{"id":3868,"date":"2013-03-26T02:48:05","date_gmt":"2013-03-25T17:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbv.or.jp\/en\/?p=3868"},"modified":"2020-07-16T11:50:52","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T02:50:52","slug":"shizuoka-volunteer-disaster-drill-preparing-for-tokai-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pbv.or.jp\/en\/news\/shizuoka-volunteer-disaster-drill-preparing-for-tokai-earthquake\/","title":{"rendered":"Shizuoka – Volunteer Disaster Drill Preparing for Tokai Earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"

PBV’s President Takashi Yamamoto and Programme Officer Yasuhiro Ueshima participated in the \u201cDrill for Rescue Activities by Volunteers inside\/outside of Shizuoka Prefecture\u201d (2nd & 3rd March 2013).<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This drill was hosted by Shizuoka Volunteer Association.<\/p>\n

Those in attendance included \u00a0disaster risk reduction and disaster support specialists, representatives of the Japan National Council of Social Welfare, a range of NPOs and a number of academics.<\/p>\n

Representing PBV, Mr. Yamamoto has been an active part of a research team from the Volunteer Activities task-force coordinated by the Japanese government.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shizuoka is widely regarded as a prefecture with an advanced and comprehensive disaster risk reduction strategy.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons it has gained this reputation is that it has defined a unique role for disaster volunteerism . In this prefecture, disaster relief volunteers are believed to play a crucial role in disaster time and so are included in disaster preparedness drills.<\/p>\n

Here in Japan, volunteers are often considered as an unreliable source of assistance as there is no way of telling whether they will show up when needed.<\/p>\n

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, local communities were generally not well prepared to accept volunteers as this had not been flagged as a priority.<\/p>\n

But thinking about it, who would fully prepare ahead of time for someone without knowing whether or not they would show up?<\/p>\n

In fact, contrary to this belief, it has been proven that volunteers in recent years consistently show up after all kinds of disasters, not only earthquakes.<\/p>\n

Behind the scenes, the Disaster Volunteer Center system spear-headed by the Social Welfare Council, along with the influence of various NGOs\/NPOs, has been one of the key players in disaster relief activities.<\/p>\n

Despite many challenges, Shizuoka is probably the only prefecture that has implemented large-scale disaster drills which include a specific role for volunteers for 9 consecutive years.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

During this two-day drill, a total of 423 people from 196 organizations\/groups participated.<\/p>\n

This also proved to be an opportunity to form friendships and strengthen ties between organisations, as there were also workshops and parties for the participants.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the event of a major earthquake in the Shizuoka area, municipalities will not only set up Disaster Volunteer Centers but they will also create a \u201cPrefectural Volunteer Reception Center\u201d, as well as a \u201cPrefectural Disaster Volunteer Headquarters\/Information Centre\u201d.<\/p>\n

By doing so, they are creating a more comprehensive and dependable volunteer intake system.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

During the drill, PBV simulated entering Fuji City after a major disaster.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Participants created action plans for 2013 in order to consolidate their learning from the drills and to build upon what they had learnt at the event.<\/p>\n

The Shizuoka prefectural government held this event in order to improve preparations and test response mechanisms which would be necessary if the Great Tokai Earthquake were to occur.<\/p>\n

We all worry about disasters.<\/p>\n

Disaster risk reduction, mitigation and response is heavily dependent on how much preparation and training is undertaken beforehand.<\/p>\n

Rather than resigning ourselves to being powerless victims, we can take a more active role in being as prepared as possible for the next disaster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PBV’s President Takashi Yamamoto and Programme Officer Yasuhiro Ueshima participated in the \u201cDrill for Rescue Activities by Volunteers inside\/outside of Shizuoka Prefecture\u201d (2nd & 3rd March 2013).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3869,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[299],"class_list":["post-3868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-disaster-risk-reduction"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t