Nagasaki City, which is surrounded by steep slopes and densely populated residential areas on the slopes, is vulnerable to flood damage. In this study, we aimed to grasp, analyze and discuss the situation of residents’ preparedness for disasters and checking and understanding of hazard maps. The residents’ associations were classified into four types according to the existence of the inundation area of the Nagasaki great flood disaster in 1982 and the existence of sediment disaster warning zone. We selected one or two associations from each category to conduct a self-administered questionnaire survey, and 236 valid answers were collected. Of all respondents, 54.7% answered that they had prepared for disasters, and the percentage of those who had prepared tended to be lower in areas that included sediment disaster warning zones, although the difference was not statistically significant. Also, 34.8% of the respondents checked hazard maps on a regular basis, and 58.1% understood how to read them. The percentage of those who understood the hazard map in the district including the sediment disaster warning zone was significantly lower, and the percentage of those who understood how to read the hazard map among those aged ≧ 70 years was significantly lower than that of those aged < 70 years. Therefore, it would be effective to carry out campaigns and activities for awareness and understanding focusing on areas with a higher risk of sediment disasters and those aged ≧ 70 years.
