Kai OBOKATA

Research to improve disaster prevention literacy in the event of tsunamis and other sudden disasters in Niigata Prefecture

Naoyuki INUKAI

The purpose of this research is to improve disaster prevention literacy, including preparedness and response of governments and residents to earthquakes with tsunami risk in the seas around Niigata Prefecture.
The earthquake considered as the target occurred at 22:22 on June 18, 2019, at a depth of 14 km off the coast of Yamagata Prefecture. The amount of ground deformation was calculated from the fault parameters of the Crustal Deformation Research Division using the equation of Okada (1992). The tsunami propagation calculations were performed using the continuity equation and the basic equation of motion, which is a two-dimensional version of the equation of motion. Both calculated and measured results show that the first wave arrives in as little as 5 minutes. According to a survey of residents, only 19.0% of residents evacuated within five minutes.
To accurately communicate information during a disaster, it is necessary to multiplex and diversify the means of information communication according to the actual conditions of the region. In Japan, the J-Alert system is being developed, in which warnings and advisories issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency are transmitted from the Fire and Disaster Management Agency transmission system to each municipality via satellite in the event of a disaster. Residents should obtain information about disasters from the hazard maps of Niigata City and Nagaoka City before a disaster strikes, such as knowledge about tsunamis, types of tsunami warnings, communication of evacuation information, how to obtain evacuation information, and preparations and actions to protect themselves from disasters. The government can accurately determine what to do in the event of an earthquake during a disaster by including information on the creation of My Timeline on the hazard map and what to do if you are caught in a tsunami.