OurBOSAI 2019
for the Future

Case Studies of Sendai Citizensʼ Learnings from the Sendai Framework

This booklet was prepared based on group work by those who attended "Think about the Future of BOSAI
Together - Series of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Seminars for citizens in Sendai City" inserial lectures that have been held by the International Research Institute of Disaster Science of Tohoku
University and Sendai City since 2016, as an opportunity for citizens to learn the "Sendai Framework for DisasterRisk Reduction 2015-2030." This booklet will continue to be updated with more content through to 2030.

Based on past disaster experienceʜW h e n t h e G re at Ea s t Ja p a n Ea r th q u a ke a n d Ts u n a m istruck, the shaking was stronger than imagined, causing
even cars and buses to jump. I had never been able toimagine that a great earthquake could shake the groundso violently until it actually occurred.

Essential utilities, including electricity and waters u p p l y, s t o p p e d . M o b i l e t e l e p h o n e s e r v i c e w a s a l s oi n t e r r u p t e d . S u s p e n s i o n o f t h e w a t e r s u p p l y, i np a r t i c u l a r, c a u s e d a lot of trouble, and I had tomanually pump water for a long time.

There were e lementar y schools whose student s wereunable to go home. When their parents tried to pick themup, heavy trafﬁc congestion blocked their path.

Many people ﬂed to evacuation centers, and weprepared food late into the night . Some of evacuatedfamilie s included babie s . We all helped each other tosurvive, and children who were babies at that time, wereable to soundly become elementary school students.

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Since I didn't have enough knowledge about disasters, I didn't
know what to do. In my neighborhood, when it rained
torrentially, some people went to see the state of the rivers andlost their lives. It made me think that it was important to gain
correct knowledge about disaster risk reduction on a dailybasis.

I realized that it is absolutely necessary to help each other inthe event of a disaster, for example, for the operation ofevacuation centers. When the Great East J apan Earthquake
and Tsunami struck, there were many neighbors whose faces
I didn't recognize. It is necessary to build face-to-facerelationships with neighbors by fostering connections witheach other in many ways on a daily basis.

In the event of a disaster, all we can do is to deal with theissue at hand as best we can, so things don't necessarily go
as we like. Under such a situation, consideration towards
others is what is important.

I had a hard time afer the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami struck; however, I realized that it is important tomake use of these experiences to consider what we can doto build back better and take action.

Outline of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
On March 11, 2011, Sendai City was struck by a tremendous earthquake ofmagnitude of 9.0 that occurred off the Sanriku coast of northern Japan. Thetsunami devastated the coastal areas of eastern Sendai. The city’s hilly northwestern areas and their surroundings suffered significant landslides thatdamaged residential areas.
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What can we do for the "Four Priorities for Action"?
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction says that we need to act based on the"Four Priorities for Action" to prevent disasters and reduce disaster risk.

Priority for Action
Priority for Action
Priority for Action
Priority for Action

123
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Understanding Disaster Risk
Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance to Manage Disaster Risk
Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience
Enhancing Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response and to“Build Back Better” in Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Learn about your community.

1- Learn about past disasters.
- Trace back to the history of your local area.

Participate ina disaster drill.

1 2 4- Study the geological features of your local area.

- Participate in a disaster drill
in your community.

- Collect information on your local area
through PR brochures and SNS.

- Learn about other people
who are participating in the disaster drill.

- Stroll and explore your local areawith your children (parents).

- Update the directories of neighborhoods
at the time of a disaster drill.

Prepare for a disaster.

3- Prepare various DRR goods.
- Check again that the emergency kit
is complete.
- Enhance the safety of your house.
- Organize gatherings for those
who have undergone collective relocation.
- Strengthen the bonds within communitiesof your local area.

- Learn where evacuation centers are.

Organize / holda disaster drill.

2 3- Participate in meetings for the disaster drill.
- Call for residentʼs participation in the disaster drill.
- Make a DRR plan suitable for each community.
- Provide evacuation guidance at the timeof the disaster drill.
- Watch over children at the time of the disaster drill.
- Call for participation and cooperation
with private sectors.
- Organize a DRR lecture during the disaster drill.

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Raise disaster risk reduction awareness.

2 3 4- Speak of the need for self-help, mutual aid and public assistance.
- Think how much you can budget for disaster risk reduction.

Learn disaster risk reduction.

1 2 3 4

- Take a DRR lecture.

- Hold study sessions with universities and NPOs.

- Tie up DRR education at schools- Learn about risk in the event of a disaster,with local DRR efforts.

not only when you are at home,
but also when you are away from home.

- Recognize what you can do andwhat role you must play.

Those who have learned about BOSAI
go on to invest time and money on disaster risk reduction,
exercise the wisdom for survival.

5What do we do to advance"Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction"?
Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction

Incorporating elements of disaster risk reduction into our daily lives in a natural manner.

Utilize events and festivals.
- Incorporate disaster drills into events.
- Hold a disaster drill to coincide with afestival or another opportunity where many
people gather.
- Run a DRR booth at a festival venue.
- Distribute hazard maps at festival venues.

Prepare signs and goods.
- Prepare signs that indicate ﬂooding areas.

Provide opportunities
for information exchange
and study.
- SBL *1 must get to know more residents.
- Provide opportunities for informationexchange and study among citizens.
- Exchange information with otherneighborhood associations.
- Cooperate with local governments.

- Indicate dangerous areas, including
underpasses, in an easy-to-understandmanner.
- Prepare and distribute goods used fordisaster in your community, including ﬂags
to indicate that each household is safe.

*1 SBLSBL stands for“Sendai City Regional Bosai (disaster risk reduction)
Leader.” Members shoulder the responsibility for regional
disaster risk reduction fostered under Sendai City'soriginal curriculum. As of the end of February 2019, 680
SBLs are carrying out activities.

Obtain cooperationfrom schools.
- Incorporate DRR classes into the schoolcurriculum.
- Hold DRR lectures at schools.
- Provide lectures that hand down disaster
experience as school classes.
- Display maps that were made through DRR
games in schools.
- Teach why evacuation drills and disaster
drills are necessary to students.
- Prepare survival meals at school.

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Check whether
everything is ready.
- Check supplies.
- Check DRR measures in each family.
- Have meetings to review DRR goods.
- Check for dangerous areas on routes to andfrom school.

Daily efforts- Use the emergency communication tree ofthe neighborhood association also for daily
communication.

Incorporate a disaster risk
reduction point of view
into plans.
- Include costs for disaster risk reductionin the budget for the neighborhood
association.
- Be sure to establish a town-building schemewith priority given to disaster risk reduction.
- Plan DRR-related events as annual events,
such as a festival.

- When using an evacuation center for a local
community event, let others know that theplace is an evacuation center and what to
do in the event of a disaster.

Remember and do not forget.

- Form a habit of "rolling stock" for foodsupplies.

- Media must produce and broadcast
disaster-related programs.

- Consider daily activities of the neighborhood
association to be important.
To this end, live a daily life with a smileand be healthy.

- Consider the monthly return of the dateof the Great East Japan Earthquake andTsunami (on the 11th of every month) to beimportant.
- Determine the family DRR day.

Reasonable disasterrisk reduction- Be aware that disaster must occur.
(There is no region where disaster neveroccurs.)- Think about DRR efforts that you can easily
make.
- Provide means to donate easily todisaster-stricken areas, such as SNS andapps.

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What can we do to further strengthen
cooperation among stakeholders?
Stakeholders

Any individual and organization regardless of age, sex or nationality.
It is desirable that various stakeholders are involved in DRR activities andcooperate with each other.

Citizen centers *2- Use citizen centers on a daily basis as venues where people gather.
- Propose the establishment of locations for disaster risk reduction (display).
- Co-organize DRR lectures with neighborhood associations.
- Learn a way to use a citizen center as a supplementary evacuation center.

Foreigners- Obtain information as to which countries residents come from in communities.
- Elaborate signs in the region.
Provide translations, e.g., in English, on signs.
In consideration of cultural differences, use illustrations that can be understood bypeople of any nationality.
- Tell foreigners about action in the event of a disaster.

MK:GLE:MBHG

CZiZg^l^- Keep up communication on a daily basis in communities.
- Use a translation app.
- Organize a disaster drill together.

_hk^b`geZg`nZ`^- Learn about cases of advanced areas in the city.
- Obtain help from foreign student s who understand Japanese.
- Consult the Sendai Tourism, Convention and International Association. *3

Hospitals- Share evacuation center operation manuals in preparation for disaster.
- Call for participation in the evacuation center operation committee.
- Organize a disaster drill together.

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Disabled and aged people- Think about a structure for evacuation andsupport in advance.
Deepen understanding of dementia anddisability as information for making
a decision.

To consider support for aged people
in the event of a disaster, obtaininformation from the Community
Comprehensive Care Center. *4
Make a system for allocating disabled andaged people to evacuation centers at
a short-term refuge area according
to their nursing care and disability levels.

- Watch for disabled and aged people on adaily basis.

Private sectors, stores, etc.
- Discuss whether private sectors, stores,etc. can be used as evacuation centers.
- Cooperate with economic groups.
- Strengthen the relationships withprivate sectors by, for example, asking
them to propose what they can do ascommunity members.

- Conclude a DRR agreement.
- Organize a disaster drill together.

- Visit facilities to build relationships.
- Make the locations and roles of the facilities
known to residents of the region.
- Hold a disaster drill together with thefacilities.

Families with babies/infants- Incorporate women's points of view into
DRR plans.
- Share and understand what is needed forbabies and infants and their families
in the region.

*2 Citizen centers

Facilities where citizens enjoy lifelong learning, voluntary
activities and social interaction in their local
communities. 60 centers are located in the city.

*3 Sendai Tourism, Convention andInternational Association

An organization that is responsible for inviting domestic
and international tourists, providing opportunities forinternational exchange, and making efforts to promote
multiculturalism. It also operates many projects for
multicultural disaster risk reduction, which involve s
foreign residents.

*4 Community Comprehensive Care Center

A facility to which aged people and their family members
can ask for consultation about nursing care, welfare,
health, medical care, etc. free of charge. Sendai City
commissions organizations with the operation andmanagement of each center and there are 52 centers inthe city.

*5 PTA

PTA stands for“Parent-Teacher Association.” It is a group involved insocial education that is organized school by school.
Families and schools conduct various activities together
in order to improve educational effectiveness.

9Our BOSAI, Wishing to Communicate to
the Rest of Japan and the World
By communicating lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, which we experienced,
people in various regions can prepare for disaster that will possibly occur, minimize damage, and use
them for recovery from disaster.

●Nothing is more important than life. Protect yourself by evacuating as appropriate!
●Disasters can occur at any time. Always be prepared!
●Even in an evacuation center, facilities and supplies are not necessarily in ample supply.
Learn that public help is not always perfect, and work on self-help efforts and mutual help!
●Provide opportunities for all citizens to obtain knowledge of disaster risk reductionby, for example, planning to organize a DRR lecture!
●Listen directly to people who have experienced disaster by, for example, visiting disasterremains or memorial facilities!
●Consider disaster risk reduction rather than disaster prevention!
●Since we have fellow members who carry out activities together, we can work hard for daily
DRR activities and even in the event of a disaster.
Consider daily relationships with the community and schools,
including PTA *5 activities and tea parties, to be important!
Exchange information not only with people in your community
but also with people in other communities!
Build relationships among women!

Eight years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquakeand Tsunami. We have many things that we have become able
to do by learning lessons from the earthquake.
We will show consideration to others and hand down lessons
from the earthquake together with our fellow members
who work on DRR activities.
Our BOSAI 2019 for the Future

Case Studies of Sendai Citizensʼ Learnings from the Sendai Framework

Published on

September 30, 2019

Prepared byMembers who attended "Series of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction Seminars for citizens in Sendai City"
from FY2016 to FY 2018
Tetsuya Abe, Hiroki Aruga, Yukiko Ouchi, Sumie Kanno,Masatoshi Kikuchi, Takako Kusa, Shoichi Sekiuchi and Aya Wako

Published by International Research Institute of Disaster Scienceof Tohoku University and Sendai City
Contact information about this booklet
Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City Promotion Ofﬁce,
City Planning Policy Bureau, City of Sendai
TEL: +81-(0)22-214-8098 / E-mail: mac001605@city.sendai.jp
A b o u t t h e S e n d a i Fr a m e w o r k f o r D i s a s t e r R i s k R e d u c t i o nD i s a s t e r- R e s i l i e n t a n d E n v i r o n m e n t a l l y - Fr i e n d l y C i t y S e n d a i w e b s i t eh t t p s ://s e n d a i - r e s i l i e n c e .j p/e n/s f d r r/