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From Responding to the Hyogo and Earthquake Disaster Area: To make Safety, Social Relief

Koji Matsubara 1

1효고현참사·효고진재기념21세기연구기강학술교류센터

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ABSTRACT

The Great Hansin-Awaji Earthquake occurred in Hyogo Prefecture twenty years ago. Many people lost their lives and houses, office buildings, and roads were damaged. Many lessons were learnt from the earthquake: the importance of initial action, the community’s preparedness to deal with a disaster, and building earthquake resistant towns. With these lessons in mind, the following assignments are the most important in Hyogo Prefecture. (1) Maintaining a base for large disaster prevention, effective operation of the Phoenix disaster management system, and reinforcing administrative systems through establishing a disaster prevention bureau at Kansai. (2) Promoting independent disaster prevention organizations, reinforcing regional disater prevention through self-help and mutual efforts, such as Hyogo Prefecture’s campaign. (3) Promoting disaster prevention education aimed at children and students. (4) Maintaining a base for international disaster prevention organizations and humanitarian assistance- such as the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution, donation projects, and hosting the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. These measure demonstrate that disaster prevention is a priority in Hyogo Prefecture. Moreover, with plans to give new strength to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, Hyogo Prefecture is promoting creative plan led by local residents. It is expected that the scale of damage will be reduced through appropriate disaster prevention and disaster risk reduction measures, such as tsunami shelters and earthquake-proof structures, even though the chances of a large scale earthquake occurring are high, as Hyogo Prefecture is along the Nankai Through. Hyogo Prefecture has made active efforts to improve the land. In the future, Hyogo Prefecture will try to contribute to disaster prevention by sharing information with other regions of Northeast Asia.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.