Information sharing concerning warning of, and evacuation plans from, sediment]related 
    disasters
  
  Miki CHIBA, Yuji KATAYAMA, Youichi MIKI and Kazuyuki TAKANASHI
    
    Abstract
    
  
  
On July 19, 2006, several sediment]related disasters (debris flows and landslides) 
occurred in Okaya and Suwa, in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In Okaya, no evavuation 
took place before the disaster, and two debris flows killed eight people. Nearby 
Suwa was evacuated voluntarily, before the debris flow struck. In Okaya, a debris 
flow struck a retirement home. The first floor residents were evacuated to the 
second floor. Neither the Okaya City Government nor the residents had thought 
beforehand that a debris flow disaster could occur and, therefore, had not prepared 
for it.