# 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

- **ID:** `disaster/evacuation-site-not-shelter`
- **Domain:** disaster
- **Category:** life_threatening
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 75%

## 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.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **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.** (75% success)
2. **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.** (70% success)

## Dead Ends

- **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** — 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. (70% fail)
- **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** — 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. (65% fail)