Japanese Student Gamifies Tsunami Evacuation Drill with Nighttime Quake Scenario

By Juri Okamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

18:29 JST, December 29, 2025

Disasters strike without warning. Kindai University senior Tsuyoshi Kitahara, 21, has come up with a gamified evacuation drill using the scenario of an earthquake that occurs at night.

The first trial drill was held in the Shimizu district of Kainan, Wakayama Prefecture, where a Nankai Trough earthquake could trigger a tsunami reaching up to 8 meters. It is forecast that a 1-meter-high tsunami would hit the district in 48 minutes.

“You might feel 48 minutes is long enough to escape, but is that really the case?” Kitahara asked the 25 people who had gathered at a community center to participate in the drill. “I hope this game makes you always aware of evacuation.”

The participants included residents, high school students and prefectural staff.

This was the first trial run of Kitahara’s “cooperative night escape game.” Participants work in groups to see who can reach the evacuation site on higher ground first and who can find the most hazardous spots. It simulates escaping from a tsunami with a physically disabled individual, which means one member of each five-person group wore sunglasses and earplugs.

Participants removed obstacles simulating fallen roof tiles and trees that were placed along the course beforehand as they headed for higher ground.

They climbed steep slopes without streetlights. They shone flashlights on the ground, calling out, “Watch your step, there’s a gap here,” or “This path isn’t any good for evacuation.”

After reaching the goal, they shared feedback such as, “We want to interact more on a routine basis to be ready to give each other help in emergencies” and “We should install more streetlights.”

“I didn’t have gloves and had trouble removing obstacles,” said a 17-year-old Kainan Senior High School student who participated in the drill. “It was good to learn what’s necessary during an evacuation.”

Hailing from Higashinada Ward, Kobe, Kitahara grew up learning about disaster management in the city, which uses lessons from the Great Hanshin Earthquake in January 1995 for its disaster prevention education. The quake claimed 6,434 lives, including disaster-related deaths.

Kitahara studied architecture and urban development. In June, he began a live-in survey in Shimizu, which has many vacant houses, as part of his studies. He came up with the gamified drill at the request of a resident who wished to do an evacuation drill at night.

“I was impressed with the residents in Shimizu who interacted with each other, helping each other to do the drill,” Kitahara said. “I want to use the insights gained to revise the practical disaster mitigation manual.”