ブックタイトルRecommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

概要

Recommendations to prepare for future mega-disasters in Japan

4. Children(1) Little or no access to disaster information by children themselvesChildren are often recognised as those who are protected by adults, and information related todisasters are monopolised by adults. As a result, children cannot understand what ishappening and why certain actions need to be taken. This makes children feel uneasy andpowerless. Moreover, adults are often not ready to listen to children’s opinions, even ifchildren might know more than adults (e.g. the shortest and safest evacuation routes). Asituation like this could lead to increased disaster risks.(2) Lack of understanding about child specific needsThe fact that children have their own needs during disasters, which are different from those ofadults, is not well understood. For example, children need safe and secure spaces to learn andplay, even when they are in evacuation centres. Another child specific priority is not todiscontinue education. However, education is not included even in the Sphere standards.5. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly and handicappedThe United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) reports that according to a studyon the GEJE conducted by the Japan Disability Form (JDF), the mortality rate of the persons withdisabilities was more or less twice as high as that of those without disabilities. NHK’s‘welfarenetwork’team also conducted a survey on the mortality rates in the 27 disaster-affectedMunicipalities of the three Prefectures in Tohoku, and its result supports the same trend. Themortality rate among the total affected population was 1.03%, whereas that of the persons withdisabilities was 2.06%. Main lessons learned around assisting the persons with disabilities wererelated to some of the physical difficulties faced during evacuation as well as limited access to vitalinformation due their visual and hearing disabilities. In addition, a significant number of those withdisabilities chose or were forced to stay at home rather than in evacuation centres where people andassistance were concentrated. Moreover, those who did not belong to specific support groups beforethe disaster were particularly vulnerable, yet the need to protect their personal information and otherprivacy issues led to restrict the responders’outreach efforts. Furthermore, according to theGovernment’s White Paper on Disaster Management in 2011, 65 % of the total deaths involved theaffected populations who were more than 60 years old, whereas the proportion of the same agegroup in the three disasters affected Prefectures was approximately 31%. These data show theextreme vulnerability of the people with disabilities and the elderly during disasters, thus swift andappropriate response to meet their diverse needs is crucial.In August 2013, the Cabinet Office (Disaster Management) issued a set of guidelines to support theevacuation of the population who need special care and assistance at the time of a disaster. These48