Since Japan lies in the path of typhoons, wide areas of the nation suffer from floods and landslides every year. Cloudbursts also wreak havoc in limited areas. Accurate information is crucial in preventing injuries, deaths and property damage when disasters strike. In a welcome move, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is making efforts to improve disaster-prevention communication between administrative organizations and local residents. The efforts include making disaster-prevention jargon easier to understand and improving the accuracy of information.
Poor communication was responsible for some of the damage sustained in 2004 when 230 people died or went missing due to typhoons and heavy rains. When Niigata Prefecture was hit by a cloudburst, official advice to evacuate came too late. Even after the advice was issued some residents did not evacuate. In one case, only 12 minutes following the issuance of this advice, an embankment burst, wreaking death and destruction upon one community. Information concerning rising river levels apparently failed to be adequately conveyed to local governments and residents. The situation was compounded by the use of official jargon that was difficult for ordinary citizens to comprehend.
At present, there are two categories of flood-related jargon. One is intended to help flood brigades decide what course of action to take; the other concerns the degree of flood danger. Because ordinary citizens have trouble understanding such jargon, many cannot determine the seriousness of the situation.