Preparedness for a Severe Rainfall: The Importance of a Timeline

Introduction:For recent years, we often hear the words, “never experienced before” on a weather forecast in Japan.Aim:To evaluate our response to “Heisei 30-year July heavy rain” in the Hyogo Emergency Medical Operations Center.Methods:Review our actions taken and exchanges of views with local government representatives in a time-related manner compared with public announcements of evacuation/sheltering warning.Results:A specialized warning of heavy rain was announced at 10:50 PM on Friday by the local meteorological observatory. At 11:50 PM, the emergency management headquarters of prefectural medical response was established in the hospital, but a connection could not be established to 10 regional health centers for the weekend. Water levels of some rivers were increasing nearly to flood levels, and an evacuation order was announced to hundreds of thousands of people. This situation continued for a few days throughout many regions. The information of flood or landslide probability was continuously monitored, but an attempt was made to decide the timing of cancellations of standby.Discussion:An ordinary response to disaster depends on a clear turning point, such as the occurrence time. In heavy rainfall, there are two issues. One is about actions to prevent disaster and another is a recognition of geographic points or surface. Many critiques to the response focus on the judgments and actions for prevention before a critical event. Lessons learned included the importance of preventive actions along with a timeline and the judgment of restoration.