

Column 06. Striving to Build an Advanced Disaster-Proof City
Fukuoka City was known as an earthquake-free region since ancient times. There are old records of earthquakes including the Tsukushi earthquake of A.D. 645 and the Itoshima earthquake of 1898. However, their epicentres were in the Chikugo region and the Itoshima Peninsula, respectively, and there was no direct damage to Fukuoka City.
Despite this history, Fukuoka City experienced an earthquake firsthand for the first time on March 20, 2005 when the Fukuoka Prefecture Western Offshore Earthquake struck the city. The quake occurred along the north-western part of the Kego fault which runs north-south in Hakata Bay, shattering the myth of the safety of Fukuoka City. The most hazardous is, though, the south-eastern part of the Kego fault which runs directly under the center of Fukuoka City. Due to the impact of this fault, the probability of an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 occurring is estimated at up to 6% in the next 30 years and 20% in the next 100 years. These figures are about the tenth highest among over 2,000 faults that are said to exist in Japan. Given that the probability of an earthquake occurring in 30 years from the fault that caused the Great Hanshin Earthquake was 8%, we can see that the figures for the south-eastern part of the Kego fault are quite high.
As for wind and flood damage, Fukuoka City has often suffered from flood damage. There was the Nishinippon flood disaster in 1953, which was followed by major floods in 1963 and 1973. The city has thus experienced a major flood once every ten years or so. In recent years, major floods in the Hakata Station district in 1999 and 2003 are still fresh in our minds. (One person was killed in the underground shopping arcade of Hakata Station in the 1999 flood.)
In the last few years, landslide damage and the flooding of rivers and inland waters have frequently occurred throughout Japan due to unexpected rainfalls such as torrential rain. One example was the landslide in Hiroshima City last year. Fukuoka City is no stranger to disasters caused by rainfall.
Crisis management and disaster prevention for cities have been discussed globally in recent years with cities’ “resilience” to natural disasters as the keyword.
Fukuoka City takes crisis management and disaster response actions at an earlier stage than other major cities. For instance, in view of the importance of initial responses, the Disaster Prevention Bureau starts collecting information when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 or above on the Japanese scale occurs or when the Fukuoka District Meteorological Observatory issues a caution regarding heavy rains and local flooding. The Bureau also liaises with the relevant parties (e.g. meteorological observatories, prefectural government, prefectural police, the Self-Defence Forces) and collects information on damage. (Most local governments start disaster response actions when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 5 or above on the Japanese scale occurs or a warning of heavy rains and floods is issued.)
Fukuoka City also strives to provide its residents with information so that they can monitor the status of disasters at all times. For instance, the city has introduced to the crisis management information page of its website a system that allows users to check information on the water level of rivers in real time.
Furthermore, the city has concluded agreements with major convenience stores and supermarkets to build a system whereby food, drinking water, and other necessities are delivered to shelters upon request from the city to secure food at the time of emergencies. This arrangement has freed the local council from the responsibility of storing extra inventories and worrying about their use-by dates. (This is called “running stocks.”)
Meanwhile, private businesses such as facilities which attract customers have voluntarily stockpiled foods and other items and have proactively installed water barriers to stop rainwater from flowing into their facilities. These demonstrate a strong disaster prevention awareness on the part of private businesses.
Fukuoka City’s fire department is famous all over Japan for its speedy initial response. Ambulances on average take 6 minutes and 35 seconds to arrive after a call is made. This is significantly faster than the national average.
06. 防災先進都市を目指して
✔早い段階の地震・降雨時から情報収集態勢をとる福岡市防災部局
✔福岡市消防局は初動対応の速さで有名
福岡市は古来から地震が無い地域と言われてきました。645年の筑紫大地震や1898年の糸島地震などの古い記録が残っていますが、これらの震源は筑後地方及び糸島半島であり、福岡市は直接的な被害を受けていません。
一方、風水害をみてみると、福岡市は度々水害に見舞われています。1953年に発生した西日本大水害をはじめ、1963年、1973年と、10年に1回程度、大きな水害が発生しています。近年では、1999年と2003年に博多駅地区で発生した大水害は、記憶に新しいところではないでしょうか。(1999年の水害では、博多駅地下街で犠牲者1名が出てしまいました)
ここ数年、いわゆるゲリラ豪雨など想定外の降雨により、昨年起きた広島市での事例のように、土砂災害や河川の氾濫・内水氾濫が全国的に頻発しています。福岡市においても、降雨による災害は他人ごとではありません。
都市の危機管理や防災について、近年、都市の自然災害等に対するレジリエンス(耐久力・回復力)という言葉がキーワードとなり、世界的に議論されています。
福岡市における危機管理・災害対応の取組をみると、防災部局が、初動対応の重要性に鑑み、地震の場合は震度4以上発生時から、降雨の場合は福岡管区気象台から発表される大雨・洪水注意報発表時から情報収集態勢をとり、関係部局(気象台・県・県警・自衛隊など)との連絡調整や被害情報の収集を行うなど、他の政令市と比較しても早い段階からの対応を取っています。(ほとんどの自治体は、地震は震度5弱以上、降雨では大雨・洪水警報発令時以降に態勢開始)
また、市ホームページの危機管理情報サイトに河川水位情報をリアルタイムで確認できるシステムを設けるなど、市民がいつでも災害状況を把握できるよう、情報発信にも努めています。
さらに、緊急時の食糧については、大手コンビニやスーパーなどと協定を結び、市からの要請により必要な食糧・飲料水・生活必需品などが避難所まで配送されるシステムを構築しています。これにより自治体は、余計な在庫を抱え込むことなく、消費期限を気にすることもありません。(流通備蓄と呼びます)
一方、集客施設など民間の施設においても、食糧等の備蓄を自発的に実施したり、施設内への雨水の流入を食い止めるため、止水板の設置にも積極的に取り組まれており、事業者の防災意識の高さを窺い知ることができます。
また、福岡市の消防局は、全国的にも福岡市の初動対応の速さが有名で、救急車は通報から平均6分35秒で現場に到着し、全国平均を大きく上回っています(リンク先PDF・P100 )。(全国平均は8分30秒:平成26年度「消防白書」(リンク先PDF・P172 )より)