Author(s)

M. Fujita

Abstract

The downpour disaster in the Nagoya metropolitan area in central Japan started at approximately 5:00 pm local time on September 11th, 2000 and lasted until approximately 4:00 am the following day. This downpour seriously damaged the traffic network in Nagoya. During the disaster, there were many citizens who stayed in stations all night long on the way home, many who traveled for more than 240 minutes through the downpour, and many who stayed in safe places such as their offices and tried to obtain suitable traffic information. The aims of this study were to clarify the characteristics of the homebound trips during the downpour, and to develop departure behavior models for the decision as to whether to return home or to stay in a safe place in the event of some future impending downpour disaster. From the analysis, it was shown that civic officials can help to prevent reckless decision-making on the parts of the citizens during a disaster by providing them with suitable information.

Keywords

return-home behavior, disaster, transportation measures