Study on Behaviors and Consciousness of Residents of Harihara District during Debris Flow in Harihara District of Izumi City on July 10,1997

The debris flow in Harihara district of Izumi City, Kagoshima, occurred at O : 42 a.m. on July 10,1997 after the heavy rainfalls. Twenty one persons were killed and 19 houses were destroyed. The questionnaire survey is undertaken to study the behaviors and consciousness of the residents of Harihara district. The transmission of information, precursor, and evacuation are discussed. The conclusions of this study are as follows. (1) Residents of Harihara district had no preliminary knowledge about precursor of debris flow. (2) Residents paid attention to Harihara river and sabo dam during rainfall. However, they paid no attention after water level decreased. They did not worry about the debris flow. They could not evacuate from the debris flow in advance. (3) Mutual aid among neighborhood was very useful to relief the victims of the debris flow