Photo/Illutration An elementary school in Okayama Prefecture inundated in July 2018 following torrential rain in western Japan (Provided by a person associated with the school)

Nearly one-third of schools around the nation are located in areas at risk of flooding or landslides, according to the education ministry's first survey of the issue.

It looked at 37,374 public preschools and schools nationwide to check their disaster preparedness and found that in excess of 10,000 are in danger zones.

They include kindergartens; kodomo-en centers of education and child care; elementary, junior high and high schools; and special needs schools.

The results released June 8 found that 7,476 schools, or about 20 percent of the total, are located in flood risk areas and designated as facilities used by those who need assistance in the event of evacuation.

The survey also found that 4,192 schools, or around 11 percent, are in “caution zones” where landslides pose a danger and fall into the same category in times of emergency.

A total of 493 schools, or 1.3 percent, are in areas at risk of both flooding and landslides.

The survey was prompted by damage to many schools following flooding and landslides triggered by torrential rains that lashed the southern Kyushu region last July and Typhoon No. 19, which battered eastern Japan in 2019.

In the survey, the ministry asked the schools if they had drawn up evacuation plans and staged related drills. It became mandatory in 2017 for schools and welfare facilities in areas prone to flooding or landslides to take such precautions.

It found that 6,365, or about 85 percent of preschools and schools in flood risk areas, had evacuation plans as of last Oct. 1, while 5,375, or around 72 percent, carried out evacuation drills.

The survey also showed that 3,313, or about 79 percent of schools in landslide caution zones, had evacuation plans, while 2,832, or around 68 percent, conducted evacuation drills.

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