Is the facility where Grandpa and Grandma live safe?
March 9, 19:46
It was found that about 3,800 facilities for the elderly were built in the flooded area of the tsunami that was supposed to be caused by a huge earthquake.
It is used by about 120,000 elderly people.
Are the facilities where your mom or dad, grandfather or grandmother live, and the facilities you might enter in the future, safe?
We thoroughly covered the current situation and issues of tsunami countermeasures for the ever-increasing number of facilities for the elderly, as well as hints for solutions.
(NHK Special "Can your family escape? -Facilities for the elderly in the rapidly increasing" tsunami inundation area "-" Interview group)
* Click here for the special site "National Elderly Facilities Tsunami Risk MAP"
Many lives were lost at the facility that day
What I want you to remember is the reality that was reminded of by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and each prefecture, 74 facilities for the elderly were completely destroyed by the earthquake, and 638 people including users and staff were killed.
The photo shows the Long-Term Care Health Facility in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.
The outer wall will be destroyed and the tremendous power of the tsunami will be transmitted.
A tsunami that was higher than expected at the time flooded this facility.
Wheelchairs and bedridden people died in the tsunami, and some died of hypothermia at evacuation shelters.
The number of victims was 59.
The bereaved family, who left her mother, who loved the sea, at the facility regret not considering the risk of a tsunami.
Hisashi Shimada, whose mother died,
"I didn't really think about the location or the risk of a tsunami when I was admitted. I never thought that a tsunami would come to my mother. I have a feeling of "I'm sorry". "
[New fact] 120,000 elderly people in facilities for the elderly in the tsunami inundation area
Are the lessons learned from the earthquake being put to good use?
We obtained data on approximately 55,000 elderly facilities nationwide and independently analyzed the tsunami inundation risk of elderly facilities.
Using a technology called GIS = Geographic Information System, we first superimposed the location information of the facility with the tsunami inundation area assumed by local governments.
As a result, it became clear that 3820 facilities for the elderly nationwide are located in the inundation area of the tsunami, which is assumed to be caused by a huge earthquake in the Nankai Trench and a huge earthquake along the Japan Trench and the Chishima Trench.
* For facilities for the elderly with "tsunami risk" nationwide, visit this special site.
Examining the residents of these facilities, we also found that there were about 120,000 people.
Moreover, more than 77,500 of them were "Needs care 3" or higher, which makes walking difficult without full support.
Number of residents of inundation risk facilities by degree of long-term care
▼ Support required 1 2608, Support required 2 2927
▼ Nursing required 1 15,456, Nursing required 2 18,752
▼ Nursing required 3 25,024, required Long-term care 42,883 people, long-term care 52,645 people
I was even more concerned when these facilities were opened.
If many facilities were built after the Great East Japan Earthquake, it raises the question of whether the lessons learned at that time were fully utilized.
When we investigated when the facilities were opened, we found that 1892 of the 3820 facilities were opened, and nearly half of them were opened after April 2011 after the earthquake.
Of these, 1006 were opened after the prefectures announced the estimated inundation areas, and at least when they were opened, it was found that the risk of inundation could be known.
Why are you located in the tsunami inundation area? What you saw in the questionnaire survey
Why are so many facilities for the elderly still being built in areas at risk of flooding after the earthquake?
NHK conducted a questionnaire by mail from January to February for 1892 facilities opened after the earthquake in the inundation area, and received responses from 391 facilities, which is 20.66% of the target.
Q Reasons for opening in the inundation area (multiple answers) * Rounded down to the nearest whole number
▽ "There was a need for neighboring residents" 24%
▽ "There was no other large land" 21%
▽ "Raising the building, etc." I thought that measures could ensure safety. ”17%
▽“ Built before the prefecture announced the inundation assumption ”17%
▽“ It was necessary to reduce the cost of land acquisition ”15%
“ Region Although the entire area is expected to be inundated, it is a result of emphasizing the needs of the region, including the government, such as "I wanted to build a facility for the elderly in the area" and "I was able to lend the land of the city free of charge." There were many opinions.
Next, we asked the facility that had made the evacuation plan from the tsunami whether it would be possible to ensure the safety of all residents according to the plan.
▽ "I can secure" was 7% and "almost secure" was 21%, while
▽ "I'm worried" was 31% and "I'm a little worried" was 38%, which exceeded 70% in total. rice field.
Local residents' needs and lives that may not be helped
We talked to two facilities to find out more about the current situation.
One of them, the special nursing home for the elderly "Kleene Osaka", which was opened in Konohana-ku, Osaka five years ago, is expected to reach the second floor on the assumption of a huge Nankai Trough earthquake.
Regarding the location, the person in charge of operation explained that there were circumstances unique to urban areas with many residents.
Katsuyuki Numaya, Chairman of the social welfare corporation that operates Kleene Osaka
"I knew that it was an area where the tsunami would come, but there were many elderly people in the old-fashioned town and there was a high need. Construction in a high center was a difficult business. "
In the event of a tsunami, we plan to evacuate users to the upper floors and are conducting repeated training.
However, it seems that there are limits to what can be done at night when the number of staff is small, such as some people saying that there may be lives that cannot be saved.
After the earthquake, the assumption was raised to "building submerged"
After the facility was constructed, the tsunami assumption was raised, and some facilities had an urgent need to respond.
It is a special nursing home for the elderly "Bokai no Sato" in Nakatosa Town, Kochi Prefecture, overlooking Tosa Bay.
One year before the earthquake, we started construction of a new building with a height of 11 meters based on the tsunami assumption at that time that the flood would be up to 5 meters.
I was planning to evacuate to the roof when a tsunami warning was issued.
However, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the tsunami assumption was raised to a maximum of 15 meters.
The height at which the entire building is submerged.
Since there are no hills to evacuate to the surrounding area, the facility rented seven shelters floating on the water called "tsunami lifeboats" from the town free of charge.
The "tsunami lifeboat" has a capacity of 20 people, and it can withstand collisions with flowing debris and wait for rescue at sea, but many users have weak legs and it takes time to board. There is also a risk of injury in a collision.
We are also considering relocation, but we need to raise costs ranging from 1.3 billion to 1.6 billion yen, including land and construction costs.
Kazuyuki Kiyooka, Chairman of the Kado Welfare Association, a social welfare corporation that manages Bokai no Sato,
"I thought I had to do something about the Great East Japan Earthquake. Now I have no choice but to escape to the tsunami lifeboat, but evacuate everyone in time. It's very difficult. I think it's our job to find a way to help users, staff, and everyone, so I'd like to aim for relocation. "
Difficult to relocate and requires administrative support
In the questionnaire survey, we also asked about relocation.
Q Regarding relocation to a place without tsunami risk (multiple answers)
▼ "Necessary for ensuring safety" 32%
▼ "High cost and unrealistic" 61%
▼ "It is difficult to secure appropriate land 46%
While many facilities need to be relocated, the reality is that cost and land issues are hindering the relocation.
Even though the country is embarking on a response ...
The government expressed the following view on what to think about the facilities for the elderly located in the area where the tsunami is expected to be inundated.
Akihiko Sudo, Chief of the Elderly Support Division, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
"In Japan, where the land is small, there is a limited amount of land that is not at risk of disaster. It is not realistic not to allow the maintenance of facilities in places where there is a risk of inundation, because it is overturned. "
" Given the conditions of Japan's land, I think it is a risk that must be accepted. As the number of elderly people continues to increase, disaster prevention measures for facilities for the elderly are an important issue. We would like to work on effective measures in terms of both software and hardware. "
The country also has disaster prevention measures for each area
The government introduced the "Tsunami Disaster Prevention Area Development Law" that came into effect in December 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, in order to respond to disasters at facilities in a small land area.
Under this law, prefectures can now take disaster prevention measures by designating areas separately based on the expected height of the tsunami.
Of these, in the "Tsunami Disaster Warning Area (Yellow Zone)", facilities for the elderly are obliged to formulate evacuation security plans and training.
As of the end of February, areas have been designated in 295 municipalities in 18 prefectures.
The "Tsunami Disaster Special Warning Area (Orange Zone)" is designated as an area where more serious damage is expected.
When constructing facilities for the elderly, schools, hospitals, etc. in this area, there are restrictions such as the living room must be higher than the expected tsunami height.
However, so far, only one Toi district in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture has been designated as a "Tsunami Disaster Special Warning Area".
The risk of the tsunami was emphasized, and there were deep-rooted concerns that the tourism industry would be adversely affected. This seems to be the reason why the designation has not progressed nationwide.
Strengthening measures in cooperation with local residents
On the other hand, some have made their own efforts to protect the lives of the elderly.
One of them is the evacuation staircase set up by Tsubasa, a special nursing home for the elderly in Yaizu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
The facility is located approximately 800 meters from the sea.
It is said that the tsunami will reach the surrounding area in the shortest 20 minutes after the earthquake, and there are places where it is flooded by more than 1 meter.
However, there are no tall buildings other than facilities.
Therefore, after the earthquake, the facility received a subsidy of about 20 million yen from the city and constructed an evacuation staircase leading to the roof of the building.
The aim is to support the evacuation of facility users when local residents evacuate using this evacuation staircase.
Members of the neighborhood association have joined the facility's evacuation drills, and we are working together to prepare for the tsunami.
Kiyotaka Okugawa, director of the special nursing home for the elderly "Tsubasa" "
The most important thing is to interact with the local community on a daily basis. I think that nothing can be done without the cooperation of the local people on how to evacuate well."
Elderly facility municipality supports relocation to closed school ground
In some cases, with the strong support of the local government, the relocation was realized with a small financial burden on the facility.
It is a special nursing home for the elderly "Masago Dormitory" in Minamiise Town, Mie Prefecture.
Previously, it was located in front of the sea, and a tsunami of up to 10 meters was expected due to the Nankai Trough giant earthquake.
The facility managers at the time, who had a sense of crisis due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, requested the town to relocate.
And four years ago, in April, I was able to move inland away from the sea.
The relocation destination is a junior high school ground that was closed.
Since the town originally owned it, I was able to rent the land for free.
However, the project cost, including construction costs, amounted to about 900 million yen, but the town paid 90% of it.
Why was the town able to provide such a large amount of assistance?
This is because we used a national support project called "Depopulation Countermeasure Business Bonds" to prevent depopulation of local governments.
This project can be used for a wide range of purposes such as welfare, industrial promotion, and education, and the national government bears 70% of the actual cost.
With the support of the town and the support of the surrounding local governments, the cost burden of the facility was reduced to 64 million yen.
Need to discuss locally
Experts familiar with welfare and disaster prevention point out the current situation where facilities for the elderly are located in the area where the tsunami is expected to be inundated as follows.
Associate Professor Yasunori Hata, University of Yamanashi
"I think it is a very strict requirement to protect the lives of users only in facilities for the elderly. The question is how much money to spend safely, and the facilities for the elderly as a country. It is a political decision whether to focus on disaster prevention and whether to do it with limited financial resources. To gain the understanding of the community, put the facilities for the elderly and the facilities for children together in a safe place. In order to be located, we should also look for ways to become win-win in the area. "
According to the national summary, the ratio of people aged 65 and over to the total population was 17.4% in 2000, increased to 28.8% in 2020, and is estimated to increase to 38.4% in 2065.
"Can we spend our old age in a safe place in a super-aging society?"
The lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake still pose us with that challenge.
Details will be broadcast on Saturday, March 12, NHK Special "Can your family escape?" From 9 pm on General TV.
Related program "NHK Special"
"Can your family escape? Rapidly increasing facilities for the elderly in the" tsunami inundation area ""
Scheduled to be broadcast on NHK General TV from 9 pm on Saturday, March 12
Where are the facilities for the elderly in flooded areas?
Validated by MAP
Data such as the location, opening time, number of elderly people, and estimated inundation depth of facilities for the elderly in 3820 estimated inundation areas nationwide are posted on the map.
For more details, please see this special site.
"Tsunami risk" nationwide map of facilities for the elderly
Sendai Broadcasting Station Reporter
Kotaro Kitami
Joined in 2019
Kesennuma bureau coverage of earthquakes and fisheries
Currently in charge of incident coverage as a prefectural police cap
Morioka Broadcasting Station Reporter
Maiko Ninomiya
Joined in 2017 Born in Ehime Prefecture
Worked
in Iwate Prefecture for 5 years
Satoshi Habui ,
Director of Sendai Broadcasting Station Joined in 2007.
Born
in Tokyo
.
Yamagata Broadcasting Station Reporter
Yuki Okano
Joined Career in 2020 From
a former newspaper company from Kyoto Prefecture, covering the 2014 Hiroshima city landslide disaster and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake
, aiming to report to save lives in the event of a disaster
Mayumi Yoda ,
Director, Social Program Department , News Bureau
Joined in 2015. Born in Chiba Prefecture
. After working at the Sapporo Bureau, went to the News
Bureau.
Sendai Broadcasting Station Reporter
Orie Sugimoto
Joined in 2007
At the time of the earthquake, after working at
the International Department of the Sendai Station and the Directorate General of Asia, I hoped for the second Sendai Station to face the victims of the earthquake again.
Morioka Broadcasting Station Reporter
Miki Umezawa
Joined in 2020 From Gunma Prefecture
Covers the thoughts of the bereaved family of the Great East Japan Earthquake and issues related to disaster prevention and mitigation
Keijiro Saito , Reporter,
Social Affairs Department , News Bureau
Joined in 2010 After
working at the coastal branch office in Iwate Prefecture, we continue to cover the earthquake disaster
.