Study on Residents' Recognition of a Flood Hazard Map and Promotion Measures of Its Recognition

Abstract

Since the "Flood Fighting Act" was revised in 2001, the flood hazard map has positively been promoted by many local municipalities, and as of March 2002, 217 flood hazard maps had been produced. The effectiveness of flood hazard maps has already been verified in several cases. However, there are some issues on residents' understanding of flood hazard maps.In this study, we review the effectiveness of flood hazard maps and issues on residents' understanding of them, and we examine the role that flood hazard maps serve. Then, we grasp the state of residents' recognition of flood hazard maps. Moreover, we analyze the effect of the explanation meeting of the flood hazard map on residents' recognition.

Cross-Sectional Study on Risk of Flooding and Landslides and Their Associated Perceptions Among Home Health-Care Patients Living in Fukui Prefecture, Japan

“…A previous study has highlighted the importance of being aware of the risks of disaster, such as the fact that simple preparations by family members and community members can increase the probability of surviving the first 72 h of a disaster before the arrival of government supports, 26 and that residents who were aware of hazard maps were able to start evacuating 1 h earlier than those who were not and had a 10% higher evacuation rate. 27,28 It is true that the risk awareness of flooding and landslides among home-care patients in Fukui is higher than the Japanese national average of 38.6% for awareness of hazard maps, 29 probably because flooding and landslides occur more frequently in Fukui than in the rest of Japan, and most people are at risk of flooding. 17 However, considering that their survival rates may increase with a little more flood preparedness (eg, 72 h of durable supplies such as an attic axe, freshwater, to allow survival until rescue arrives; improvement of the first floor structure to resist water damage such as converting the first floor from wood to cement or wooden floors to cement or tile; ability to run equipment with a generator with safety devices to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning), the awareness rate of risk of flooding and landslides may not be sufficient to minimize the damage to home-care patients during flooding and landslides.…”

Implementation of community flood risk communication in Kumamoto, Japan

“…Katada et al . 28 described the inadvertent effects of flood hazard maps as problems of fixation and interpretation. Fixation problems refer to situations where residents think the flood size described in flood hazard maps will be the same as that of the coming flood.…”

“…Conventionally, flood hazard maps have been distributed in Japan from the local government to residents without any further explanations, i.e., as a one‐way information flow. There have been many cases in which residents were not able to understand how to read and use such maps 2, 24, 28. It is important to first explain the concept and computational flooding conditions of such flood hazard maps (e.g., accumulated rainfall and levee breach conditions) to residents.…”

Narrative-Based Disaster Learning Programmes Simultaneously Improve People’s Disaster Awareness Scores, Willingness to Pay and Settlement Preferences

“…Furthermore, local governments do not always want to assume responsibility for disclosing hazards or compensating victims, especially if a tragedy may proclaim an extensive range of dangers [3]. Additionally, people living in designated hazardous areas might ignore an updated risk map, considering it unacceptable information [4]. Such conflicts between governments and residents [5] and disparities in how people respond to information about potential catastrophes [6] are serious issues.…”