TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of community-based organization in the promotion of disaster preparedness at the community level
T2 - A case study of a coastal town in the Kochi Prefecture of the Shikoku Region, Japan
AU - Mimaki, Junko
AU - Takeuchi, Yukiko
AU - Shaw, Rajib
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the support of JSPS-DST Bilateral Research Grant on Coastal Zone Management, and JSPS Research Grant on “Water Community”, Cooperation of Tosashimizu City and Nakanohama community is highly appreciated.
PY - 2009/11
Y1 - 2009/11
N2 - The Japanese rural coastal areas are inherently vulnerable to typhoons and tsunamis. Their vulnerability has been further increasing recently, in part due to social factors such as the aging of society and depopulation. Following the Kobe earthquake of 1995, the Japanese government has promoted the Voluntary Disaster Preparedness Organization (VDPO) to build communities that are more sustainable and resilient to natural disasters. However, studies indicate that some VDPO activity has stagnated. The present study focuses on a rural coastal area in Japan and examines whether VDPO impacts residents' awareness of disaster preparedness and also examines ties among the community. The study relies on a questionnaire survey. It reveals that VDPO contributes to improving both awareness of disaster preparedness and ties in the community.
AB - The Japanese rural coastal areas are inherently vulnerable to typhoons and tsunamis. Their vulnerability has been further increasing recently, in part due to social factors such as the aging of society and depopulation. Following the Kobe earthquake of 1995, the Japanese government has promoted the Voluntary Disaster Preparedness Organization (VDPO) to build communities that are more sustainable and resilient to natural disasters. However, studies indicate that some VDPO activity has stagnated. The present study focuses on a rural coastal area in Japan and examines whether VDPO impacts residents' awareness of disaster preparedness and also examines ties among the community. The study relies on a questionnaire survey. It reveals that VDPO contributes to improving both awareness of disaster preparedness and ties in the community.
KW - Disaster preparedness at community level
KW - Experience in Japan
KW - Rural coastal area
KW - Social capital
KW - Voluntary disaster preparedness organization
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U2 - 10.1007/s11852-009-0065-8
DO - 10.1007/s11852-009-0065-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:72249089348
SN - 1400-0350
VL - 13
SP - 207
EP - 215
JO - Journal of Coastal Conservation
JF - Journal of Coastal Conservation
IS - 4
ER -
