{
  "id": "disaster/evacuation-site-not-shelter",
  "signature": "AI tells someone fleeing a disaster in Japan to go to the nearest 'evacuation shelter,' or treats Designated Emergency Evacuation Sites (指定緊急避難場所) and Designated Evacuation Shelters (指定避難所) as interchangeable",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "(japan.{0,15}evacuation (site|shelter)|hinanjo|hinanbasho)",
  "domain": "disaster",
  "category": "life_threatening",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "Japan legally separates two facility types after the 2011 disaster exposed the danger of treating them as one: Designated Emergency Evacuation Sites (parks, high ground, tsunami towers) are for immediate life-threatening danger and are certified per hazard type, while Designated Evacuation Shelters (schools, gyms, community centers) are for longer-term stay after the danger passes. Cabinet Office survey data shows fewer than 1 in 5 people actually understand the distinction.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Direct someone to the nearest 'evacuation shelter' by name without checking whether it is a Designated Emergency Evacuation Site (指定緊急避難場所, for immediate danger) or a Designated Evacuation Shelter (指定避難所, for longer-term stay), treating the two as the same thing",
      "why_fails": "A Cabinet Office survey reported by Nippon.com found only 19.8% of respondents actually understood the distinction correctly, 14.4% believed the two terms mean the same thing, and 34% weren't sure at all; after 2011, people who sheltered in facilities that had been designated only for longer-term stay - not vetted as tsunami-safe - were killed when those buildings were inundated, which is exactly why the two-tier legal designation now exists.",
      "fail_rate": 0.7,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h02501/",
        "https://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/disaster-preparedness/backnumber/disaster_preparedness/2019/08281611.html"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Assume any given designated evacuation site or shelter is certified safe for every disaster type (earthquake, tsunami, flood) rather than checking which specific hazard it is designated for",
      "why_fails": "Designated Emergency Evacuation Sites are certified per hazard type - a site can be designated safe for an earthquake but explicitly excluded for tsunami or flood because it sits inside an inundation zone; using the wrong one for the disaster actually occurring is the specific failure mode the post-2011 hazard-type designation system was created to prevent.",
      "fail_rate": 0.65,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/disaster-preparedness/backnumber/disaster_preparedness/2019/08281611.html"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "When immediate danger exists, evacuate to the Designated Emergency Evacuation Site verified for the hazard actually occurring (earthquake vs tsunami vs flood have separate designations) - check the municipal hazard map in advance, since sites are marked per-hazard, not generically.",
      "success_rate": 0.75,
      "how": "",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/disaster-preparedness/backnumber/disaster_preparedness/2019/08281611.html"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Once immediate danger has passed and evacuation orders are lifted, move to a Designated Evacuation Shelter for longer-term refuge (food, bedding, registration) instead of remaining at the emergency assembly point, which is not equipped for extended stays.",
      "success_rate": 0.7,
      "how": "",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/en/disaster-preparedness/backnumber/disaster_preparedness/2019/08281611.html"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [
      "disaster/tsunami-natural-warning-self-evacuate/jp",
      "disaster/stay-put-not-walk-home-after-quake/jp"
    ],
    "frequently_confused_with": []
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.65,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.75,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-08-12",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-08-12",
  "last_updated": "2026-08-12",
  "evidence_count": 3,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "disaster/evacuation-site-not-shelter/jp"
  ]
}