Abstract
Japan is a disaster-prone country and natural disasters could happen under COVID-19. Shelter management is especially important because many people evacuate there and there’s high risk of spreading infection. In order to establish feasible countermeasures in shelters, we conducted a survey about the current situation of preparation and experience of shelter management in Japanese local governments under COVID-19. From the answer of 346 municipalities, we found that some municipalities took measures against COVID-19 such as adding new shelters and conducting the training, and these proactive measures were very useful. However, due to the addition of infectious disease control work, it became clear that it would take time and difficulty at reception, and that it would be even more difficult to identify evacuees with the recommended distributed evacuation. These results can be useful in proceeding consideration of better shelter management under COVID-19.
Highlights
The infection of COVID-19 is spreading all over the world
The problem is that human damage caused by both COVID-19 and natural disasters will increase, and it is necessary to consider measures against the occurrence of natural disasters and the shelter management system under COVID-19
In order to clarify what kind of measures are being taken by each local government in Japan, we have set up questions asking about the creation of shelter management manuals that incorporate infectious disease countermeasures, the implementation of training, and the addition of shelters
Summary
The infection of COVID-19 is spreading all over the world. As of April 21, 2021, the number of infected people worldwide has exceeded 140 million and the death toll has exceeded 3 million [1]. In recent years, disasters such as the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake, the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake, and the heavy rains in western Japan in 2018, have become more severe and frequent When such disasters occur, schools and public halls become shelters and many residents evacuate [5, 6]. 90% of those who died in the heavy rains in western Japan were found at home [7], and it is said that they could not evacuate to a safe place Based on this situation, the problem is that human damage caused by both COVID-19 and natural disasters will increase, and it is necessary to consider measures against the occurrence of natural disasters and the shelter management system under COVID-19. Our research question is, “What is the current situation regarding the shelter management in Japanese local governments under COVID-19?” This research will contribute to realize effective disaster countermeasures under COVID-19
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