Gifu University emergency management committee held HUG*(shelter management game) in order to raise students' awareness of natural disasters on December 12, 2018.

At the outset, Kumamoto University staff (Kumamoto Prefecture) who actually managed a shelter for two weeks after the great earthquake hit the region in 2016, spoke about the reality of the shelter.

Nineteen people from Gifu University's student clubs and circles (including two from the Health Administration Center) and three from Kumamoto University, were divided into three groups and started HUG.

In the game, on the assumption that the university's gymnasium serving as a shelter (the gymnasium is officially designated as a shelter by the municipality), people designated the residence space, kitchen, bathroom, first-aid space and locker room by using the gymnasium's ground plan. Later, to each scenario proposed by student moderators, the participants discussed how to deal with unexpected events or trouble which may take place at any shelters. The students made one decision after another for each case real time as if an emergent situation were actually happening before their eyes.

When the great earthquake hit, many Kumamoto University students helped operating the shelter set up on campus at which local residents were staying for days after they lost their homes. We believe that it is time for the university, students and staff alike to prepare for any future contingencies by taking fully advantage of using the knowledge of shelter operations they learned through HUG participation.

*HUG: acronym of Hinanzyo (shelter), Unei (operation) and Game