Community-Building and Disaster Mitigation in Japan

In the wake of Japan’s major flood disasters in recent years–from heavy rains in Hiroshima in 2018 to mudslides in Saga in August 2021–Peace Winds has been working on community-building and disaster preparedness activities in the affected areas. Since November 2021, local residents have had the opportunity to attend various social events and workshops where they can get to know their neighbors and learn about best practices in the event of another natural disaster.

One disaster prevention lecture in May 2021 began with a presentation from the sixth graders at Koyaura Elementary School. They spoke about their experience living in the town of Koyaura, Hiroshima in the wake of the floods in 2018 as well as the community’s efforts for reconstruction. A Peace Winds staff member who attended the event has said how brave the children were to speak about the painful experience. They also created a disaster prevention map simulating the event, and our staff members noted that this could be used as a reference for learning about disaster mitigation in other areas.

After the children’s presentation, Professor Murosaki of Kobe University and other professionals held lectures about disaster prevention and mitigation, giving recommendations about what to do in the event of future natural disasters.

At a separate event on May 29, Peace Winds held a “Peace Concert” and a disaster prevention workshop, attended by more than 100 families. The workshop event included booths where attendees could make emergency contact cards and learn how to make ramen noodles with cold water in the event of an emergency–knowledge that is crucial when citizens lose access to hot water or electricity.

Although COVID-19 restrictions in western Japan have been less stringent in recent months, cases are on the rise again, and Peace Winds has had to cancel upcoming events in the town of Saka, Hiroshima prefecture. Originally, Peace Winds had planned to conclude this program on May 31, 2022; however, due to the setbacks caused by increasing COVID cases, the project will continue until July 31 of this year. We look forward to hosting and bringing updates from even more community-focused events in western Japan!