Introduction: The Nankai megathrust earthquake occurs in the Nankai trough, an oceanic trench that runs along the Pacific coast of Japan and recurs in Japan approximately every 100 to 150 years. The last Nankai megathrust earthquake was in the 1940s. Since then, many industrial plants have been built in Japan. The next Nankai megathrust earthquake will be the first time these plants on the Pacific coast face a colossal earthquake. In the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, fires broke out at oil refineries, causing health problems. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident resulted in prolonged evacuations and increased disaster-related deaths. Although technological measures such as anti-seismic reinforcement and seawall construction are being taken against earthquakes, management plans for injuries and physical and mental illnesses associated with industrial accidents may still need to be developed. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) plays a vital role in ensuring the security of disaster victims. This abstract aims to review existing DRR strategies in safety and health management for major plant incidents possibly triggered by the Nankai megathrust earthquake, according to the Sendai Framework. The Sendai Framework provides comprehensive priority themes in DRR. Methods: A literature review was conducted by searching available published literature from online databases. The information used in this review is taken from articles, journals, and government reports regarding the topic from November 2014 to October 2024. Results: This review revealed that DRR strategies for major plant incidents possibly triggered by the Nankai megathrust earthquake lack areas related to health management compared to safety management in four priorities in the Sendai Framework. Conclusion: It was suggested that DRR strategies for industrial accidents caused by the Nankai megathrust earthquake focus on engineering aspects. However, these strategies should also include health management for earthquake-triggered industrial accidents.
Ozaki et al. (Sun,) studied this question.