Local Governments’ Disaster Emergency Communication and Information Collection for Nutrition Assistance

We examined local governments’ disaster emergency communication and information collection and distribution systems. Postal surveys were conducted for all prefectures, cities with public health centers, and specified districts in Tokyo Metropolis in 2005 and 2013. Municipalities were included in the 2013 survey only. The response rate for the 2013 survey was 71.2% (n = 1272). Thirty-six prefectures, 41 cities with health centers, and 16 specified districts in Tokyo Metropolis answered both surveys. A majority of respondents (88.8% in 2005 and 92.1% in 2013) of respondents reported that disaster management radio broadcasting was written into their local disaster management plans, guidelines, or manuals as the main communication tool. The proportion of respondents using computer networks (41.6–60.7%) and cell phones (email) (40.4–62.9%) had significantly increased between the surveys. It was also found that municipalities that had been previously affected by disasters (39.6%) were more likely to have systems to collect information from shelters and affected communities than those without any experience (24.3%), and prefectures that had been previously affected by disasters were more likely to have food supply damage reporting systems (36.4%) than those without such experience (3.3%).