- The two entry points of the Hazard Map Portal
- How Kikikuru colours match the warning levels
- How warning names changed in May 2026
- What evacuation Level 4 means
- Where to find outage information, and what to register now
The short answer
In a disaster, the information you can rely on comes from the national government, your municipality and the regional power grid company. Check the risks at your home on a hazard map, rain-related danger on the Japan Meteorological Agency's (JMA) Kikikuru maps, evacuation decisions in your municipality's evacuation information, and outages on your regional grid company's pages.
All of these take time to find once a disaster has started. The core of preparing is to bookmark them now and sign up for the notifications and municipal alert emails.
Four official sources to set up in ordinary times
- MLIT's portal
- Search by address or location
- Shelters shown on the map
→ Know your home's risks
- JMA's risk maps
- Purple = Level 4 equivalent
- Notification service
→ See rain danger
- Issued by municipalities
- Level 4 = evacuation order
- Everyone leaves at Level 4
→ Decide to evacuate
- Regional grid company
- Area, households, estimate
- Restoration time is a guide
→ See the outage area
Check your home's risks on a hazard map
The Hazard Map Portal run by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has two entry points. The "multi-layer hazard map" overlays flood, landslide, storm surge and tsunami risks, road disaster information and how the land was formed on a single map. You can search by address, by current location or from the map, and there is also a text view that describes the risks in words. Since July 2026, designated evacuation shelters can be checked on the map as well.
The "local hazard maps" entry links to the hazard maps each municipality has made. Safe evacuation sites differ by type of disaster, so the Prime Minister's Office disaster page also recommends checking your home's risks and your evacuation sites and routes for each type.
Check rain danger on Kikikuru
JMA's Kikikuru (risk distribution) maps show rising danger of landslides, inundation and river flooding from heavy rain as colours on a map. According to JMA, the colours line up with the warning levels like this:
| Kikikuru colour | Warning level | What JMA asks you to do |
|---|---|---|
| Black: "disaster imminent" | Level 5 equivalent | Secure your safety at once |
| Purple: "danger" | Level 4 equivalent | Decide to evacuate even without an order |
| Red: "warning" | Level 3 equivalent | Watch for elderly evacuation notices and get ready |
| Yellow: "caution" | Level 2 equivalent | Check your shelter and route on a hazard map |
Since 29 May 2026, JMA's disaster weather information carries the level number in its name, as in "Level 3 heavy rain warning". A new "danger warning" category corresponds to Level 4, and the former landslide disaster alert is now the "Level 4 landslide danger warning".
Kikikuru also has a notification service that tells you when the danger rises in an area you have registered. Private companies working with JMA deliver the alerts by app or email. JMA asks people to register in ordinary times, before anything happens.
Decide when to evacuate by warning level
Evacuation information is issued by municipalities. Under the national guidelines on evacuation information (revised March 2026), published on the website of the Disaster Management Agency, Level 3 is "evacuation of the elderly and others", Level 4 is an "evacuation order" at which everyone evacuates, and Level 5 is "emergency safety measures". Level 5 is treated as a separate stage where life is already in grave danger, so the premise is that everyone has evacuated by Level 4.
The Prime Minister's Office notes that warning levels do not always come in order from 1. Even without municipal evacuation information, act on the disaster weather information. Evacuating does not only mean going to a shelter: it can mean moving to a safe relative's or friend's home, or, after checking the conditions on a hazard map, staying on an upper floor of your own home.
Outage information and municipal alerts
The areas affected by an outage, the number of households and the expected restoration time are posted on the website of your regional grid company (the general transmission and distribution operator). Kansai Transmission and Distribution's outage page, for example, can be searched by map or area name, and the company also offers an app with push notifications and an official X account. The page notes that posted information may not be final, so treat restoration times as estimates.
Municipal notices reach you through outdoor loudspeaker systems, emergency alert messages on phones, TV and radio, and municipal disaster emails and apps. The Prime Minister's Office lists checking these channels in ordinary times as one of the things to do.
[Our disaster bookmarks]
Hazard Map Portal (MLIT)
Kikikuru (JMA), with notifications registered
Our municipality's disaster page and alert email sign-up
Regional grid company's outage page
Our home's results: flood __ / landslide __ / tsunami __Things to watch
If your municipality issues an evacuation order or an elderly evacuation notice, evacuate promptly whatever colour Kikikuru shows. JMA also asks people to centre their decisions on municipal evacuation information and use Kikikuru and river levels as input to their own judgement.
In a disaster, posts of unknown origin and forwarded messages also spread. Before you act on them, compare them with the official pages listed here.
Checklist
- Have you looked up your home address on the multi-layer hazard map?
- Have you registered for Kikikuru notifications and your municipality's alert emails?
- Have you bookmarked your regional grid company's outage page?
One thing to check today
Look up your home address on the multi-layer hazard map and share the flood, landslide and tsunami results and your evacuation site with your family.