In Japan, after an earthquake, or when there is a heavy downpour, transportation is affected and guardians of children may not be able to reach home in time from the office. In elementary schools, because the guardian is unable to come and pick up the child, the teacher needs to ensure that the children are protected, and therefore, bears enormous responsibility. Since commuting times to work are long, guardians need to instate measures for the safety of their children.

This study aims to clarify guardians’ recognition of children’s safety in the event of a disaster, and examine the corresponding challenge they face in terms of commuting distance.

The subjects are 2,181 guardians of children in four elementary schools near places where landslides had occurred in Hiroshima city in 2014. The questionnaires distributed throughout the school produced 1,027 valid responses. Guardians were divided based on commuting distance into two groups; one of whom were within 3-km commuting distance and the other of more than 3 km. The two groups were compared for their recognition of children’s safety using a chi-square test.

Children’s safety in school was a concern for 73.9% of guardians. The safety of school buildings in case of a disaster was a cause of concern for 80% of guardians who are close commuters, and 73.9% of guardians whose commute distance is longer (P = 0.015). The fact that children cannot return home was a cause of worry for 33.9% of guardians whose workplace is nearby, and for 29.9% whose workplace was distant (P=0.044).

Most parents, especially guardians going to work far away, do not recognize that they cannot reach home, and therefore, need to think about providing safety measures for their children in the disaster.

Japan is known worldwide as an earthquake-prone country, and large-scale landslide disasters have occurred frequently in recent years. Early preparation is essential for taking precise action in case of an emergency. People with disaster experience are often discussed in the importance of evacuation drills. However, most people have no disaster experience, so awareness of disaster countermeasures is desirable for non-experienced people.

To clarify the concerns of non-experienced people and consider how to strengthen disaster measures as an evacuation drill host or educator.

From February to March 2018, we enrolled teachers and parents whose children attend Hiroshima City Elementary School. Based on disaster experiences, we divided them into two groups, non-experienced and experienced, and a comparison of measures was performed between them. We used SPSS ver.22 and did a chi-square test.

There were 1,702 valid responses (145 teachers and 1,557 parents); 1,406 were non-experienced, and 289 were experienced. The issues both groups were most concerned about were “children’s safety at school” (non-experienced 61.7%, experienced 57.3%), “securing food and drink at school” (39.0%, 3.3.9%), “acceptance and distribution of relief supplies” (28.1%, 2.6.6%), and “resident evacuation” (25.4%, 2.4.0%). The experienced were most concerned with “children’s mental care” (60.2%), and the non-experienced were most concerned with “children’s safety at school” (61.7%).

Regardless of experience, parents tend to be deeply concerned about all things pertaining to their children. Physical safety, as well as psychological needs, were of high importance. For non-experienced, we should develop interest by focusing on children’s needs when writing manuals for disaster measures and evacuation drills. Therefore, future projects to strengthen awareness of disaster prevention for the non-experienced should focus on three key issues: “step-by-step approaches for children,” “physiological needs,” and “safety of schools and shelters.”