Preliminary considerations of local knowledge forming in community and evacuation from tsunami

: a case of Coastal Region in Fukushima pref.

Abstract

This paper aims to clear the relation between local knowledge which inhabitants had created and transmitted in the community and evacuation from tsunami. In this study, we investigate residents who lived (/ live) in Usuiso and Toyoma area in Iwaki city, Naraha Town and Tomioka Town in Futaba district, and their activities which include disaster prevention practices in the community where they lived. We obtained two findings. First, they sheared little understanding of tsunami hazard with neighbourhood (association) because of not having suffered from disaster or little relationship between them. Second, human relations forming closely in unit ‘tonarigumi’ enabled them to seek refuge from tsunami quickly.