August 21, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
Editorial: Landslide disaster shows need for better prevention measures
社説:広島の土砂災害　救援活動に全力挙げよ

Torrential rain has triggered a series of landslides in northern Hiroshima, crushing houses and leaving many residents dead and some others missing.
局地的な豪雨に見舞われた広島市北部で土砂崩れが発生し、住宅が押しつぶされるなどして多くの死者・行方不明者が出た。

Police, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel are desperately searching for and rescuing survivors. 警察や消防、自衛隊による救助・救援活動が急がれるが、

However, they must take care to prevent a secondary disaster as a firefighter lost his life during search and rescue operations.
救助中の消防隊員が犠牲となり、２次災害に注意しながらの作業となる。

The government should put its utmost efforts into restoring disaster-hit areas and extending assistance to affected residents.
政府は被災地の復旧や住民支援に全力を挙げてほしい。
   
Typhoon Halong, this year's 11th, brought heavy rain mainly to western Japan earlier this month.
今月に入って、西日本を中心に台風１１号による大雨が続いた。

A rain front hovering along the Japanese archipelago has since repeatedly brought rain and loosened the ground. その後も前線が日本列島上空に停滞し、度重なる雨で地盤は緩んでいる。

Therefore, even a small amount of rain could trigger a landslide, and maximum caution needs to be exercised.
わずかな雨でも土砂災害が起きる恐れがあり、今後も厳重な警戒が必要だ。

In just over a three-hour period early on Aug. 20, northern Hiroshima saw rainfall that exceeded the average amount of rain that falls throughout all of August.
広島市北部で２０日未明の３時間に平年の８月１カ月分の雨量を大きく上回る雨が降った。

The Hiroshima Local Meteorological Observatory issued a warning of record-breaking rain over a short period around 3:45 a.m., and the Hiroshima Municipal Government issued an evacuation recommendation about half an hour later. 広島地方気象台は記録的短時間大雨情報を発表し、その約３０分後に広島市が避難勧告を出した。

By that time, however, some landslides had already occurred and local residents had alerted emergency services. しかし、既に土砂崩れが発生し、住民からの通報が相次いでいた。

Therefore, the local government's response was too slow.
行政の対応は後手に回った。

It is essential to thoroughly scrutinize why local authorities failed to issue an evacuation recommendation or order before the disaster occurred.
なぜ被害が発生する前に避難指示や勧告を出せなかったのか。徹底的に検証し対策を講じる必要がある。

The landslides occurred in a district where mountains were developed into residential areas.
被災現場は山間部を切り開いて宅地開発が進められた地域だ。

The ground in extensive areas of Hiroshima Prefecture is composed of decayed granite covered with thin surface soil. 広島県には風化した花こう岩の上を薄い表土が覆う地質が広がり、

Therefore, if rainwater accumulates in these areas, slopes are prone to collapsing.
雨で水がたまると斜面は崩れやすくなる。

In the latest disaster, it is believed that rain that had fallen over the past few weeks accumulated in the soil, making the ground fragile, and that a massive amount of rain that hit the area over a short period triggered mudslides.
今回も、これまでの雨が土壌にたまり、短時間に大量の雨が降ったことで土石流などが発生したとみられる。

In June 1999, torrential rain that hit residential areas in the city of Hiroshima and surrounding areas left 31 people dead and another missing.
１９９９年６月には広島市などの住宅地で３１人が死亡し１人が行方不明になる集中豪雨があった。

Following the disaster, the Sediment-related Disaster Prevention Law was enacted.
この災害を受けて制定されたのが土砂災害防止法だ。

In accordance with the legislation, prefectural governments are supposed to conduct a survey on areas prone to landslides and other sediment disasters and designate vulnerable locations as caution zones.
法に基づき、都道府県は土砂災害危険箇所を調査した上で警戒区域や危険性のより高い特別警戒区域に指定する。

Municipal governments are required to work out evacuation plans and draw up maps clearly showing caution zones.
市町村は避難体制を整備し、警戒区域を示す地図を作製、周知する。
ソフト面の対策を充実して住民の安全と生命を守るのが狙いだ。

There are many areas prone to sediment disasters in Hiroshima Prefecture.
広島県は危険箇所が多いが、

However, local bodies' efforts to ensure the safety of residents in vulnerable areas have made little progress as it takes a long time to conduct a detailed survey on disaster-prone locations.
調査に時間がかかることなどから作業が進まず、

The majority of areas hit by the latest landslides were not designated as caution zones.
今回の被災現場も大半が指定されていなかった。

Local governments should take flexible measures such as prioritizing the designation of high-risk locations as caution zones.
危険度の高い地域の指定を優先するなど臨機応変の対応が求められる。

A nationwide survey conducted by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry shows that there are some 520,000 locations vulnerable to sediment disasters, but one-third of these have not been designated as caution zones.
全国的に見ても、国土交通省の調査で危険箇所は約５２万カ所に上るが、３分の１は未指定で、作業は遅れている。

This is attributable partly to local residents' resistance to the designation of their neighborhoods as such for fear that the value of their land would decline.
指定されれば不動産価値が下がると住民が懸念し、理解を得にくいことも要因とされる。

However, since landslides could cause huge damage, it is necessary to patiently explain the purpose of the law to residents of high-risk areas to convince them of the need for such warnings.
だが土砂災害の被害は甚大だ。住民に法の趣旨を丁寧に説明する必要があるだろう。

There have been a growing number of local downpours in recent years.
近年、局地的な豪雨が各地で増えている。

Any kind of serious natural disaster could hit anytime and anywhere in Japan where there are numerous mountains and rivers.
山地や河川の多い日本では、いつどこでどんな自然災害が起きてもおかしくない。

All local governments must work out disaster prevention measures based on a wide diversity of scenarios without being bound by stereotypes.
これまでの常識にとらわれず、幅広く事態を想定した災害対策が全国すべての自治体に求められる。

毎日新聞　2014年08月21日　02時33分