Temporary Housing Sites for Disaster Survivors at Risk; Survey Finds About 30 Percent Located in Flood-Prone Areas

The Yomiuri Shimbun

2:00 JST, November 26, 2024

About 4,000 potential sites for temporary housing for disaster survivors are located in flood-prone areas, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.

In the quake-devastated Okunoto region of Ishikawa Prefecture, temporary housing was flooded above the floor when record rainfall hit the region in September, highlighting how flood-prone zones around the nation are candidates for temporary housing.

Prefectures and municipalities cooperate on the construction of temporary housing, based on the Disaster Relief Law. Municipalities mainly choose locations, and prefectures build the housing. The Cabinet Office’s guidelines state that risks of flooding and sediment disasters should be taken into account when selecting construction sites.

The Yomiuri Shimbun sent questionnaires in late October to 47 prefectures, of which 31 said they were aware whether the areas they chose were in zones designated as flood-prone by the national or prefectural government. A total of 3,958 of the 14,051 candidate sites, or 28%, were in such areas.

Fukui Prefecture had the highest proportion of sites in flood zones at 66%, or 192 out of 289 sites. This was followed by Gifu Prefecture at 52%, Toyama Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture both at 51% and Saga Prefecture at 48%. Fukui Prefecture said its mountainous geography with many rivers makes it difficult to secure suitable sites.

Saga Prefecture, among others, said it considers disaster risks before selecting and using sites.

Learning from the inundation of 222 housing units in Okunoto in September, prefectures including Ibaraki and Okayama said they would reexamine the risks and the sites they have chosen.

“Like Okunoto, some municipalities have no choice but to build in locations with disaster risks,” a senior Cabinet Office official said. “In such cases, they need to thoroughly inform residents of the risks.”

Danger of landslides

In the survey, 35 prefectures said their candidate construction sites were in areas at risk from landslides. A total of 1,390 out of 16,548 sites, or 8%, were in such areas.

In Mie Prefecture, 50 of the 600 candidate sites are in so-called red zones, where especially serious damage is expected.

“We will examine the disaster risk of the candidate sites and work with municipalities to come up with measures regarding the selection method and the use of sites,” a Mie prefectural official said.