The Asahi editorial cites Kumamoto’s “preventive evacuations” as a model for the nation. When the call to evacuate came out in July, I didn’t realize that they were part of a new program.
====== start quote ====== Kumamoto Prefecture in the last fiscal year launched a new disaster response program focused on “preventive evacuations,” which can be instructive for other local governments. The prefectural government developed the program after heavy downpours in the early morning hours caused casualties in July 2012. Under the program, when heavy nighttime rainfall is expected, local governments set up evacuation sites in the evening and call for voluntary evacuations. When Typhoon No. 8 struck Japan in July, some 5,000 people in Kumamoto Prefecture actually took shelter under the program. Even if an evacuation later turns out to have been unnecessary, such actions are meaningful because they make people more conscious of the risks. To boost our own safety during natural disasters, we should do what we can during normal times. ====== end quote ====== http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201408220027