The Evacuation Advisory Tiers in Japan
Japan's evacuation advisory tiers are a five-step ladder, Level 1 to Level 5, that pairs each stage of a disaster with one resident action.1 The current ladder dates to the May 2021 reform, which retired the old recommendation-versus-instruction confusion and made Level 4 a single evacuation instruction and Level 5 a shelter-in-place survival order.1 This article is the canonical tier reference: learn the five labels once, then act on them for typhoons, floods, surges, and landslides alike.
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at the Cabinet Office evacuation information pages and your municipal disaster-prevention page.
Overview
The municipal mayor issues Levels 3, 4, and 5 for specific districts when water or slope risk rises.2 JMA warnings and river information feed the decision as level-numbered inputs.1 Levels 1 and 2 are monitoring stages; Level 3 moves vulnerable residents; Level 4 moves everyone in the area; Level 5 means movement itself has become the danger.1
The ladder below reads bottom-up in time:
The Five Levels
Each level pairs a situation with one action. Read the pair, not just the number.
Level 1: Forecast
Level 1 is routine forecast-stage monitoring: weather forecasts and early warning information suggest a developing risk days out.1 Residents track developments and confirm they know where their hazard map and municipal alert channel are.2 No action beyond attention is expected.
Level 2: Advisory
Level 2 matches advisory-class warnings such as heavy-rain and flood advisories.1 Residents confirm hazard maps, evacuation routes, destinations, and information channels, and prepare to move.2 Think of it as the rehearsal stage: everything decided before Level 3 arrives.
Level 3: Evacuation of older residents and others
Level 3 is 高齢者等避難 (kōreisha-tō-hinan, "evacuation of older residents and others").1 Older residents, people with disabilities, and anyone needing extra evacuation time leave now for shelters or safe alternatives.2 Others in flood-marked or landslide-risk areas should treat Level 3 as their own leave trigger too.2
If your hazard map shows deep inundation at your address, Level 3 is your personal Level 4. Roads flood before rivers peak, and leaving early is the whole advantage.2
Level 4: Evacuation instruction
Level 4 is 避難指示 (hinan-shiji, "evacuation instruction"): everyone in the alerted area evacuates immediately to a designated shelter or a safe alternative such as a relative's home or hotel.1 The instruction now goes out at the timing the old recommendation used, so waiting for a stronger-sounding order misses the design.2 Designated shelters include schools, community centers, cooperating private buildings, high ground, and tsunami towers.2
Level 5: Emergency safety securing
Level 5 is 緊急安全確保 (kinkyū-anzen-kakuho, "emergency safety securing").1 The disaster has occurred or is imminent, outdoor evacuation is unsafe, and residents take the best available shelter: upper floors, rooms away from cliffs, or a nearby sturdy building that is relatively safer.2 The official tables mark Level 5 off from the rest with a divider reading, in effect, evacuate by Level 4 without fail.1
Level 5 orders nobody to travel. Moving through floodwater or landslide terrain at Level 5 is how residents die. Shelter high and wait.2
Who Issues What
The municipal mayor issues Levels 3, 4, and 5 for specific districts under Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act Article 60.2 JMA warnings, river flood forecasts, and landslide alerts serve as the level-equivalent inputs behind the mayor's call.1 Since the 2026 meteorological-information renewal, those inputs carry level numbers directly, for example Level 4 flood-danger warnings (as of 2026-09; confirm current names with the Cabinet Office and JMA).1
How Foreign Residents Receive Alerts
Municipal issuance means municipal registration matters most: sign up for your city's advisory app, email list, or broadcast channel on arrival.2 The Cabinet Office publishes an English overview of the revised system aimed at foreign readers.3 For multilingual backup, the Safety Tips app pushes weather and other warnings in 15 languages with evacuation flowcharts and communication cards.4 Municipalities such as Shinjuku explicitly endorse Safety Tips as a disaster-information source for resident foreigners.5
The Decision Rule
In a flood-marked area or with mobility constraints, treat Level 3 as the leave trigger.2 At Level 4, everyone in the alerted area leaves regardless of personal risk assessment.1 At Level 5, outdoor movement stops being evacuation and becomes exposure.2 Decide your household's Level 3 trigger from the hazard map before the season, not from the window during it.
Good to know
Level 5 means the disaster is already happening
Level 5 is issued when safe shelter evacuation is no longer possible.1 Survival action inside the building replaces travel to a shelter. Households that planned around "leaving at the last minute" have no last minute left.
Pre-2021 labels are retired; do not wait for them
The old 避難勧告 (hinan-kankoku, "evacuation recommendation") no longer exists as an order.1 Anyone waiting to hear it is waiting for a signal the system retired in 2021. Level 4 instruction arrives at the old recommendation timing precisely so residents move earlier.2
Warning names now carry their level numbers
The 2026 renewal aligned meteorological warning names with alert levels, so current materials read "Level 4 flood-danger warning" style throughout (as of 2026-09).1 Older guides without level numbers are stale; confirm names against current Cabinet Office and JMA pages.1
See also
- Calling 119: When and How
- 7119: Japan's Non-Emergency Medical Consultation Line
- The Neighborhood Association (Chonaikai)
- Typhoon Preparation at Home in Japan