Activity Report: PED2023 International Conference (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands)

I participated in PED2023, held at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. PED (Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics) is an extremely beneficial international conference that provides insights into future pedestrian flow and evacuation safety from buildings to urban levels. The themes presented covered a wide range, including pedestrian and evacuation dynamics, modeling, basic physics, and crowd management.

This year, there were 55 oral presentations and 66 poster sessions, making a total of 121 presentations, with about 150 engineers participating. Particularly notable were studies using artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the progress in evacuation simulations considering the impact of COVID-19.

At this conference, I summarized my research on tsunami evacuation safety at childcare facilities. The study focused on a scenario where large strollers carrying nursery children were transported up steep slopes to higher ground, proposing the need to develop an evacuation safety verification model that considers the response capabilities and physical burden on childcare staff.

During the presentations, researchers from Europe, Asia, and other regions posed questions about the damage associated with the Nankai Trough earthquake, and there was an exchange of opinions about each other's research. The second day of the conference featured a city tour and a social dinner in 's-Hertogenbosch, providing a wonderful opportunity for networking and fostering exchanges among researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, the USA, and various Asian countries.

Photo of participants (twitter.com/@ped2023)

Activity Report: Presentation at the Disaster Prevention Learning Event "The experience of Evacuation Centers for Foreign Residents"

In December, I participated as a speaker at the disaster prevention learning event "The experience of Evacuation Centers for Foreign Residents" (hosted by Kobe International Community Center, Kobe University Global Education Center, and Consortium Universities in Hyogo). The first part of the event, "Let's Think and Think Together! Disaster Preparedness and Evacuation Hiyan", I explained about information and evacuation measures necessary in times of disaster using "easy Japanese" (yasashii nihongo). The second part was a hands-on experience using a disaster prevention map application from the Kobe City Emergency Management Office, and the third part was a role-playing evacuation shelter experience.

Activity Report: Presentation of Research Results at the Japanese Society for Disasrter Education

In June, I presented the research results of "Specific Research: Disaster Prevention at Special Needs Schools," a joint research project of the Research Department of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI), at the Japanese Society for Disasrter Education (Ref.1). We would like to thank all the researchers and research fellows who gave us advice on the presentation.

(Ref.1) A. T. K. Pinheiro, S. Masai, Y. Kawata, N. Kisaku: Study on the Actual Research on the Current Situation of Disaster Prevention in the Special Needs Schools (Part 4): Urban Evacuation Response, The 3rd Annual Conference of the Society for Disaster Prevention Education, 2022, 2022.6.

Activity Report: Presentation at the ISSS - Institute of Social Safety Science Symposium

In May, I presented the results of my individual research at the Research Department of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI) and collaborative research with Kobe University on evacuation response for facilities for people with special needs at the spring meeting of the Japan Society for Community Safety in May 2022 (Ref. 1). We would like to thank all the researchers and research fellows who gave us advice.

(Ref.1) Abel T. K. Pinheiro, Akihiko Hokugo: "Case study on the transporting speed of multi-passenger baby stroller on steep slope during tsunami evacuation drill", Institute of Social Safety Science Symposium 2022 Spring, No.50, pp.215-216, 2022.5.

Activity report: Kick off of Bousai Kokutai 2022 - National Conference on Promotion for Disaster Prevention

The Bosai Kokutai - National Conference on Promotion for Disaster Reduction*, one of the largest disaster reduction events in Japan organized by the Cabinet Office of Central Government, will be held on October 22-23 in the HAT Kobe area, centered on the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI). The first On-site Planning and Information Sharing Meeting was held online in April, and was attended by a wide range of disaster reduction-related organizations, especially those considering participation in the October conference. At the meeting, multiple information regarding each organization's efforts and plans for disaster reduction was exchanged, under the facilitation of Prof. Dr. Sakamoto (University of Hyogo), TEAM Bousai Japan and researchers of DRI. During the meeting, I worked on ICT management, including the recording of group works. We will continue to work toward making the conference a fruitful one. We are currently looking for exhibitors. Details: https://bosai-kokutai.net/ (in Japanese) *note: non-official translation

Activity report: Activities of the dispatch team in the area affected by the March 2022 earthquake off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture

(Kahsima ward, Minamisouma-shi, Fukushima Prefecture)

I would like to express our heartfelt sympathy to the people who have been impacted by the earthquake that struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture on March 16. The Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI) decided to dispatch the on-site disaster assistance team the day after the quake, and as the first dispatch team, I visited municipalities affected by the earthquake in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures together with Vice Director Goto and Chief Researcher Takahara.

The earthquake caused strong lateral shaking, and there were many cases of water outages, falling roof tiles, collapsed block walls, and broken windows. The report on the activities of the dispatch team is available on the website:
https://www.dri.ne.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/research_reports_051.pdf

Also, my colleague Chief Researcher Kisaku will be leaving DRI in April. We wish her success in her new research base, and that we can continue our collaborative work.

Activity report: End of fiscal year greetings

There are only a few days remain in the current fiscal year.

Following last year, most part of the disaster response training course for governement officials and have been conducted remotely over this year. Although face-to-face communication has been difficult, we will continue to provide opportunities for interaction using various online tools to contribute to making those programs more fruitful. And we hope to be able to hold face-to-face sessions as soon as possible.

We also look forward to the further activities of Chief Researcher Dr. Zi Yang, who will graduate from the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI) this spring. I look forward to continuing to work togheter in joint research projects.

Activity report: Participation as panelist at the "Conference on Disasters and People with Disabilities" hosted by Center for Persons with Disabilities in Hyogo Prefecture

17 January marked the 27th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The tragedy cannot be forgotten. I feel that it is becoming more and more important to make efforts to pass on the experiences and lessons learned from the disaster to the next generation. Also, on January 30, I had the opportunity to participate as a panelist in the "Conference on Disasters and People with Disabilities" YouTube live broadcast (hosted by the Center for Persons with Disabilities in Hyogo Prefecture). I raised awareness of the issues related to the evacuation response of facilities that take care of people with disabilities, especially those located in disaster risk areas, and the need to prioritize the construction of these facilites in safe locations where there is no need for evacuation. In fact, it is very difficult to relocate pre-existent facilities to safer areas. First of all, I think it is important for residents and local governments to recognize and share the notion of "added value" that improve the disaster preparedness of the entire community - for example, by designating the destination of relocation as new a welfare evacuation shelter, benefiting even more the safety of community against catastrophes.

Activity report: New Year's Greeting, research presentation, Issues observed from tsunami evacuation drills at childcare facilities

　

May the New Year bring you health, peace and blessings. Wishing you a joyous 2022. In December, I presented the results of my research to date at the DRI research meeting, titled "Issues observed from tsunami evacuation drills at childcare facilities". It is clear that childcare facilities face difficulties in evacuating, and the first priority should be to relocate them to higher ground that are safe from tsunami. I would like to thank all people involved in the childcare facilities who cooperated in the survey and to the senior researchers for their guidance.

Activity report: field visit on tsunami evacuation drill in childcare centers

In November, I had the opportunity to conduct field visit on tsunami evacuation drill in childcare centers. I hope to continue the development of community-based research on tsunami evacuation safety in childcare centers.

Activity report: Field trip in the reconstruction area around the JR Rokkomichi Station

In October, I was in charge of lecturing on "Disaster Response Exercises" at a specialized training course in disaster management for local government officials (held online). We also had the opportunity to film a video introducing the reconstruction of the area around JR Rokkomichi Station, together with research colleagues Dr. Torayashiki and Dr. Hayashida, to be used in the lecture by Prof. Ikuo Kobayashi about 1995 Kobe Earthquake 

Activity report: presentation at the Annual Conference of the Architectural Institute of Japan

In September, I presented the results of a joint research project of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI) Research Department, "Specific Research: Research on the Utilization of Paper Maps in Disaster Countermeasures Headquarters," at the annual conference of the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) (Ref. 1).

I also presented my research project, "Regional Collaboration Research on Urban Tsunami Evacuation Response Capability of Childcare Facilities," at the monthly research meeting of the DRI Research Department (Ref. 2).

I would like to express my gratitude to all the researchers and research fellows for their advice, and to all the senior researchers for their guidance. 

(Ref. 1) PINHEIRO Abel Táiti Konno, YANG Zi, SATO Fumiya, KAWATA Yasuhito, FUJIWARA Hiroyuki: Study on the Use of Maps in Disaster Response by Local Governments, Summaries of technical papers of annual meeting, Architectural Institute of Japan, pp.805-806, Sept 2021.

(Ref. 2) PINHEIRO Abel Táiti Konno, HOKUGO Akihiko: Community cooperative study on urban-scale tsunami evacuation of nursery schools and local residents, Research Report of Research Center for Urban Safety and Security, Kobe University, Vol.18, pp.81-88, https://doi.org/10.24546/81011446, March 2014.

Activity report: Summer Event "Let's Play and Learn! Disaster Prevention Programming with Rolling Ball Robot!"

In August, I was in charge to conduct one of event held by the Department of Research in this year's "Bousai Mirai Gakkou", a series of summer vacation events for children hosted by Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI).

This time, we held a workshop themed "Let's Play and Learn! Disaster Prevention Programming with Rolling Ball Robot!". With the participation of parent-child pairs (5th and 6th grade elementary school students and their parents), they could experience the problem-solving process through programming-thinking: when a disaster strikes, what actions should be taken, and in what order, for everyone to survive?

Specifically, a 2m x 2m playmat depicting urban environments, such as roads, buildings, coastal areas, and high ground, was used to set up a hypothetical tsunami evacuation field. Each parent-child pair was asked to programming and move the "Sphero BOLT" Rolling Ball Robot in this field.

The programming experience allowed participants to explore how to interact with the various physical pieces set up on the field to solve problems, e.g., avoid the piece representing "obstacle" on the route; join the piece representing "vulnerable person in need of assistance" to evacuate together, etc.

In recent years, programming education has become mandatory in elementary and junior high schools in Japan, and there is a lot of attention to acquiring programming thinking and developing a curriculum that spans multiple fields.

With this Summer School Project as a starting point, I would like to continue to develop workshops on the theme of "Gensai Programming" (Disaster Risk Reduction Programming), and contribute to the programming education / STEM education initiatives.

I want to express gratitude to researchers of the Research Department and colleagues of the Management Department at DRI for their cooperation in implementing this project and everyone who participated in the event.

Activity report: Top Forum in Mie Prefecture

We pray for the victims of the July 2021 Mt. Izu landslide disaster in Atami City, and extend our deepest sympathies to those who were affected by the disaster.

In July, I was in charge as vice-chair of the "Top Forum in Mie," a Specialized Disaster Countermeasures Training Program for heads of prefectural governments (I was in charge of organizing exercise materials and operating the virtual white board).

The purpose of the Top Forum is to enhance the disaster leadership required by top local government officials, and to further improve the disaster prevention and crisis management system, based on the latest research findings.

Following the postponement and rescheduling of last year's forum, it is now being held for the first time in an online session.

We also had the opportunity to meet with our seniors and research fellows who are active in the field of disaster prevention and mitigation in different regions of Japan.

Thank you very much for your cooperation in this training. It was a very valuable experience.

Activity Report: Disaster Response Specialized Training Course by Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution

In June, I was entrusted for the first time with the primary responsibility for the "Disaster Response Specialized Training Course - Basic", held by Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution, for municipal government officials who are in charge of disaster prevention and crisis management.

The course was designed to provide systematic learning through lectures and exercises on basic issues such as theories on the occurrence of disasters and how disaster countermeasures should be based on the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. 10 lecturers who are active in the field of disaster response participated in the course.

For the first time, the course was held entirely online, and we have made every effort to make it a fruitful training program for the participants by providing opportunities for networking, such as a virtual exchange room environment even remotely.

Activity Report: Presentation at the Anual Conference of Fire Science Society of Japan (JAFSE)

In May, I presented the findings of the survey on the scattering conditions of flying sparks caused by the large scale fire in Okura Market, Akashi City, which occurred on October 25, 2017 under strong winds, at the anual conference of the Fire Science Society of Japan (Joint Research with Kobe University Urban Safety Research Center and National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster). We would like to thank the Akashi City Fire Department for their cooperation in conducting this survey.

(translation pending) 活動報告：今年も保育施設の津波避難安全、被災地図を用いた地域再建について取り組みます

４⽉は今年度の研究計画について検討を進めてきました。課題１として「保育施設の市街地津波避難対応」、課題２として「被災状況地図情報を⽤いた地域再建⽀援」について研究を継続・発展したいと思っております。

課題１「保育施設の市街地津波避難対応」では、神⼾⼤学⼤学院⼯学研究科／都市安全研究センターと連携して、津波からの避難を⾏う際に地域連携が不可⽋である⽔準を明らかにするための避難実験を実施し、また、国内各地沿岸部に位置する保育施設と連携して、今後の津波対策について地域連携研究を⾏っていければと思います。

課題２「被災状況地図情報を⽤いた地域再建⽀援」では、多種多様な利害関係者が参画する地域再建ビジョンの検討の現場において、被災状況等を含む地図情報が活⽤されるプロセスに着⽬し、各利害関係者が期待する活⽤⽬的や利⽤法、重視する時空間要素、統計データ等⼆次データを把握の上、マルチステークホルダーに対応する地域再建の⽀援⼿法について研究を⾏っていければと思います。

引き続きご助⾔・ご協⼒いただけますと幸いです。

(translation pending) 活動報告：新年度はじめのご挨拶

人と防災未来センターに着任してから1年が経ちました。今年度より主任研究員となり、研究活動を精進してまいりますので、何卒よろしくお願いいたします。

(translation pending) 活動報告：夜間・コロナ禍での発災時の課題

2月13日に発生した福島県沖地震で、被害に遭われた方々に心よりお見舞い申し上げます。

地震発生時、私は国内各地の方々が参加するリアルタイム音声型SNSのトークルームに接続していました。従来の文字ベースでのSNSとは異なり、地震が発生している現場各地から、その状況について、遅延ゼロで生の声が聴こえて、知ることができたことにインパクトを受けました。

今回の地震では、大きな被害は生じなかったものの、夜間かつコロナ禍で発生したということで、停電時の被害状況の確認、要配慮者の避難支援や感染症対策等の課題がクローズアップされることとなり、今後の対策を検討する上では、これらの課題を踏まえることが重要であると思いました。

また、この春に人と防災未来センターをご卒業される研究員みなさまの、今後のさらなるご活躍を楽しみにしております。引き続き、共同研究等の機会がありましたら、お世話になるかと思いまが、その際にはよろしくお願いいたします。

(translation pending) 活動報告：災害メモリアルアクションKOBE

1月は人と防災未来センターにて「災害メモリアルアクションKOBE」が開催され、地元被災地域等の高校や大学から震災を経験していない若い世代が集まり、世代を超えて防災の意識を継続させるための取り組みについて発表がありました。

今年は現地・遠隔会場からの発表やリモート視聴参加等に伴い、Withコロナ時代ならではのオンライン+オフラインでのハイブリッド開催となりました。

一部事前録画済みコンテンツを配信する場面もあり、現地会場の音響・投影環境に合わせて動画コンテンツをリマスタリングするなど、今後のハイブリッド・イベント開催に役立つ技術的なノウハウを得る機会にもなりました。