Review of Relief Operation Base Deployment and Geography: Case of Hidaka County, Wakayama Prefecture

Abstract

Relief operations and shelter accommodations in areas impacted by massive disasters should be improved. This study focuses on the efficient deployment of operational bases for disaster relief, which dispatch relief workers, provide shelters, and distributes relief supplies to those affected. First, the time-based stages of disaster studies and geographic studies, especially the relationships between disaster-hit areas and disaster relief operation bases, were clarified. Next, Hidaka county in Wakayama prefecture was selected as the sample for this study. Hidaka county, which is a depopulated, aging area, would be severely affected if a Nankai Trough earthquake occurred in the vicinity. To illustrate, the potential disaster-hit areas and disaster relief operation bases were overlaid on the map of the current disaster relief system. Finally, to resolve the issues identified, a review was conducted of old town offices, schools and temples as possible locations for disaster relief bases to determine how best to utilize them in the event of a disaster. The study also indicated that conventional geographic studies can be useful for designing relief systems in the event of massive disasters.