It has been 10 and a half years since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in 11 days.
Many staff members at the municipal office at that time were also killed.
When NHK interviewed 178 local governments nationwide where the government building could be flooded by the tsunami, it was found that nearly half did not have "evacuation rules" to evacuate employees to safe places.
The challenge is how to apply the lessons learned from the earthquake.
In the Great East Japan Earthquake, the government buildings of 10 local governments, mainly in the Tohoku region, were damaged by the tsunami, and more than 200 people including staff who were involved in disaster response were killed.
To verify that the lessons learned are being applied, NHK last month interviewed 178 local governments nationwide that have government buildings in the tsunami inundation area to see if they have rules to evacuate staff to safe places such as hills.
According to this, while 97 local governments have set rules, nearly half, or 46%, 81 local governments answered that they have not set rules.
When asked why they did not set it, 19 local governments answered that "it is safe in a building whose government building is higher than expected by the tsunami", but "I do not know the standard and how to decide" and "I can not afford to formulate" The total number of local governments has risen to 36.
It also means that 12 local governments are currently in the process of formulating.
The national government has not provided specific standards for local governments regarding "evacuation rules" for evacuating staff.
Associate Professor Shohei Kotani of the University of Hyogo Graduate School, who is familiar with disaster response of local governments, said, "I think that some local governments give top priority to protecting the lives of residents and put off safety measures for employees. Local governments with a high level of scholarship should establish "evacuation rules" as soon as possible, and the national government should also provide clear guidelines. "
"We must protect the lives of our staff and the lives of our residents."
Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture, which created the evacuation rules in March, has begun to consider how to balance the evacuation of staff and disaster response to residents.
In Kuji City, the coastal areas were damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, but the city hall escaped flooding.
However, a new assumption of a huge earthquake released by the government last September showed that the city hall could also be flooded to a height of 5.3 meters.
For this reason, the city has formulated a business continuity plan and newly established rules to evacuate staff before the tsunami arrives.
According to the new assumption, the tsunami is expected to reach the government building about 35 minutes after the earthquake, and the city will evacuate staff to the branch office on a hill 15 minutes before it reaches the government building under the new rules. Did.
However, since it takes about 20 minutes to walk from the city hall to the branch office, there is almost no time for disaster response such as evacuation guidance for residents.
For this reason, Kuji City is considering reviewing the disaster prevention plan so that staff and residents can evacuate together in the future.
Atsushige Tanaka, chief of the Kuji City Fire and Disaster Prevention Division, said, "There are still many issues left, but we must protect the lives of the staff and the residents. Think about specific ways to escape with the residents through training, etc." I want to go. "
Great East Japan Earthquake Sacrifices more than 200 employees
In the Great East Japan Earthquake, there were a number of cases in which local government employees who were in charge of evacuation guidance for residents lost their lives.
According to the Cabinet Office, the Great East Japan Earthquake damaged the government buildings of 10 local governments in Iwate, Miyagi, and Ibaraki prefectures, killing more than 200 employees who were involved in disaster response.
Of these, in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, the disaster prevention measures office was completely destroyed by the tsunami, and 41 people, including part-time employees, who were calling for evacuation of residents via the disaster prevention radio, died.
In Iwate Prefecture, 111 people were killed in Rikuzentakata City, and 39 people in Otsuchi Town, including the mayor at that time, were killed.
In Otsuchi Town, we interviewed the staff at that time and compiled a report in July.
In the report, it was damaged that the staff members were aware that they should not evacuate before the residents because they prioritized their duties, and that they did not make "evacuation rules" for the staff members in the regional disaster prevention plan. It is said that it contributed to the expansion of.
Mr. Takao Sato, who was in charge of the survey, said, "I would like local governments nationwide to learn what happened in Otsuchi Town. I want you to do it. "