Flood Impact and Evacuation Behavior in Toyohashi City, Japan: A Case Study of the 2 June 2023 Heavy Rain Event

Masaya Toyoda (), Reo Minami, Ryoto Asakura and Shigeru Kato
Additional contact information
Masaya Toyoda: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi 441-8580, Aichi, Japan
Reo Minami: Graduate School of Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi 441-8580, Aichi, Japan
Ryoto Asakura: Nippon Koei Co., Ltd., Tokyo 102-8539, Japan
Shigeru Kato: Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi 441-8580, Aichi, Japan

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Recent years have seen frequent heavy rainfall events in Japan, often linked to Baiu fronts and typhoons. These events are exacerbated by global warming, leading to an increased frequency and intensity. As floods represent a serious threat to sustainable urban development and community resilience, this study contributes to sustainability-focused risk reduction through integrated analysis. This study focuses on the 2 June 2023 heavy rain disaster in Toyohashi City, Japan, which caused extensive damage due to flooding from the Yagyu and Umeda Rivers. Using numerical models, this study accurately reproduces flooding patterns, revealing that high tides amplified the inundation area by 1.5 times at the Yagyu River. A resident questionnaire conducted in collaboration with Toyohashi City identifies key trends in evacuation behavior and disaster information usage. Traditional media such as TV remain dominant, but younger generations leverage electronic devices for disaster updates. These insights emphasize the need for targeted information dissemination and enhanced disaster preparedness strategies, including online materials and flexible training programs. The methods and findings presented in this study can inform local and regional governments in building adaptive disaster management policies, which contribute to a more sustainable society.

Keywords: heavy rainfall; river flood; inundation; small and medium-sized river; astronomical tide; disaster prevention information (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6999/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/15/6999/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:15:p:6999-:d:1715528

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().