2.4.3 Disaster education and awareness

The purpose of disaster prevention education is to learn how to protect lives in the event of a disaster. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to know the mechanism of disaster occurrence, to know the actual disaster prevention capacity of the society and the community, to learn how to prepare for disasters, to learn how to cope with disasters, and to put what they have learned into practice 1. At the same time, it is also important for disaster prevention education to accurately pass on the severity of the disaster, its impact on society, the experience of the disaster, and the wisdom of the people so that the same experience will never be repeated 2. Organizations related to highways often engage in disaster prevention education mainly for the latter purpose.

The following are some of the ways in which road-related organizations provide disaster prevention education

(1) Cooperating with general education programs at elementary schools and specialized education programs at universities as a proactive approach.

(2) Exhibiting educational materials such as damaged structures and posting video materials on the web.

Figure 2.4.3 shows the monumental stone of the tsunami that shows the lessons from the disaster. 3

Footnotes

• 1.http://www.bousai.go.jp/kohou/kouhoubousai/h21/01/special_01.html (In japanese)
• 2.http://www.bousai.go.jp/kyoiku/kyokun/kyoukunnokeishou/ (In Japanese)
• 3.https://www.city.miyako.iwate.jp/kikaku/teiju/miyakotte.html (In Japanese)