80% of deaths are caused by “house collapse” Why is progress not being made?
Earthquake resistance of housesMarch 13th 11:50am
More than 76,000 homes were damaged in Ishikawa Prefecture by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
Approximately 80% of those for whom the cause of death has been made public died due to ``house collapse,'' and the need for earthquake-proofing of houses has been pointed out.
The government aims to eliminate housing with insufficient earthquake resistance by 2030.
However, 87% of homes nationwide meet current earthquake resistance standards.
Why doesn't it reach 100%?
We looked for issues in Shizuoka Prefecture, which has been one of the first to take action.
(Good Morning Japan Directors Keina Tani and Jisho Kawakami)
Applications for free seismic diagnosis increase rapidly
Shizuoka Prefecture has been making efforts to prepare for the occurrence of a Nankai Trough mega-earthquake.
We have carried out seismic diagnosis of houses in all municipalities within the prefecture.
During an earthquake resistance diagnosis, we check for damaged wood and the design of the house to see if it will collapse in the event of a major earthquake.
The targets of the diagnosis are wooden houses built to the "old earthquake resistance standards" dating back to 1982 or earlier.
There is no cost.
In Shizuoka City, applications for seismic diagnostics rose from 230 last year to 129 in the month since the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
A resident who received an earthquake resistance diagnosis said
, ``When I saw the earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, I felt a little scared, so when I asked them to explain it to me, I realized that I'm scared of where I live...I think we should do some reinforcement work.'' I really felt that this was the case.”
Damage estimates by Shizuoka Prefecture estimate that in the worst-case scenario, the number of deaths due to the collapse of residential buildings could reach 7,800.
For this reason, the prefecture launched the "TOUKAI (Tokai Collapse)-0" project 23 years ago, and in addition to earthquake resistance diagnosis, it provides subsidies of up to 1 million yen to ordinary households when carrying out reinforcement work. .
The seismic retrofitting rate rose from 73% (2003) to 89% (2018), but it continues to fall short of 100%.
70% of homes that are not earthquake resistant are elderly
A contributing factor is that approximately 70% of people living in homes that have not been made earthquake resistant are people aged 65 or older.
Masao Nabeta (77), who lives in Shizuoka City, is also thinking about making his building earthquake resistant.
Currently, I live with my wife in a 49-year-old wooden house that I built with my late parents.
I received a postcard from Shizuoka City informing me of a free seismic diagnosis, and this was my first time undergoing an earthquake diagnosis.
The diagnosis results received were rated at the lowest of the four levels.
It has been determined that there is a high possibility of collapse due to an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 6 or higher.
Masao Nabeta
: ``My first impression was that I was surprised because it was such a great value.If the rating is less than 0.7, there is a possibility of collapse, so my rating was 0.23.Looking at this number, it shows that it is safe for large earthquakes. I don't think I can stand it.''
They were proud of the large windows that let in plenty of sunlight, but they also explained that they were vulnerable to earthquakes because of the lack of pillars.
In order to meet seismic standards, areas with full-length windows must be reinforced by adding pillars or building walls.
Furthermore, reinforcement work such as reducing the weight of the roof will cost approximately 2 million yen, and even with subsidies, the out-of-pocket cost is expected to be close to 1 million yen.
Mr. and Mrs. Nabeta live on pensions and have no heirs to the family.
I can't decide how far I should prepare for an earthquake that I don't know when it will come.
Wife Sayoko
: ``Tiles are heavy, right? So I would like to make them light and modern, but that would cost a considerable amount of money.''
Masao Nabeta
: ``I'm worried about a lot of things.The biggest problem is funding, and I don't have any savings.My hope is that there won't be another big earthquake.I don't know how many years I have left to live, but I don't want to do any construction.'' If only I could get away with it... But since I received this diagnosis, I want to think about it.My life is at stake.That's how I feel right now.''
To support earthquake resistance
Earthquake-proofing homes for the elderly is not an easy decision to make.
In order to give even a little boost, Shizuoka Prefecture has started an activity to compile and distribute the voices of residents who have decided to make the earthquake resistant.
``Since we are a household of two elderly people, we were wondering whether we should do earthquake reinforcement, but we decided to do it because we didn't want it to collapse and cause trouble to the neighbors (Resident of Yaizu City)'' ``
My grandchildren are safe and secure. We decided to have the construction work done as if it were a gift from us so that they could live in a building that is beautiful (Numazu City resident).''
This is because we want people to realize that earthquake-proofing their homes will save many lives, and that their lives are not just theirs.
Takahiro Suzuki, Director, Building Safety Promotion Division, Shizuoka Prefecture
: ``Due to this Noto Peninsula earthquake, many old houses collapsed.We also heard that many of the people living in such areas were elderly, so we were concerned. I feel like this has actually happened... Even though we have accumulated a lot of subsidies, people are not using them.We are trying various methods to prevent this.''
However, even if you use the subsidy system, your out-of-pocket costs will not be reduced to zero.
Shizuoka Prefecture has introduced a subsidy system for the purchase of disaster prevention beds and earthquake shelters as a cheaper measure than seismic reinforcement work for homes.
For example, residents of wooden houses built to the old earthquake resistance standards before 1982 will receive a subsidy of up to 125,000 yen, which is less than half the cost of installing an earthquake-resistant shelter.
For those who are unable to make the move to make their homes more earthquake-resistant, we also offer options such as moving to earthquake-resistant housing.
The idea is to protect lives even if we cannot prevent the entire house from collapsing.
Earthquake resistance is “pre-disaster reconstruction”
On the other hand, to what extent should taxes be used to make individual homes earthquake-resistant?
Experts familiar with regional disaster prevention measures point out that the concept of ``preliminary reconstruction'' is important in promoting earthquake resistance.
``Preliminary reconstruction'' is the idea of building a city that is resilient to disasters in advance, rather than spending a large amount of time and money after a disaster has occurred.
Shizuoka University Specially Appointed Professor Takahito Iwata
: ``This recent Noto Peninsula earthquake has made us realize once again the importance of earthquake resistance.In some cases, collapsed houses may block evacuation routes, so promoting earthquake resistance is important for local communities. It is also to ensure safety.In anticipation of future earthquakes directly hitting the Tokyo metropolitan area or major earthquakes along the Nankai Trough, the national and local governments are taking measures to ensure areas where major earthquakes are predicted and housing that could impede evacuation and rescue efforts if they collapse. We need to discuss whether we can introduce a generous subsidy system."
Because “we don’t know when it will happen”
This is the scene I witnessed on the ground after the recent Noto Peninsula earthquake.
The houses where many people were living until just a few days ago had collapsed without a trace.
If the house had been made earthquake resistant, lives could have been saved.
I feel that we as a society need to think more about how far we should prepare for unknown threats so that we don't have to think that way.
(Broadcast on "Good Morning Japan" on March 4, 2024)
Good Morning Japan Director
Keina TaniI
also covered "TOUKAI-0" at the Shizuoka station, which was my first post after
joining the station in 2016,
and I was once again keenly aware of the importance of "earthquake resistance."
Good Morning Japan Director
Jisho Kawakami
Joined the company in
2018 After working at the Osaka bureau, he is currently working at the Osaka bureau.He
spoke to his relatives who live in the old earthquake-resistance standard.