The New Trend of Disaster Mitigation Education in Japan

To have the students realize that it is most important to protect their own lives by themselves. The students will know that it is necessary to build the earthquake-proof house and to fix the furniture to the wall.

First the students learn that more than 90% of the victims of Kobe Earthquake were pressed dead under the collapsed houses 15-30minutes just after the earthquake took place. Then they draw the sketch of their house and diagnose their house. After this work they draw the blueprint of the earthquake-proof house by modifying their own house.

The students learn that the construction of the earthquake-proof houses and the fixing of the furniture to the wall is the first step to protect them from the earthquake. The familiar topic of their own house makes disaster management easy to access for the family members.