Communities and disaster preparedness
Rehearse Disaster Coordination and Handoffs
Use a tabletop exercise to identify gaps in decisions, handoffs and monitoring indicators for a hypothetical disaster.
- People
- 6–20
- Session time
- 285 minutes
- Format
- In person
English session plan
Original program status: draft. Source safety category: Medium; this is not a guarantee of safety.
Preparation: High preparation. Facilitation team: Four roles, including an experienced facilitator.
What this session can decide
Record improvements identified in the exercise. Do not use it for command during an actual disaster, evacuation orders or medical judgements.
Outside its scope
- Do not take over command during an actual disaster.
- Do not assess participating organisations’ capabilities.
- Do not use exercise assumptions as a guarantee of safety.
Primary caution: Do not take over command during an actual disaster.
Before starting
- Question and scope
- Use a tabletop exercise to identify gaps in decisions, handoffs and monitoring indicators for a hypothetical disaster. Before the session starts, state the subject and period to be covered in one sentence.
- What is decided here
- Record improvements identified in the exercise. Do not use it for command during an actual disaster, evacuation orders or medical judgements.
- Output recipient
- At the end, the Recorder retains “Risk-sign monitoring table”. Record signs, checking frequency, responsible people and conditions for starting a response.
- Participation and information boundaries
- Explain that people may pass, rest or leave, and keep personal information, confidential information and judgements about attributes off the recording surface. Assign Participant support separately.
- Operating team
- Assign the Lead facilitator, Recorder, Timekeeper and Participant support before starting, and confirm who announces transitions and stops.
- Next check
- Decide the review date for “Risk-sign monitoring table”, who may view it and who is responsible for the next decision.
Who takes responsibility
- Lead facilitator
Keep “Rehearse Disaster Coordination and Handoffs” within its purpose and stated exclusions, and announce the start and end of each stage.
From before the start until the session ends.
- Recorder
Record “Disaster-response maps for successive points in time”, “Coordination handoff map”, “Risk-sign monitoring table” at each stage and hand the records to their recipients at the end.
From preparation of recording surfaces before the start through storage after the session.
- Timekeeper
Notify the Lead facilitator 3 minutes before each stage ends and when switching to breaks or buffer time.
At the start of every stage and 3 minutes before its end.
- Participant support
Receive requests to pass, rest, leave or check individually, and decide with the Lead facilitator whether resumption is possible.
From before the start until the session ends.
Session flow
Minutes are measured from the session start. Method time, transition time, breaks and buffer are shown separately; they are not additional overlapping activities.
0–123 minutes
Check assumed damage and response resources on a map
Method: Regional Disaster Map Exercise · 0–120 minutes. Transition: 120–123 minutes (3 minutes).
For each assumed time, place information about damage, passage, evacuation and resources on the map. Use symbols to distinguish facts, exercise assumptions and unconfirmed information, and record the basis for decisions.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Disaster-response maps for successive points in time
Handoff: Pass the points where information moves between roles to handoff design.
This stage may be shortened only in accordance with the stated conditions.
123–171 minutes
Test handoffs of information and decisions
Method: Handoff Stations · 123–168 minutes. Transition: 168–171 minutes (3 minutes).
Lay out the order and formats in which important information moves between responsible people. At each point, record receipt confirmation, alternative routes and what to do if contact cannot be made.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Coordination handoff map
Handoff: Pass signs of disruption or delay to risk monitoring organised by impact and ease of checking.
This stage is not marked as shortenable.
181–244 minutes
Decide which signs to monitor and how to respond
Method: Risk Radar · 181–241 minutes. Transition: 241–244 minutes (3 minutes).
Place early signs that coordination is breaking down on a homemade Impact × Ease of checking adaptation sheet made for this programme. Distinguish it from the referenced method's Severity × Change diagram, and record rate of change separately from the two axes. Assign a person responsible for checking each sign, a checking interval, and conditions for starting a response. Retain any unknown checking methods or values as Unverified.
Responsible: Lead facilitator; Recorder; Participant support
Output: Risk-sign monitoring table
Handoff: Pass the maps, handoff map, and risk-sign monitoring table to the person responsible for the exercise, including placement by impact and ease of checking and rate of change in a separate field.
This stage is not marked as shortenable.
What is retained and who receives it
Disaster-response maps for successive points in time
Owner: Recorder
Share decision points, resources and information gaps.
Coordination handoff map
Owner: Recorder
Clarify senders, recipients, formats and methods of confirmation.
Risk-sign monitoring table
Owner: Recorder
Retain placement by impact and ease of checking. Record signs, rate of change, checking frequency, responsible people, and conditions for starting a response in separate fields.
Materials and setup
Material names, quantities, groups and handling instructions retain the fixed draft's original helper-derived guidance. Where a format is marked “Source material specification”, the entire bound English source material entry takes precedence over the old helper-derived format guidance. This format-only correction does not resolve other instruction or safety concerns. English names are not substituted into a Japanese-keyed lookup.
Everyday tools
- Thick pens for distinguishing three types of information
Quantity: 3 per group
Format: 1 thick black or blue pen. If available, use 3 pens of different colours.
Distinguish resources with ○, hazards with △ and unconfirmed information with ?, using both symbols and words. Include symbols even when using colour; there is no need to buy three colours.
- Dark writing tools
Quantity: 1 per person
Format: Dark broad-tip pens or whiteboard markers
Check that the ink flows and place the pens where participants can reach them. Avoid pale-coloured pens.
- Floor tape
Quantity: 1 roll per group
Format: Low-tack masking tape
Check that it can be removed from an inconspicuous place on the floor or wall. Keep the edges flat and do not block walkways.
- Marks distinguishing new, worsening and improving risks
Quantity: About 10 of each colour
Format: Three types of marks drawn with a black or blue pen. Pens of different colours may also be used if available.
Distinguish “New”, “Worsening” and “Improving” with shapes and words, for example ○, △ and □ respectively. There is no need to obtain three colours; include shapes or words even when using colour.
Sheets to prepare by hand
- Information sheet recording sources, reference dates and people responsible for updates
Quantity: 1 per item
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Create fields headed “Source”, “Reference date” and “Person responsible for updates” on one sheet. Write each heading in words rather than relying on colour alone.
- Cards introducing situations in stages
Quantity: 3 per group
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Do not buy specialised cards. Write “Situation introduced in stages” at the top of each paper slip. If participants write on them, use one item per slip and handwrite the necessary headings before the session starts.
- Headings for handoff points
Quantity: 1 sheet per group per process step
Format: Source material specification: One station card per group for each stage, approximately A3 size
Source-bound format display correction; the other fixed helper-derived guidance is unchanged.
Write one operational handoff point per sheet. Leave room to add the sender, recipient, what is handed over and the state that counts as completion.
- Stop-condition cards
Quantity: 3 per group per station
Format: Sticky notes around 75 × 75 mm, or A4 copy paper cut into four pieces.
Do not buy specialised cards. Write “Stop condition” at the top of each paper slip. If participants write on them, use one item per slip and handwrite the necessary headings before the session starts.
- Programme-specific risk-placement and monitoring sheet: impact and ease of checking
Quantity: 1 surface
Format: Source material specification: One risk-positioning sheet, A2 or larger, with 2 axes: severity × change
Source-bound format display correction; the other fixed helper-derived guidance is unchanged.
Label this as a homemade adaptation sheet made for this programme, not as the same specification as the referenced method's Severity × Change diagram. Label the vertical axis Impact and the horizontal axis Ease of checking, with high and low at their ends. Treat ease of checking as access to checking methods or information. On the same surface, add separate fields for Sign, Rate of change, Person responsible for checking, Checking interval, and Conditions for starting a response. Do not substitute rate of change for the horizontal axis; mark unverified values as Unverified. Write headings in words rather than relying on colour alone.
Information to gather before the session
- Large-format map with checked usage conditions, or a self-drawn abstract map
Quantity: 1 sheet per group
Format: A printed map whose reproduction conditions have been checked. If unavailable, draw an abstract map yourself on large paper, showing only the roads and facilities needed.
When using a map, record source, usage terms and check date. If drawing your own, omit private homes and other sensitive locations and show only roads and facilities needed for discussion. A blank sheet with only a title is not a substitute.
- Actual outputs handed over between process steps, or safe substitutes
Quantity: 1 item per group per process step
Format: The actual output. If it cannot be carried, use a photograph, sample or A4 copy paper recording its name, key points and storage location.
Prepare the outputs actually handed over at each process step. Only if confidentiality, safety, weight or a similar reason prevents carrying them, create a substitute that lets the next person understand their content. Do not replace them with blank forms.
- Risk list currently in use
Quantity: 1 copy; 1 display surface visible to everyone
Format: Two A4 sheets placed side by side. Join them with masking tape if a larger surface is needed.
Before the session, obtain the risk list actually in use. Check that the risks, responsible people and checking dates are current, and do not substitute a blank sample. Display or project it so everyone can read it.
Materials chosen for the session conditions
- Three overlay surfaces separating map information into resources, hazards and unconfirmed information
Quantity: 3 per group
Format: 3 transparent document folders. If unavailable, use 3 copies of the same base map.
Label the three surfaces “Community resources”, “Disaster hazards” and “Unconfirmed information”, one label per surface. Align them so they can overlay the same base map. Enter only information with a source and reference date, and do not move unconfirmed information from its dedicated surface to another.
- Opaque envelope for sealing the restricted layer
Quantity: 1 envelope per group
Format: An existing opaque envelope, used only when sensitive information needs to be separated.
Use only to separate sensitive information. Write the type of contents and the role allowed to open it; do not put personal names on the outside.
Setup for each method
Regional Disaster Map Exercise
- Display that this is an exercise, not a substitute for professional judgement, statutory plans or official evacuation information. Also display the disaster being considered, map scale, reference date, confidentiality scope and official information sources to consult if a real warning occurs.
Handoff Stations
- Groups of 3–6; 1–5 groups
- 3–6 floor stations per group, in process order and at least 3 m apart
- One passage per group, at least 1 m wide, allowing people to carry the output through all stations
Risk Radar
- One wall area or large table at least 150 cm wide, visible to everyone, for the positioning map
When to switch or stop
Fallbacks
- There are more than 8 hypothetical events.
Limit the exercise to 4 events involving life safety and loss of information flow.
Method guide: Regional Disaster Map Exercise
Stop conditions
- An actual disaster, life-saving incident or emergency call occurs.
- Stop the exercise immediately and switch to the official emergency procedure.
- Vulnerabilities that cannot be made public or personal information are shared.
- Stop recording and move the information into a management procedure restricted to authorised viewers.
Sources, rights and limits
This site has composed this programme’s purpose, method sequence, delivery instructions, roles, outputs and switching conditions. See each individual method page for that method’s sources and licences.
Original source records and their required notices are retained below. Their presence does not mean a new legal or cultural-safety clearance. Original citation titles are kept in their source language.
Sources and required notices for the 3 methods used
Regional Disaster Map Exercise
- 消防庁「災害図上訓練DIG実施要領」: steps 1-3 — PDL-1.0 adaptation; changes made
- PDL-1.0の適用条件 — PDL-1.0
- Source: Fire and Disaster Management Agency, “Guidelines for Conducting Disaster Imagination Game (DIG) Exercises”: steps 1-3 | https://www.fdma.go.jp/pressrelease/houdou/items/h21/2104/210413-2/4-1_dig.pdf | PDL-1.0 adaptation; changes made
- Source: Conditions for applying PDL-1.0 | https://www.fdma.go.jp/about/others/post3.html | PDL-1.0
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This site’s text and illustrations
- Cultural caution: This manifest contains no structured cultural-safety assessment. Human checks are required for context, opting out of participation and power differences.
- Limits of this record: Only the notices displayed in the public YAML were transcribed. This does not assert that no individual rights exist.
Handoff Stations
- 対話の譜面編集部: 引継ぎの駅 — Original description and diagrams
- Source: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team: Handoff Stations | Original description and diagrams
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | This site’s text and illustrations
- Cultural caution: open-method screening complete: Closed, ritual or sacred cultural practices are not used as sources; opting out, sensitive information and power differences are addressed in each method’s limits and branches.
- Limits of this record: The editorial team independently created the text, procedures and diagrams. It claims no exclusive rights over general dialogue operations or ideas themselves.
Risk Radar
- Dave Esra: Risk Radar — CC BY 4.0 adaptation; changes made
- CC BY 4.0
- Source: Dave Esra: Risk Radar | https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/risk-radar-monitoring-and-controlling-risks/ | CC BY 4.0 adaptation; changes made
- Source: CC BY 4.0 | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Attribution: Dave Esra | Authors and contributors credited in the source material
- Attribution: Taiwa no Fumen Editorial Team | Japanese adaptation and this site’s original illustrations
- Changes and adaptation: Adapted with changes as Japanese facilitation scores
- Cultural caution: open-method screening complete: Closed, ritual or sacred cultural practices are not used as sources; opting out, sensitive information and power differences are addressed in each method’s limits and branches.
- Limits of this record: Individual contributors are credited. Text covered by CC BY 4.0 was adapted with changes into Japanese facilitation scores. Exception notices, the site logo and third-party embedded material were excluded.
Confirmed programme clarification
The user confirmed the current programme text and programme-specific material instructions. Original methods, quantities, timing and print diagrams are unchanged. Earlier fixed notes are retained below as historical notes; they are not removed or treated as independently resolved. User confirmation of programme wording is distinct from independent acceptance of its English translation, rendered screens, rights and release checks.
Historical fixed-draft notes
The original fixed draft notes are retained without deletion as historical records of those fixed source versions. Current material format corrections are separately identified above; these notes do not imply that other concerns have been resolved.
- The fixed source specifies two different axis pairs for the risk placement: catalog.practice.2 uses impact and ease of checking, while preparedMaterials.12.item.instruction uses severity and change. Both are translated as written; this production unit does not reconcile them.
Japanese resources and historical source records
Original Japanese plan and its print view · Japanese operation pack or starter materials
An English print edition is not provided here. The linked plans, print views and operation materials are Japanese resources.
Historical recorded publication holds
The following original hold statements are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. They are not a statement of current acceptance, nor does this historical label resolve a source-specific restriction.
- English translation and rendered-page independent acceptance pending
- Method dependency source/text SHA binding and current source-specific rights verification pending
- Publication not cleared
Historical fixed-source and English-draft provenance
Japanese program SHA-256: f860a9ab9fc4c7feaf7b183c5f39447017f5e805de9b861f278fbecacc58a87c
Fixed source context SHA-256: a02670e05a08df999a3eb6f11169d13e9cb957fde7fe84b9fc1b771de443835e
English draft SHA-256: d0091ce66c6c1efa13b8e145346171633294e2edda6d3decca4b2e5d4deb8226
- fdma-regional-disaster-map: source
f161deafab5a7263bb4846685c9ca05b3d82e116097fc1e7948151d15370ad1b; English draftc24877aae78485740e041c160b01f6958dafe42e92f4de6fead4acd71d93504d - handoff-stations: source
00c2fd30273a3a9bb696b52f6e6ac0bcb236fdb3c95d2dbc8d0a05819b16cec3; English drafta6ec941ad82864981f9bedbf3892e923a1fb1f0d3b2e030179f88ac7b78e5158 - opl-risk-radar: source
a68d28a7c3bf583367da3939a3c6fa242a17ca54505198dc71f5b8a5daa8a3e9; English draft0de3ccc8a19d16b7a0d1aa13917070ce17b7b373af99cb5800bc7693a17d93d3
These hashes identify the checked inputs; they do not grant independent acceptance or publication clearance.