Environmental Cognition and Tsunami Evacuation Planning(<Special Issue>Safe and Resilient Society against Natural Disaster)

Abstract

This article focuses on the effects of residents' cognition of their local environment on evacuation behavior in the event of tsunami. We conducted questionnaire surveys and a sketch map survey in the coastal area of Onjuku town, Chiba prefecture. The results revealed that actual behavior was not consistent with the result of a similar survey conducted before the earthquake, decision-making was based on cognition of terrain, although it was not always correct, and some improper evacuation behavior were related to "distorted" cognitive map. These results suggest that understanding residents' cognitive environment is important to develop effective tsunami evacuation planning.