A series of typhoon “full” shelters ... Grasp the density in real time!

September 23, 19:43

Typhoons that come one after another even in the corona disaster.

In Typhoon No. 10, which called for the highest level of caution, some people said that the evacuation center was full and could not be entered, and that they had moved to another evacuation center.

Many people may wonder, "How should I evacuate from now on?", But in the midst of this typhoon No. 10, we introduced a new initiative to encourage residents to make the "best" evacuation decision. There was a municipality.

We interviewed what kind of initiative it is and whether it is likely to spread.

(Miyazaki Broadcasting Station Reporter Shota Yokoyama)

"Unacceptable" sticker

First, let's look back on the state of Miyazaki City on the afternoon of September 6, when the typhoon was approaching.



When you go to the evacuation center in the city, you will see the words "Unacceptable" at the entrance.



When the evacuation center was opened this morning, there was a flood of people evacuating, and the city was rushing to lay a blue sheet in the lobby.



However, about two hours after the opening, it became impossible to accept more than the capacity, and I was forced to move to another evacuation center.

Mr. Kunie Ando, ​​Director of Miyazaki City Oyodo Regional Office


"Honestly, I was surprised that more people than expected were evacuated."

There are 21 fully occupied evacuation centers in Miyazaki City.


In fact, it has reached 20% of the total.

The highest level of caution was called in advance, and the capacity of the evacuation center was halved to prevent congestion.



According to NHK's interview, there were 62 evacuation centers in 14 cities and towns in Miyazaki prefecture that were full during Typhoon No. 10.

Real-time congestion

This problem that occurred in the corona disaster.



However, in fact, there was a local government in Miyazaki Prefecture that reported the congestion status of evacuation centers in real time in anticipation of such a situation.



This is Nichinan City.

This time, Nichinan City has reduced the capacity of each evacuation center to two-thirds.

In anticipation of "distributed evacuation," we have introduced a system since August.



When the staff at the evacuation center type in the latest evacuation status in four stages, such as "full", "crowded", and "vacant", which have reached the capacity.

The information is reflected on the map, and you can see the congestion situation at a glance.

You can check the map at any time from the URL received by e-mail or LINE.

The city has partnered with an IT company in Tokyo that provides distribution services for congestion such as restaurants.

I used this system for the first time in Typhoon No. 10.

Judgment not to go to the evacuation center

Hiroko Oda used this information to avoid crowded shelters.



There is a small river near my house, but at that time the water level was low and I didn't think I needed to evacuate immediately.

However, after that, as the rain and wind intensified, he began to think about whether to evacuate with two children, an elementary school student and a junior high school student.

At that time, what passed through Mr. Oda's head was the risk of infection with the new coronavirus in evacuation centers that tend to become dense.



How is the congestion situation ...



Mr. Oda checked the status of the evacuation center on his smartphone.

Mr. Oda


"The evacuation center I originally wanted to go to was" crowded ", so I thought it would be another evacuation center if I went there ... But the wind was strong, and it would be dangerous to go out if I was at home and going out now. thought"

Mr. Oda decided to "evacuate at home".

Mr. Oda closed the shutters and prepared food and water for a few days.


I took steps that I could do at home and spent the night in the living room with my two children.

Mr. Oda


"If I didn't know the congestion situation of the evacuation center in advance, I would go to see it in that wind. I think I was in danger."

For the "road guide" of evacuation

According to Nichinan City, this typhoon received about 10,000 accesses, and we believe that the system was used effectively.

Chief Wada


"We introduced it as a guide to where citizens should evacuate in the corona sickness. I think that they evacuated to a vacant evacuation center by watching the congestion situation in real time."

When I talked to Nichinan City again in mid-September, I heard that there were more than 10 inquiries about this system from local governments from Tohoku to Kyushu.



Professor Emeritus Takanori Harada of Miyazaki University, who is familiar with disaster and evacuation issues, points out that such real-time information provision will continue to be required.

Professor Emeritus Harada


"It is dangerous to move to another evacuation center because the evacuation center is full in a rainy and windy situation. How to inform the residents in real time how many evacuees are in which evacuation center. I think it will continue to be an issue in the future. "

As the typhoon season continues, how can we lead to safe evacuation behavior while preventing congestion?



The efforts of Nichinan City are likely to be a hint for future measures.