Abstract Introduction: Living in a shelter affects resident health, increasing mortality risk, making shelter management a crucial part of disaster response.Multiple stakeholders are involved in managing evacuation centers. However, little is known about the support needs of medical personnel within a disaster area. Methods: This study aimed to examine the role of nurses in this disaster response, including evacuation to shelters, and the challenges they faced, given the lack of previous training or experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nurses who were affected by the nuclear power plant accident, and qualitative content analysis was conducted.Results: The challenges of shelter activities included the experience of being rebuffed by residents affected in the same area and the need to manage the conflict between the positions of victims and supporters. In addition, it was shown that by building support among staff and relationships between staff and residents, they were able to continue their difficult shelter activities. Many nurses expressed interest in disaster nursing, as their experiences of supporting people in disasters and evacuation centers provided them with hints for their nursing practice, and they applied the lessons learned from their evacuation center activities to their future disaster response.Discussion: To improve staff management of trauma, suitable training should be provided during “normal” times to strengthen staff relationships; in addition, clinical and community nurses should be afforded opportunities to understand each other’s roles to support disaster response.