CONTENTS
What is a hazard map?
A hazard map is a map that estimates damage caused by natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, and floods, and establishes anticipated damage areas for each ward, city, town, and village.
It is important to obtain and confirm hazard maps for your home, school, place of work, and other living areas, as they contain various information such as the impact on the neighborhood in the event of a river flood, characteristics of the ground, and places to evacuate.
Since the expected damage varies depending on floods, landslides, earthquakes, etc., carefully check the hazard map for each type of disaster.
Where can I get one?
All hazard maps are available free of charge.
The “Hazard Map Portal Site” operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism provides access to hazard maps prepared by each ward, city, town and village, as well as a service that overlays various risks such as flood, landslide, storm surge and tsunami on a map.
You can also obtain hazard maps from your ward, city, town or village office or from their websites. Many municipalities also publish useful disaster prevention information on their websites, so please check the page of your ward, city, town or village.
Things to consider when looking at hazard maps
Once you have obtained a hazard map, you should know what hazards are present in the areas where you live and work. The routes and conditions that are hazardous will vary depending on the type of disaster, such as river flooding, landslides, and earthquakes.
We recommend that you confirm for each disaster which road you will take to evacuate, which evacuation center you will go to, etc., assuming that a disaster actually occurs.
Hazard maps are also useful when you are on a business trip or traveling. It is scary to be caught in a disaster when you are in an unfamiliar place. You can also use it as one of the criteria when considering where to move.
Disaster Prevention Information links for 47 Prefectures
This website contains information on each of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Please refer to the links and information on disaster prevention for each prefecture.
writer：Matsuoka
