Natural Disaster
Safety Guide
Easy English VersionＢＯＳＡＩＧＵＩＤＥWakayama International Exchange Center1Wakayama and Earthquakes
As of January 1st 2015, there is a 70% chance that the Nankai trough giant earthquake(magnitude of 8 to 9) will happen in the next 30 years. When it happens, Wakayama will shakevery strongly. There will also be a risk of tsunamis in the areas near the sea.

Preparing for Tsunamis
Tsunamis sometimes happen after earthquakes. Tsunamis come fast and waves are high.
They are very dangerous. Soon after the earthquake happens the meteorology agency will
give warnings of any approaching tsunami. If a tsunami is coming, move away from the shore
right away, and evacuate to a safe place on high ground.
＜ Tsunami warning and advisory issued by the meteorology agency ＞
Tsunami advisory
Tsunami warning
Giant tsunami warning

Those in the ocean are to come ashore right away. Keep away from the ocean.
Tsunamis are predicted to cause damage to areas near the shore.
Move away right away.

● Prediction of tsunami heights and arrival times
Wakayama CityKainan City6m 53min
8m 40min6m 47min
8m 39minArida City

Yuasa Town

Hirogawa Town

5m 41min10m 33min

6m 44min11m 35min

6m 43min
9m 33min

Yura Town

Hidaka Town

Mihama Town

7m 35min10m 24min

6m 28min11m 16min

8m 27min17m 16min

Gobo City

Inami Town

Minabe Town

8m 24min16m 13min

7m 24min15m 11min

7m 23min14m 11min

KatsuragiTown

IwadeCity
Wakayama
CityKainan City
Arida City
Yuasa Town
Yura Town

Kinokawa
CityKoya Town

KiminoTown

Aridagawa Town

HirogawaTown

Hidaka Town

HidakagawaTown

Kitayama Town

Mihama Town
Gobo CityInamiTown MinabeTown

Tanabe CityTanabe City

Shirahama Town

Susami Town

KamitondaTown

7m 25min12m 12min

7m 12min16m 3min7m 10min
19m 3minShirahamaTown

Kushimoto Town

10m
17m5min
3min

Taiji Town

6m13m7min
3min

Hashimoto City

Kudoyama Town

Nachikatsuura Town

Shingu City8m 10min14m 3min7m 11min14m 5minShingu City

NachikatsuuraTown
SusamiTown

Kozagawa
Town

TaijiTown

Kushimoto Town

Tokai, Tonankai, and Nankai earthquakes

Nankai trough giant earthquake

Highest tsunami wave
Maximum wave arrival time of the ﬁrst tsunami

Highest tsunami
Arrival time of 1 m tsunami［Wakayama pref. ］● There are three earthquakes, the Tokai, Tonankai, and Nankai Earthquakes that happen at
the same time together (magnitude 8.7) in the Nankai troughabout every 90 to 150 years.
● About the magnitude 9.1 Nankai Trough Giant Earthquake
There has been no record of over magnitude 9 in the Nankai
Tokaiearthquake
trough yet. But if it happens, there will be very big damage.
Nankai earthquake
Tonankaiearthquake（ ＊ This document uses the western Magnitude scale ofNankai troughearthquake movement, but Japan usually uses the JapaneseNankai trough giant earthquake‘Shindo’scale to measure earthquakes.）
There are tsunami hazard maps at city halls and town halls. Please check it beforehandand see where you need to evacuate to.

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When an earthquake happens…
Crawl under a table or desk
Stay under a strong table or desk to protect
your head. Hold the desk legs tightly. Be
aware of any objects falling or collapsingfrom above.

Open the door or window
When buildings collapse, sometimes doors
and windows become stuck. Open doors
and windows right away so you have a way
to get out.

Turn off heaters, stoves,etc. as the shaking subsides
Turn off any heaters, etc., but only after theshaking stops.

Do not go outside at first
Window glass or sign boards may fall down.
It is dangerous to go outside at first. Brickwalls may also collapse.

Stay away from cliffs

Evacuate to somewhere far
from the ocean

Steep mountain slopes can collapse, so stayaway from them.

Tsunami can come. Evacuate to high groundor as far as possible from the ocean.

Park your car on the left
side of the road
It is very dangerous to evacuate in a car. If
you are driving, park on the left side of theroad carefully and turn off the engine. Leave
the key in the car.

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In case of a typhoon and heavy rain
It rains a lot during the rainy season from June to July and when there is a typhoon. The
water level in the river increases and overflows. In the mountains you should be careful about
landslides. In Japan typhoons happen a lot from August to October. As the wind becomesstrong, objects are blown around and they can be very dangerous.

Before a typhoon or heavy rain
・Check the house. Repair any damaged parts.
・Bring all the objects outside your house inside or secure them so that they are not blownaway.
・Clean your drainage and gutters so wastewater can flow.
・Put your furniture and electric appliances on a high place if water might come in yourhouse.
・Sometimes electricity can go out. Prepare by having a flashlight and a portable radio handy.

When the rain or wind is strong▶ Outside the house▶ Inside the house

・Trees can fall down. Objects can be blown away.
If you go outside try to protect your head as muchas possible.
・Areas near the sea, rivers and mountains are
dangerous. Never go near there during a typhoon.
・Do not go outside when rain or wind is strong.
・Close the window shutters, curtains and doors.

Get information
When a typhoon is coming, you should get information from weather reports, etc. Preparein advance for evacuating. When an evacuation warning or evacuation advisory is issued,evacuate safely and be careful to avoid danger. If you are unable to leave the building you arein, take refuge in the most secure part.
＜ Weather warnings and other information issued by the meteorology agency ＞
Heavy rain・Storm
High sea・High tide, etc.

Advisory
Warning
Emergency order

A dangerous natural disaster may occur.
There is a considerable risk of danger.
There is a high risk of danger.

A“landslide disaster warning”announcement is issued when there is a high risk of landslidedisaster. It is issued by the prefectural office and the meteorological observatory.
＜ Type of evacuation information issued by municipalities ＞
Information to prepare
for evacuation
Evacuation advisory
Evacuation order4

The elderly and sick people should evacuate as early as possible.
You need to evacuate.
Be sure to evacuate quickly. This order is the highest level ofevacuation advice and is given when the danger is the greatest.

In case of evacuation
Important points when you evacuate
・Stay safe and move quickly away from danger.
・Keep the things you carry to a minimum.
・Do not use a car when you evacuate from tsunami.
・Help the elderly, sick or injured people to evacuate.

Emergency
evacuation area

This is a place where you can evacuate
temporarily when there is a natural disaster.
This can be school ground, park, highground, etc.

Evacuation
shelter

You can stay in the evacuation shelter
when an e ar thquake or t ypho on, hascaused the gas, electricity and water tostop and it is difficult to live in your house.
You can get commodities and necessary
information. Foreign residents can also use
these shelters.

Things you should do at evacuation shelter
・Fill out your personal details at the reception. This is to help otherpeople know where you are.
・Get the food and water as needed.
・There is a lot of information at the evacuation shelter. If you cantranslate, please help out people who need your help to communicate.
・Anyone who lives in their own house with no access to gas, electricity,water, etc. can receive water and food at the evacuation shelter.
・You can use portable toilets.
・Evacuation shelter is a place where all people who have evacuatedcan stay. So, follow the instructions of the supervisor and help one
another.

Useful smart phone applications for evacuation
Information transmission application for foreign people「Safety tips」（Japan Tourism Agency）
This application will inform you of emergency earthquake reports and tsunami report inEnglish.
You can access evacuation plans or other contents such as how to obtain necessary
information. This is useful for foreign travelers and foreign residents in Japan.
Download page
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.co.rcsc.safetyTips.android
iPhone https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/safety-tips/id858357174?mt=85To get information
The information is very important when a disaster happens. NHK broadcasts the latest
information on TV, radio, internet, etc.

Emergency earthquake report
You hear a special chime sound on TV, radio and mobile phones just before a big earthquake.
When you hear the sound, stay safe, stay calm, and evacuate to a safe place.

TVThe latest information is broadcasted by the news at the time of disaster.
Information in Wakayama is broadcasted through datacasting, etc.

Radio
Battery-powered radios are useful when there is no electricity.
You can also listen to NHK radio broadcast on the internet.
Yo u c an a c c e s s th e inte rn et thro ugh th e c o mp ute r o rsmartphone, and listen to NHK radio programs.
● Computer
http://www.nhk.jp/netradio● Smartphone

InternetJapan Broadcasting Corporation Wakayama
Station Homepage carries detailed
information in Wakayama.

● Japan Broadcasting CorporationWakayama Station Homepage
http://www.nhk.or.jp/wakayama/International broadcasting
NHK World is broadcasting news to the world in multi-language on TV,
radio and the internet.

● NHK World Homepage
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld● NHK World TV/NHK Radio Japan
Smartphone application download page
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/app/info/index_jp.html

6Japanese used at disasters
しんげんHypocenter

よ し ん

Aftershock

だんすい

断 水 : Dansui

Cuts in water supply

きゅうすい

Water supply

震 源 : Shingen
余 震 : Yoshin

給 水 : Kyusui
あ ん ぴ かくにん

安 否確 認 : Anpi kakunin

Confirming if someone is safe

ひじょうしょく

Emergency food

非常食 : Hijyoshoku
ただ炊き出し : Takidashi

Distribution of food after an emergency

ひ な ん

避 難する : Hinan suru

Evacuate

ふ つ う

Cut off, stoppage, service interruption

不 通 : Futsu
たかだい高台 : TakadaiHigh groundひ さ い し ゃ

被 災者・被 災地 : Hisaisha・Hisaichi

Victim・Location of disaster

とうかい倒 壊する : Tokai suru

Collapse, fall down

う か い

迂回する : Ukai suru

Detour

おうきゅう そ応 急措 置 : Okyu sochi

First-aid treatment

び ち く

Emergency Supplies/Emergency Storage

ひ さ い ちち備 蓄 : Bichiku● Multi-language sound translation smart phone application VoiceTra（National Institute ofInformation and Communications Technology）
This translation application supports 29 languages such as Japanese, English, Chinese,Korean, etc.
DownloadPlease download it on the App Store or on Google Play.

Keep these items near you before evacuation
Supplies□ Flashlight□ Lighter, matches□ Portable radio□ Batteries, recharger□ Medicine,
medical supplies,masks□ Tissues□ Plastic bags
□ Can opener,
bottle opener

Food□ Drinking water□ FoodOther everyday items□ Clothes,underwear□ Towels□ Work gloves,gloves□ Rainwear, umbrella□ Safety gear,such as helmet,
life jacket, etc.

Valuables□ Passport□ Residence card
□ Health insurance card
□ Money, etc.

Prepare beforehand
Attach furniture to thewall. It will help s ave
your life.

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Guide Map to Wakayama International Exchange Center
Wakayama International Exchange Center(Wakayama International Exchange Association)
Wakayama Big Ai Bldg. 8F 2-1-2 Tebira,Wakayama city 640-8319
Tel: 073-435-5240
E-mail：wa-world@wixas.or.jp
U R L ：http://www.wak-kokusai.jp/＜ Hours of advice for foreign residents ＞
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Closed on Wednesdays andnational holidays)
Wakayama International E xchange C enter
provides information in English, Chinese, andFilipino. Contact us when you are seeking
advice.

Disaster Prevention Memo
Name
Blood Type

Nationality
Passport No.

Residence Card No.

Date of BirthAddress in Japan
Telephone No.
Country Contact No.
Embassy or consulate telephone No.
● Nearest emergency
evacuation area

Name of place

Map