ブックタイトル人道ジャーナル第3号

概要

人道ジャーナル第3号

The Journal of Humanitarian Studies Vol. 3, 2014In many cases, historical and cultural experience of tsunamis appears to have been key in older people’s decisionmaking. Over a third（36%）of respondents in Miyako city reported that stories of previous tsunamis were mostuseful in guiding their actions, while 28% reported that city-wide evacuation drills were critical. In comparison,respondents in Ishinako city reported warnings from neighbours most frequently（25%）, followed by stories fromthe past（16%）The role of previous tsunami experienceThe two Prefectures involved in this study have historical experience of tsunamis, including the MeijiSanriku earthquake and Tsunami of 1896 in which 21,959 people lost their lives, and more than 10,000homes were damaged. In living memory, the 1933 Showa Sanriku earthquake and tsunami killed 3,064people and damaged 9,769 houses.（2）In both cases, Iwate prefecture was more heavily affected leading to agreater prominence of Tsunami stories and local knowledge within families and communities that werecarried through the generations. Consequently, those living in Iwate were better prepared for Tsunamievacuation.（3）One 65 year old respondent in Miyako reported:“I was told by my grandparents that Ineeded to run to the mountain when the ocean tide went down low, so I did.”2.2 Challenges of evacuationAccess to informationAn immediate consequence of the earthquake was a loss of power, preventing access to television, which was theusual source of news. While some respondents obtained updates from the radio, conflicting reports about thestrength of the impending tsunami confounded their attempts to gain an understanding of the situation. Althoughtsunami warning sirens were activated, in many areas systems were damaged by the earthquake, affecting theclarity of messages relayed through speakers. This situation was exacerbated for respondents with hearingimpairments who reported being unable to hear the sirens or evacuation instructions.A report by the World Bank（4）cited three similar reasons for the delay in the emergency evacuation; inaccurateinitial prediction of the severity of the tsunami slowed down evacuation behaviour, electrical failure affected TVand radio access to information, and malfunction of tsunami warning systems left many with no evacuationinformation.The limited information older people had regarding the immediate response to this emergency is striking.Approximately 20% of respondents reported not knowing where the nearest evacuation sites were, or how to getthere. As one older person said,“I simply did not know what to do by myself.”Frailty and mobilityOlder people with poor mobility, especially those over 75 years of age reported difficulty fleeing. Manyrespondents who attempted to reach their evacuation site reported barriers along evacuation routes such as steps,limited numbers of handrails, and uneven or missing pavements. For some, this situation was compounded by alack of assistance to reach safety.Frail older people who lived alone were particularly vulnerable. A report from the city of Rikuzen Takada（5）found that many younger people returned home to help their family members, delaying their own evacuation andsometimes perishing in the process. The lasting grief and sense of guilt for family members who could not reachtheir elderly relatives, was expressed by one 60 year old daughter in this study:“I knew my mother would be introuble because she lived alone, but I could not possibly get there because the road was filled with cars at thattime. I was able to save my life but could not help my mother. I still do not know if I made the right decision.”人道研究ジャーナルVol. 3, 2014 89