This study selected three villages in Madou District, Tainan City - Beishih Village, Siaopi Village, and Pitou Village in 823 flood disaster to be the research site for analysis. These three villages face the common problem of a drastically aging population. The author conducted in-depth interviews to understand the problems faced by community elderly when prolonged flooding occurs, and to expound the issues encountered during the course of natural disasters. The author visited the three villages (in which Siaopi Village has merged into Pitou Village) to conduct interviews with elderly residents and 17 elderly residents were interviewed. The interview results indicate that the flood had caused serious damage in the study area. As the water level monitoring sensor of the area’s disaster prevention unit was swept away by the floodwaters, it was impossible to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the heavy rainfall on the area. Consequently, no preventive evacuation measures were implemented and the decision to evacuate was made by the community, in conjunction with the assistance of residents with self-rescue capabilities. Despite regular training, due to flooding and property considerations, the community’s disaster prevention and evacuation system was inoperable, and there was a lack of communication and rescue and support efforts between the district office and the community. Moreover, owing to the size of the disaster area, the district office lacked sufficient disaster relief resources and equipment and required external assistance. However, the assistance was not provided in a timely manner and the community’s resources became depleted. The victims could only save themselves while awaiting the district office to transport them to the evacuation shelters. Based on the findings, the author deduced that when natural disasters occur, community elderly victims have a poor response capability and tend to delay their decision to evacuate. During a flooding event, they would prioritize vertical evacuation unless the water supply and power have been cut off from their homes, and they would only move to an evacuation shelter if they are unable to seek refuge somewhere near their homes. Moreover, the elderly residents had a propensity to rely on people they are familiar with to make their evacuation decisions. As a result, if the opportunity for pre-evacuation is missed, rescue efforts would become more difficult. Since most of the elderly residents had chronic diseases and regularly required medical treatment or health care, natural disasters are a threat to their lives and health. Some of them were even hard of hearing and could not articulate their words properly. It is often not possible to achieve effective information transfer. According to the findings, disaster prevention and relief units should also identify and provide adequate professional training on disaster prevention and relief for the key contact persons of elderly residents in a community, such that these people can serve as a bridge for conveying information to elderly victims. In short, these measures can assist aging communities to implement selfrescue efforts during disasters.
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