Aug. 2007

No.58

LIVING GUIDE MORIOKA

MORIOKA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION〒 020-8531 MORIOKA-SHI WAKAZONO-CHO 2-18
TEL 019-626-7524

e-mail moriintl@nifty.com
http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl/top.html

Prepare for Earthquakes When Living in Japan
Many of you may have seen the news of the earthquake that hit Niigata in July. Earthquakes arecommon in Japan. They occur suddenly and big ones can destroy buildings, roads and utilities such as
water and gas systems in a split second. What we can do against earthquakes is to prepare ourselves
beforehand to limit the damage caused by a big earthquake as small as possible.

■ Before an earthquake occurs -・ Prepare a pack of items necessary for staying in a shelter, and keep it wherever you can find andtake it out with you in an emergency.
The items in the emergency pack will be:
A copy of your passport or ID card, flashlight, dry batteries, radio, helmet, goggle, musk, gloves,
rainwear, winter clothes, underwear, towels, emergency food, drinking water (2~3 litters per
day per person), valuables, cash and household medicine.
・ Fix the furniture so that it doesn’t fall down. Don’t put something that can be dangerous when itfalls down on such high places as top of shelves or chests.
・ Write down emergency phone numbers and the contact information of someone who speaks yourlanguage.

■ When an earthquake happens-If you are indoors:・ Get under a table or desk.
・ Turn off the gas appliances and heaters.
・ Open the entrance door to secure the path for getting out.
・ Turn off the breaker when you leave the house/building.
If you are outdoors:
・ Protect your head with your bag or other things from something falling down onto you likebroken glass.
・ Move to an open space.
If you are driving:・ Pull over to the left side of the street.
・ Turn off the engine
・ When you leave the car, leave the key inserted and don’t lock the door.
You also need to keep yourself informed on the disaster, using TV or radio.
If you cannot return home after a big earthquake, you need to contact the embassy or consulate ofyour country as well as your office or school to let them know how your family members are andwhere you are staying.

■ Shelters

・ Designated evacuation sites(Shitei Hinan Basho)
People evacuate temporarily to designatedevacuation sites immediately after a natural
disaster occur. There are 96 of them in Morioka,
mostly schools and public facilities. Find thenearest one to your home or workplace and try
how you can walk there.
・ Evacuation shelters (Shuyou Hinan Basho)
They are set up at school gyms and local
community centers (Chiku Katsudo Centers)
according to need after people evacuate todesignated evacuation sites. Foods and blankets
are distributed when required.

■ Evacuation shelters for non-Japaneseresidents

These shelters are for non-Japanese residents
who are likely to have problems with language.
Two of them are set up in Morioka:

the International Exchange Center (Kokusai
Koryu Center) at Moriokaeki Nishidori 1-chome,
and the Ueda Public Hall (Ueda Kominkan) at
Ueda 4-chome (See the maps). In the shelters, city
officials and fire fighters will help you. So please
do not panic and move quickly.

■ Disaster Emergency Message Dial (Dial 171)
(Saigai-yo Dengon Dial)

someone in a devastated area. In that case, use
the Disaster Emergency Massage Dial (Saigai-yoDengon Dial). With this emergency service byNTT, messages left by people in the devastatedarea can be heard from outside of the area (theother way round is also possible). You can recordand play a message by dialing 171 and following
the guide in Japanese. The start of this service isannounced on TV and radio. "Web 171", a message
board on the Internet, is also available.

（http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/saigai/web171/index.html）
To record a message, dial
171 + 1 + area code + phone number of the party
in a devastated area

To play a message, dial
171 + 2 + area code +phone number of the party
in a devastated area

※ More information
Council of Local Authorities for International
Relations: CLAIR （http://www.clair.or.jp/）※ Disaster Information in "Web Morioka"
Morioka city provides you information on
disasters, damages and evacuation advisoriest h r o u g h i t s w e b s i t e . Yo u c a n a c c e s s t h e
information by both PC and mobile phone
PC → http://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/dtl/disasterdb.nsf

A natural disaster makes it difficult to call

Mobile phone → http://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp

International Exchange Centera(Iwate Prefecture Citizen's Cultural Exchange
Center-Aiina ５F)

Ueda Public Hall(Ueda Kominkan)/i/index.html

Takamat su Pond

Ueda Publ i c Hal l
ＮＨＫ

Facul t y of Engi neeri ng
I wat e Uni v.

I wat e Uni v.

Ueda El em. SchoolRout e4