To Protect Your Valuable Pets from the Nankai Trough Earthquake Experts explain the difference between “evacuation with pets” and “evacuation with pets

On New Year’s Day last year, Japan was hit by a major natural disaster, the Noto Peninsula earthquake. And it is still taking a long time to recover from the disaster.

Whenever large-scale disasters have occurred, there has been a lot of talk about the problems of evacuation involving pets and pets wandering away from their owners.

In particular, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused a nuclear disaster, and there were many wandering pets left behind in the evacuation zone. In response, the Ministry of the Environment has created guidelines, and in recent years, “evacuation with pets” has come to be recommended.

How do you protect your beloved pets?

In the “Disaster Preparedness for People and Pets” guidelines prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, the terms “evacuation with pets” and “evacuation with pets” are repeatedly used.

What is the difference?

Mr. Kiyotaka Suzuki, a pet disaster risk management supervisor at the All Japan Animal Specialist Education Association, explained, “‘Evacuation with pets’ means evacuating with pets.

The term “evacuation with pets” refers to the act of going to an evacuation shelter with a pet, while “evacuation with pets” refers to the act of keeping pets in an evacuation shelter with the disaster victim. Evacuation with pets” refers to the act of going to an evacuation shelter with a pet. However, it is said that too few pet owners understand the difference between the two, and less than 20% of pet owners do.

He continues.

What you should not make the mistake of misunderstanding is that ‘evacuation with pets’ does not mean that owners can keep their pets indoors in the same room.

Although pets can be kept in evacuation shelters that have “evacuated with their owners,” more than 90% of evacuation shelters in Japan require pets to be kept in gauges outdoors and people indoors, such as in gymnasiums, and pets and people must spend time in separate rooms.

Taking the Noto Peninsula earthquake as an example, there were 839 evacuation centers where people could evacuate with their pets, but only 25 of them allowed pets to be kept indoors. This figure was as low as 3%.

In Hokuriku in January, when the weather remained bitterly cold, pet owners found it extremely difficult to keep their pets outdoors.

In 2011, Kurume City in Fukuoka Prefecture established a “special evacuation shelter” where people could evacuate with their pets in the same room, but there are so few examples of such shelters in Japan that this became news. Since pets are a personal choice, it takes a great deal of understanding to create a system using public funds. And there are a certain number of people who don’t like or have a hard time with pets. It is also true that these people do not like the fact that only pet owners are given preferential treatment.

What can pet owners do?

If you still think, “I want to evacuate with my pet, a member of the family,” what should you do?

I would recommend evacuating at home then. Living in an evacuation center can be stressful for both people and pets, so choosing to evacuate at home and continue with your daily routine is the least stressful way to live an evacuation life.

However, if your home is lost in a fire or destroyed by an earthquake, and you are unable to secure your safety, please do not hesitate to go to a designated evacuation center! “

Mr. Suzuki strongly emphasized the importance of “stockpiling” in the event of a home evacuation.

He said, “There are three things that you must have in stock: water, rice, and medicine. This is a must. The guidelines say to have a 5 to 7 day supply, but I try to have enough for about 2 weeks.

It is also important to know how much water and food your pet usually takes. It may be a good idea to keep a three-day supply in a sturdy, easily accessible location in your home that you can easily access ……, for example, in a crevice space in the entryway.”

New Approach to “Phase-Free Disaster Prevention

Another approach to disaster prevention that has been gaining attention in recent years is “phase-free disaster prevention. This concept does not distinguish between disasters and normal times, but rather incorporates disaster preparedness (food, water, and daily commodities) into daily life.

It is said that the average household stores two weeks’ worth of food on a daily basis, and the same amount should be stored for pet supplies. Along with stockpiling water and food, it is also important to have your pet microchipped as a measure against strays.

In the event of a disaster, many pets may escape due to some trigger, such as earthquake tremors or loud noises. Since individual information is registered on the microchip, there is a high possibility that the owner can be found if the pet is later protected. Even if the name is written on a collar or harness, it may come off during an escape, so a chip implanted in the body provides peace of mind.”

In the current situation in Japan, not only the Nankai Trough earthquake, but any major disaster could occur anywhere at any time.

In addition to preparing yourself for the possibility of becoming a victim of a disaster at any time, knowing the current situation of evacuation centers in Japan will give you the knowledge to make calm decisions.

I saw a video of a wildfire that occurred in Los Angeles (U.S.A.) in January of this year and an evacuation shelter. I saw a large dog on a leash walking alongside many evacuees with its owner. In the U.S., problems have surfaced many times in the past regarding how to evacuate with pets, and each time, legislation has been enacted and a system has been put in place. Thanks to such efforts, “evacuation with pets” is now accepted as a normal practice in the U.S. Unfortunately, Japan is now in a situation where pets are not always evacuated in the event of a disaster.

Unfortunately, Japan’s response and attitude toward pets in the event of a disaster is not as good as in other countries. I hope that “evacuation with pets” will continue to be encouraged and that “evacuation with pets” will become more acceptable.

There is a limit to the efforts of pet owners alone to protect their beloved pets. We hope for further progress, including the understanding of those around us and the cooperation of the government.