About 70% of Japanese municipalities with tsunami risk areas have never conducted winter evacuation drills, according to a survey conducted and published on February 18 by The Kyodo News.
“It is necessary to prepare for natural disasters in winter, including measures against infectious diseases,” – said the doctor of the medical team that worked during the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula, Kohei Sasamoto.
The survey was conducted from November to December 2023, before the magnitude 7.6 earthquake on the Noto Peninsula, and covered 108 municipalities (7 prefectures). Winter exercises were defined as activities between November and March.
However, only 44 municipalities said they planned to hold exercises in the future.
The survey also showed that 57% of municipalities have heating equipment in their shelters and 29% have sufficient winter bedding in places where refugees are expected to be accommodated.
Among the main reasons for the lack of preparation of municipalities to carry out evacuations through drills is the high proportion of elderly residents, for whom even drills represent a high health risk. There is also not enough material support for such exercises: there is a lack of blankets and kerosene stoves.
According to government experts, an earthquake originating in the Japan Trench and a subsequent tsunami in winter could cause the death of up to 42,000 people from hypothermia.
In summary, the government estimates that a significant number of casualties from the 1995 Hanshin earthquake and the March 2011 magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan were caused by cold weather.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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