Safety First: Expecting the Unexpected
Japan is no stranger to disaster. With frequent tremors all year-round and typhoons ravaging the country between July and October, the country has naturally amassed a collection of disaster preparedness measures.
It goes without saying that safety and disaster preparedness are a serious business in Japan. It will be a long time before people forget the magnitude 9.0 earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and resulting nuclear meltdown in 2011 that left the country in turmoil.
Estimated to be at least $235b in damages alone, it’s considered the most expensive disaster on record.
Typhoons have also become increasingly brutal in recent times. For example, 2018’s Typhoon Jebi effortlessly swept a tanker into the bridge connecting Kansai International Airport to the mainland, dislodging it, and stranding around 3,000 people. Typhoon Jebi also easily tore apart massive trucks and casually threw around cars, among other things.
In this article, The Tokyo Life guides you through the core of disaster preparedness based on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG)’s extensive guide.
Preparing for the Worst: Home Security and Stockpiling
First things first, you’ll need to secure large objects. Shelves, cabinets, closets, your home theater system, anything that could fall over and break should be fastened using anti-slip pads, wall brackets, tension rods, straps and the like. Anti-shatter film is also a good investment to prevent injuries from broken glass.
Japan has strictly enforced building guidelines and regulations where earthquakes are concerned so you won’t necessarily catch yourself in a dire situation, but practicing all the appropriate safety measures will help safeguard yourself against preventable distresses.
The next step in disaster preparedness is stockpiling. If you ever followed the craze over dystopian stories and doomsday prepping years back (circa 2010), you’ll know that every little bit helps ensure survival. It might seem ridiculous to think about it now, but unfortunately, disasters won’t happen at your convenience.
Think about it this way, locking yourself out of your house is already stressful without having to think about food, right? And the few hours you can’t bathe or cook because you forgot to pay your utility bill are an ordeal. So, you definitely won’t want to wait until everything’s flying off the shelves before you start stockpiling essentials and hunker down for a typhoon.
Stockpiling Essentials
Stockpiling isn’t just packing a few snacks and pajamas into an overnight bag. It, and by extension disaster preparedness, is making sure you have everything ready in case you need them, so it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
This list is a good and easy way to get into the prepping habit. It has nothing that’s too difficult to find or too specific and should serve as your main concern when buying supplies.
- Drinking water (about 2.5L per day)
- Water for toilet, washing, etc. (can be from tap – separate from drinking water)
- Non-perishable food (canned food, protein bars, etc.)
- Flashlight (and batteries)
- Battery powered radio (and batteries)
- Medical kit
Maintaining Your Pile
Unfortunately, there is no hard-and-fast rule on how much to stockpile since it all depends on factors such as location, type of disaster, storage space, personal needs, etc. However, Peace Boat Disaster Relief (PBV) recommends that a stockpile should be enough to sustain each person for at least 72 hours (3 days), although if possible 1 weeks’ worth would be a more ideal quantity and a better safeguard.
PBV and TMG also recommend that you practice what is called a rolling stockpile, where you regularly use and replace the items in your stockpile to ensure that nothing will go to waste and you will never forget to maintain it.
How to Find Your Nearest Evacuation Spot
A list of evacuation areas is usually included in your welcome kit whenever you move to a new ward. But TMG has something better for you. A part of their initiative is the Disaster Prevention Map, which allows you to look at evacuation areas near you, as well as convenience stores and medical institutions.
The best part is it allows you to search down to the district, or 丁目 (chōme), level and is readily available in English, Chinese, and Korean.
Now that you know where to go in case of an emergency, it’s important to also always remember to have your insurance card with you at all times.
How to Receive Emergency Alerts
The J-Alert, or 全国瞬時警報システム (zenkoku shunji keihō shisutemu), is a nationwide, satellite-based alert system for emergencies such as earthquakes and severe weather. It’s issued by the 消防庁 (shōbōchō), or the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, through the Superbird-B2 which then transmits it to various media such as mobile phones.
The Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) which serves a similar purpose but only for earthquakes and its aftereffects like landslides and tsunamis. EEWs are issued by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA).
To begin receiving emergency alerts, you’ll need to set-up your mobile phone.
Enabling Emergency Alerts
For iPhone users, go to Settings > Notifications and turn on Emergency Alerts at the bottom of the page.
For Android users, go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Emergency alerts and turn on Allow alerts and Show public safety alerts. However, your mobile phone must have a SIM card from a supported carrier like Softbank, KDDI, or NTT DOCOMO to receive emergency alerts.
Keep in mind, however, that phones bought outside of Japan may not be capable of receiving J-Alerts or EEWs altogether.
Emergency Alert Apps
In this case, you can still set your phone to receive themby installing either the NHK World TV (Android|iOS) or the Yahoo! Emergency App (Android|iOS).
NHK World TV is a news app that also issues EEW alerts, allowing users to keep themselves up-to-date and prepared in case of further emergencies. The app itself is available only in English but alerts are also issued in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
The Yahoo! Emergency App, on the other hand, is more what you would expect an emergency app to be. It displays information about the weather and issues EEWs, but it also doubles as a map for evacuation sites. The app is available only in Japanese but the information is easy enough to navigate through using a translation app. The developers caution, however, that EU phones may not be able to install the app due to GDPR.
Wi-Fi is required to receive news updates and alerts on both the NHK World TV app and the Yahoo! Emergency App.
Safety 101: Keeping Yourself Safe during Disasters
Now that you’ve (hopefully) done some disaster proofing around your home, some stockpiling of essentials, and setting up emergency alerts, and other disaster preparedness measures, let’s get into what to do during and after a disaster.
Earthquakes
- You’re NUMBER ONE priority when an earthquake hits – no matter the magnitude – is to protect your head. During more intense quakes, immediately hide under a desk. If not, at least stay low to the ground and cover your head with whatever is nearby like books, blankets, etc. Move away from things that can fall over IMMEDIATELY.
- After the tremor subsides, go slow and be cautious. Beware of aftershocks. Do not rush outside of the house. Instead, secure an exit for yourself by opening a window or door.
- Secure any fire hazards around you such as your gas range, and get updated on news and alerts for evacuation.
- In case of an evacuation, shut off your gas (if possible) and electricity to prevent any accidents. DO NOT take the elevator when evacuating a building.
*In the event that you become trapped and need help, DO NOT shout. You will only exhaust your remaining energy. Instead, stay calm and find a way to make loud noises to draw attention.
Typhoons
- Typhoons are much easier to detect and monitor than earthquakes so use this opportunity to gather as much information as you can. Keep yourself up-to-date on evacuation notices. Think carefully about whether to stay or evacuate and act accordingly.
- Prepare yourself and your house in the event that the power and water might be interrupted due to the weather.
- Gather more supplies as needed and prepare ahead of time.
- Even if the typhoon is not strong or the wind seems calm, DO NOT take risks. Stay inside as much as possible. Accidents are called accidents for a reason.
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Featured image by 🇨🇭 Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum on Unsplash
