When torrential rains pounded western Japan five years ago, more than 50 people died in the village of Mabi in Kurashiki City alone.
Most were elderly people who hadn’t been able to evacuate.
[Relative of a victim/fifth anniversary memorial service on April 6: “When I think about whether my mother died in terror, I have nothing but regret now.”]
The elderly care facility where the victim came from.
Elderly people sitting around, listening to a radio broadcast.
It is an emergency announcement radio that announces evacuation in case of an emergency.
[Yukiko Tsuda/Elderly Care Facility Staff: “We (use the radio) because as long as we are in the building, we can definitely hear the disaster broadcast and know exactly what is urgent.”]
The factory is busy assembling radios to be sent across the country.
After sending a signal, dozens of radios turn on and broadcast in unison.
[“This is an announcement broadcasting system, and this is a test broadcast.”]
Due to the nature of the radios, it is not possible to test them on a regular basis to see how well they can broadcast disasters.
However, on the first day of every month at 12:55pm, local radio stations start a test broadcast.
Even if the radio is turned off, when the disaster broadcast begins, the power and lights are turned on and information is transmitted.
Kurashiki City covers 80% of the cost of the radios for residents.
They don’t want a repeat of the disaster five years ago, when the town’s evacuation announcement was inaudible and cell phones were dead.
[Omoto, Crisis Management Officer, Kurashiki City: “We decided to support the purchase of radios because we want to make sure that information reaches people, 먹튀검증토토사이트 and we want to make sure that more people can evacuate safely.”]
More than 80 municipalities in Japan with a high risk of disaster have adopted disaster broadcasting using radios, and the use of disaster radios is expected to increase as the population ages.