A research of how to use disaster information by local governments for heavy rainfall

Abstract

A research of how to use disaster information by local governments for heavy rainfall.USH1YAMA Motoyuki, IMA1VIURA Furnihiko, KATADA Toshitaka, KOSHIMURA SyunichiThe purpose of this paper is an investigation of how to collect and use heavy rainfall disaster information by local governments. Questionnaire data were gathered from 230 municipalities within Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Gifu, and Mie prefectures. They were struck by typhoon No.0206 in July 2002. 32 municipalities issued evacuation counsel for disaster. A half of it answered that the decisive factor of evacuation counsel was occurrence of damage. The result indicated that it was difficult to issue evacuation counsel in advance of damage. Respondenfs ratios of rainfall information received on real time were as follows: The rainfall data by Meteorological Agency (JMA) was 92 percent, the rainfall and water revel data by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MLIT) was 72 percent, the rainfall and water revel data by prefecture was 78 percent Respondent's ratios of actually used information were as follows: The data of JMA was 74 percent, the data of MLIT was 38 percent, the data of prefecture was 51 percent It is necessary that the information of JMA and other information is unified. 58 percent municipalities had own raingauge on their office and 87 percent of raingauge data were used in this event .Self-administrated raingauge was relied. Flood hazard maps were made in 10 percent of municipalities. But municipalities of actually used hazard map in this event were a half of those. It is important that practicality of hazard map was verified.

Reply to Discussion –“An Empirical Model of Fatalities and Injuries Due to Floods in Japan” by Hamed Assaf1,2,3

“…How to improve the evacuation rate in Japan remains an important issue that is being widely surveyed and argued from the perspectives of flood risk perception (e.g., Katada Laboratory 1998, 2000, 2004; Hiroi Laboratory, 2004), flood information transfer (e.g., Ushiyama, 2003), and evacuation inconvenience (e.g., Zhai and Ikeda, 2006). This debate has been taking place for some time.…”