Actual Assembly and Initial Response of School Personnel in the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake : An Analysis of a Questionnaire Survey of School Staff in Wajima City
This study aims to clarify the actual assembly conditions and initial response of school personnel during the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake and to examine implications for future school emergency manuals. The analysis used questionnaire data collected by the Wajima City Board of Education, based on 105 valid responses from school personnel. The results showed that many respondents were themselves severely affected by the disaster. Power outages were experienced by 85 respondents (81.0%), 82 (78.1%) had to evacuate and stay somewhere other than their homes, and 31 (29.6%) reported their houses were half-destroyed or more seriously damaged. Although 78 respondents (74.3%) were aware of the official emergency deployment rule described in the staff action manual, only 1 respondent (1.0%) was able to report to their usual workplace on the day of the earthquake, while 98 (93.3%) were unable to assemble. The main reasons for failing to assemble were disruption of the road network (72 respondents, 68.6%), judgment that travel was too dangerous (71, 67.6%), continuing aftershocks (50, 47.6%), and damage to their own homes (42, 40.0%). These findings indicate that difficulty in reporting to work was caused not by a lack of awareness or commitment, but by overlapping physical, environmental, and family-related constraints. At the same time, even under conditions where assembly was difficult, school personnel still played important initial roles. Fifty respondents (47.6%) engaged in information gathering, 40 (38.1%) in safety confirmation, and 39 (37.1%) in communication and coordination among staff. These findings suggest that school emergency manuals for large-scale disasters should not rely solely on the assumption that all personnel can assemble immediately. Instead, they should specify alternative roles that can be performed even when assembly is impossible, and incorporate communication systems that remain functional under disrupted conditions.
저자
Kyoko Ariyoshi [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]
Masayuki Shibano [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]
Toru Boushita [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]
Nagomi Nakamaru [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]
Takahiro Gyouji [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]
Kenji Koshiyama [ Department of Crisis Management, Suita City Office; Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences, Kansai University; Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute; Nihon University; Wajima City Office; The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum; The Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research ]