Disaster Awareness Waning in Areas Struck by 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

The Great East Japan Earthquake struck 12 years ago, causing unprecedented damage. Ōyō Corporation conducted a survey of 1,500 people aged 18 to 69 living in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, which were all seriously impacted by the disaster, to gauge current disaster awareness. The results show that awareness has waned, at least somewhat, according to 77.4% of the survey respondents.

Among those who said disaster awareness has definitely waned, one in three people cited desensitization to disaster warnings. Other reasons mentioned include the insufficient efforts made to maintain disaster awareness and the decreased number of people who have experienced a disaster firsthand, thus indicating the importance of continued measures to convey the experiences of disaster victims to others.

The most common reasons cited by survey respondents who said disaster awareness had been maintained were: “Because of experiencing the tragedy of the March 11 earthquake” (67.5%) and “Because there are many news reports about earthquakes and tsunamis” (41.1%).

When asked to list what is needed for secure evacuation in the case of a huge earthquake or tsunami, the most common answer was “accurate evacuation information” (57.5%), followed by “prompt construction of evacuation facilities“ (44.0%), and “government measures to protect the vulnerable” (41.7%). The responses make it evident that respondents have high expectations of the central and local governments.

When asked about their expectations for disaster prevention in the digital age, many respondents expressed the hope for more accurate information, including 57.5% who mentioned the need for improved earthquake and tsunami forecasting accuracy and 36.9% who hope for more reliable evacuation information.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)