What responses are expected from schools and tutoring centers during torrential rain and floods? Meiko Juku survey: "Survey on Disaster Preparedness Among Households with Children"

As disasters caused by heavy rain become more frequent, Meiko Juku surveyed 1,000 parents with children from first grade of elementary school through third grade of high school about how schools and tutoring centers should respond during disasters. The survey covered such areas as determining children's whereabouts during disasters, means of communication and advance preparations at home. The results highlighted both household awareness of disaster preparedness and parents' expectations of responses from schools.

In Overview of Results 1, 95.1% said they were concerned about not knowing where their children were during a disaster, while 35.6% said they used smartphone location data to keep track of their children's whereabouts. In addition, about 70% of parents had discussed disaster preparedness in the past year, while approximately 30% of households said they had not discussed it at all.

In Overview of Results 2, regarding awareness of the Disaster Management Agency, 31.7% said they were hearing about it for the first time, even though its launch is scheduled for 2 November, indicating a lack of understanding of its role. The leading expectations for the agency were securing communications infrastructure at 30.7%, improving evacuation shelters at 28.7% and implementing measures that prioritize children's safety at 26.6%.

In Overview of Results 3, approximately 40% of parents cited the provision of information and protection of children as responses expected from schools and tutoring centers during torrential rain and flooding. Safety measures for travel to and from school and tutoring centers were also cited by 33.0%.

As supplementary information, the survey overview states that it covered 1,000 parents nationwide, was conducted from late September to early October 2026, and used an internet-based survey method.