 10 years ago. In some areas, there were still issues such as sharing information about people in need of assistance.

In the Kurume district of Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, where shaking with a seismic intensity of less than 6 was observed in this earthquake, the city informs related organizations about 324 "supporters" who have obtained prior consent from the approximately 8,000 residents. Was provided.

However, since the information alone does not tell the extent to which support is needed, of these, elderly people aged 75 and over living alone, households with only elderly people, and households with disabilities are considered to be particularly in need of support. We have prepared a map that shows at a glance what kind of "support-requiring person" lives and where, etc. are shown on the district by color-coding each of the six groups.

With the cooperation of bankers and mail carriers who are familiar with the local situation, we narrowed down the target audience and held meetings twice a year to update the information, so we will provide special support by the morning after the earthquake. It means that the safety confirmation of 109 people who need it has been completed.

Immediately after the earthquake, Tomoko Sudo, a member of the local welfare committee, called the person in charge of "supporters" to confirm their safety, and for those who could not connect, he visited his home directly the next morning after it became bright and confirmed that he was safe. By having a map with information on people in need of support, I was able to know where and who was, and I was able to know the contact information, so I was able to confirm my safety immediately. "

Mr. Sudo visited after the earthquake and confirmed his safety. Mr. Shitsuko Nakayama, who lives alone at the age of 92, said, "I didn't know what happened at the time of the earthquake, but I am very relieved that Mr. Sudo came. I was able to do it. "

Haruo Kokubun, chairman of the Kurume District Voluntary Disaster Prevention Association, said, "It took a long time to confirm the safety and evacuate because we were not prepared enough in advance at the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake. I think that such a big earthquake will never come again. I was making a map just in case. Without the map, I can't help because I don't know where there are people who need special help, such as elderly people living alone, so I'm glad I prepared. That's it. "

Mandatory list of "supporters required" who need evacuation assistance from 2014

In the Great East Japan Earthquake 10 years ago, about 60% of the people who died were elderly people aged 65 and over.

For this reason, the national government has revised the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Law, and from 2014, each local government has created a list that summarizes the names and addresses of "evacuation action supporters" who need assistance in evacuation such as the elderly and disabled. It is obligatory.

This list will be provided to local welfare officers, voluntary disaster prevention organizations, the Council of Social Welfare, fire departments, police, etc. in the event of a disaster, and will be useful for prompt safety confirmation and evacuation support after taking privacy protection measures. It has become.

According to the summary of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, as of June 1, 1720 municipalities, which is 99% of the whole country, have a list of "supporters", and a total of more than 7.84 million people are registered. However, the prior provision of information on people requiring support requires the consent of the individual, and the number of people requiring support is 3,226,000, which is only 41% of the total number of registrants.

Some elderly people feel uneasy without confirming their safety

In Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, where tremors with a seismic intensity of over 6 were observed in this earthquake, two years after the mandatory list creation (2016), the list creation and consent compilation were completed, and three years ago (2018). In (Year), we provided information on "supporters" who obtained consent to related organizations.

However, Mitsuyo Sato (84), who lives alone on the coast of Obama, Soma City, has not been confirmed by the local welfare officers for more than five days since the earthquake occurred on the 13th of this month.

Mr. Sato suffered a tsunami immediately after the earthquake a week ago, as his home was partially destroyed by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the latest tsunami hazard map predicts flooding of up to 3 to 5 meters. I strongly felt the fear of being attacked.

Fortunately, I was able to get in touch with my relatives immediately because I was able to use the phone, and soon after I was told on TV that I was not worried about the tsunami, I spent the night cleaning up the scattered things in the room.

However, he said he felt that if he couldn't use the phone like the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake and was injured and couldn't move, no one would be able to help him.

According to Soma City and the local welfare officer in charge of this area, Mr. Sato's information was not included in the information of people requiring support initially provided for some reason, and then Mr. Sato's information was provided in advance last fall. I knew what I wanted, but it wasn't reflected yet because I was planning to make a new list by the end of the fiscal year.

Mr. Sato said, "Even if I had to evacuate because of the fear of a tsunami, I couldn't evacuate by walking alone at night because I was weaker than 10 years ago. The people in the area were also affected by the disaster. It's hard for me to say that I want you to accompany me when I evacuate because I think I'm doing it. I can rest assured that even the next day, if someone comes around and asks, "Is it okay?" I think it was. "

Even elderly people who do not know the system

In Koriyama City, which observed shaking with a seismic intensity of less than 6, some elderly people did not know the system of "evacuation action supporters" in the first place.

In Koriyama City, a week ago, up to 29 people moved to evacuation centers due to the earthquake, and many of them were elderly people who had difficulty evacuating on their own.

Evacuating from a condominium in the city that was severely damaged by the shaking of the earthquake * Mr. Katsuyoshi Takahashi (78) could not evacuate immediately because he had a bad leg and no car.

When I was at a loss with my wife Mitsuko (78) holding a plastic bottle filled with water in the park in front of the condominium, a man living in the same condominium called me and brought me to the evacuation center by car. It means that I got it.

Once a year, Koriyama City sent documents to citizens who fall under the category of "evacuation action supporters" and asked them to agree to provide prior information to related organizations, but Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi said these documents. He says he didn't remember seeing it and didn't know about the system.

According to Koriyama City, as of the 18th, 31,254 citizens are registered in the list of "evacuation action supporters", but 55% have given consent to provide information in advance. It means that there are only 17,102 people.