Service to cue local officials of need for flood advisory
The cities, towns and villages of Japan are working together to launch a service using weather information provided by a private company to help municipal governments decide whether to issue an evacuation advisory when a flood occurs.
The Japan Association of City Mayors along with the National Association of Towns and Villages will institute the service this spring using a system developed by major damage insurance firm Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. and weather information company Weathernews Inc.
The new service will likely help municipal governments swiftly lead their local residents to safety when a large-scale flood is imminent.
When a torrential downpour or a flood occurs, the new service will send weather data provided by Weathernews, together with selected word-of-mouth information provided by registered residents, to smartphones used by heads of municipal governments and local officials in charge of disaster prevention.
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