Japan is a country withmany earthquakes.

Be preparedfor earthquakes
Pr ot e ct you r sel f fromla rg e e ar thquakes
Earthquakes (natural phenomena that cause theground to shake) occur frequently in Japan. In theevent of an earthquake, houses and other buildings
may collapse and people may get injured.
This material includes important points to protect you andyour family from the damage caused by an earthquake.

What is an earthquake?
⑴ Earthquakes are natural phenomena that cause the ground to shake.
⑵ Earthquakes can occur suddenly, with no warning.
⑶ An earthquake may be followed by other disasters described below.
▪ A tsunami (large sea wave) rushes toward the land.
▪ A landslide occurs on a mountain. Buildings and roads collapse.
▪ Electricity, gas, and water supply are cut off.
▪ There is no network connection for mobile phones.

What is a tsunami?
⑴ A tsunami is an extremely fast, large and dangerous sea wave that
may occur after an earthquake.
⑵ An earthquake that occurs near the sea may be followed by atsunami, even in the case of a small earthquake.
▪ If you spend time at the coast, check for a safe place to run to,and plan your escape route in the event of a tsunami.
▪ If you feel an earthquake, immediately head to higher ground.
Do not run to your car.
▪ The tsunami may strike again and again. It is extremely
dangerous to return to the seashore after the first wave recedes.
Term

Meaning

Intensity of earthquake

Scale of earthquake

Afterquakes (Aftershocks)

Earthquakes after a large earthquake

LandslideA mountain collapses. A large amount of soil and rocks fallfrom the mountain.

Blackout

Lights cannot be used because the electricity is cut off.

Water outage

There is no running water because it is cut off.

Evacuation

Run to somewhere safe to escape from the danger.

Preparation for evacuation

Be prepared to run to somewhere safe.
(Elderly people, etc. should start escaping.)

Part 1 Learn about earthquakes

You can learn a lot about earthquakes and tsunamis by browsing thefollowing apps.
Search the App Store or Google Play.

① Safety Tips, Japan Tourism Agency

Safety Tips② Disaster Preparedness Tokyo,
Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Search the App Store or Google Play.

東京都防災アプリ

This app provides basic information about earthquakes and being prepared
as well as helpful information in the event of an earthquake. Five languages:
English, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean and Japanese.
Search the App Store or Google Play.

③ CLAIR Multilingual Life Information

多言語生活情報This app provides basic information about earthquakes and other living
information necessary for foreigners in Japan, such as the preparation ofstockpiles and evacuation methods. There are 17 categories in total, writtenin 14 languages.
Search the App Store or Google Play.

④ NHK World (TV)NHK World TV   Provides various 24-hour news in English, including earthquake/tsunami
information and breaking news.
Term
Evacuation instructions

Meaning
Immediately run to somewhere safe.

Higher ground

Place to stay for people whose homes were destroyed and forother people seeking shelter. For example, community halls
and school gymnasiums.
Place higher than the surrounding area

Evacuation site
(evacuation area)

When an earthquake occurs, run to this place first. It is a large
space, such as a park or school playground.

Safety confirmation

To check whether someone is alive or injured in the case of adisaster such as an earthquake.

Evacuation center

Learn about
earthquakes

This app provides information about earthquake early warnings,1) tsunami
warnings,2) and evacuation action to be taken.3) Five languages: English,Chinese (simplified and traditional), Korean, and Japanese.

What is an earthquake?
What is a tsunami?

To protect yourself from earthquakes:

The following websites also provide information about earthquakes and tsunamis.
Information provider

URLLanguage

NHK World (Radio)

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ja/radio/ 18 languages

Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport
and Tourism

Japanese,English
http://www.mlit.go.jp/river/bousai/
Korean, Chinese
olympic/index.html(simplified and traditional)

Japan MeteorologicalAgency

http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/index.html Japanese
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html English

Fire and Disaster
Management Agency,
http://www.fdma.go.jp/
Ministry of Internal Affairs http://www.fdma.go.jp/en/
and Communications

Japanese
EnglishDisaster Prevention /http://open.fdma.go.jp/e-college/
Crisis Management e-College http://www.fdma.go.jp/en/

Japanese
EnglishCouncil of Local
Authorities forInternational Relations

Multilingual Life Information
13 languages
http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengo/index.html

To protect yourself from earthquakes:

Part 2 Be prepared in advance⑴ Is your neighborhood safe?
Read the following items and if applicable, check the box.
□ Close to the sea ⇒ Earthquake may cause a tsunami.
□ Close to a mountain ⇒ Earthquake may cause a landslide.   If you checked either of the boxes, look for a safe place near yourhouse where you can run (evacuate) to in the event of an earthquake.  Check the disaster-prevention map (map for evacuation sites) for your area
to learn more about the safety situation and evacuation sites near your house.   You can check the hazard maps prepared by local governments inJapan on the following website (in Japanese only).
▶︎ Our town's hazard map: Getting the hazard map for your area
Geospatial Information Authority of Japan : https://disaportal.gsi.go.jp/hazardmap/

⑵ Is your house resistant to earthquakes?  In past earthquakes, many of the older wooden houses collapsed andmany people died in their homes. If you live in a house that was built
many years ago, it's important to obtain a seismic evaluation and havethe necessary repair work done.
□I have checked the earthquake resistance of my house.

⑶ Is it safe inside your house?

⑷ Things to always have prepared  When a large earthquake occurs, the electricity, gas, and water supply
in your house may get cut off.  It is important to be prepared in advance so that you can live withoutanyone's help for at least a week until support from the government
arrives.  Therefore, always have the following (example) items prepared.
Example of emergency stockpile
Food

Biscuits, canned food, instant ramen, candy, and other food that can beeaten without difficulty.

Beverages

3 liters per person per day

Houseware

Everyday goods, such as: Portable gas stove, gas canister, matches, candles,lighters, paper plates, disposable chopsticks, spoons, forks, towelettes, toilet
paper, portable toilet, flashlights, dry-cell batteries, blankets, sleeping bags

Be preparedin advance   When an earthquake occurs, dangerous conditions might result, suchas the furniture falls over, objects on the shelf drop, and glass breaks.  Therefore, check your home for anything that could become dangerous
during an earthquake and take measures beforehand as shown in thefollowing examples.
□ Devices are installed to prevent the furniture from moving.
□ Heavy objects are not placed on the furniture.
□ Shatterproof film is applied on the glass windows.
□ There are no objects in the doorways or passages.

Learn about
earthquakes【Reference】S i m p l i f i e d S e i s m i c E v a l u a t i o n o f W o o d e n H o u s e s f o r
Homeowners and Residents (The Japan Building DisasterPrevention Association)
http://www.kenchiku-bosai.or.jp/english/（English site）

When there is an infant in the house

Milk, baby food, diapers, towels

When there is a person who needs nursing care

Diapers, medicine, etc.

⑸ Get to know your neighbors  When a disaster occurs, it is important to help each other. Participate
in local activities and get to know your neighbors. This will help
everyone in an earthquake.
To protect yourself from earthquakes:

Part 3 Earthquake precautions  In the event of an earthquake, try not to panic. Stay calm and takethe appropriate action to minimize the damage.
Whereabouts at thetime of an earthquake

Notes

If you are at home

●Furniture and objects fall during an earthquake. If you feel the groundshaking, hide in a place where things do not fall, collapse, or move.
●When the shaking stops, turn off any cookers and stoves.
●Open the door, because you cannot escape if the door is broken.

If you are atschool or work

●Move away from bookshelves and windows and hide in a place where
things do not fall, collapse, or move.

If you are in anelevator●Push all the buttons. When the door opens, get off immediately.
●If you are caught in the elevator, push the intercom.

If you are in a car● Park the car on the left side of the road and stop the engine.
● Get out of the car after the earthquake stops.
● Leave the car keys in the car.
● Do not lock the door.

If you are near the ●Get away from the sea or river and run to higher ground because there
sea or a river
may be a tsunami.

Safety confirmation at the time of disastermessage board service  Normal telephones cannot be connected as usual at the time of a majordisaster. By using the following emergency message board services, you
can play back and listen to the safety information recorded by yourfamily and friends. The service is free of charge at the time of a disaster.

TypeHow to use the service and website URLs
Leave a message: Call 171 → 1 → your telephone number → leave aNTT Disaster Emergency message
Message Dial (171)

Listen to a message: Call 171 → 2 → telephone number of the person you
want to make contact with → listen to the message

Mobile phoneemergency message
board services
Emergency Broadband
message board

NTT docomo

http://dengon.docomo.ne.jp/top.cgi

au

http://dengon.ezweb.ne.jp/

SoftBank

http://dengon.softbank.ne.jp/J

Y!mobile

http://dengon.ymobile.jp/info/NTThttps://www.web171.jp/
Be preparedin advanceDisaster prevention memoYour nameEarthquake
precautions

Home country
Blood type
Passport number
Address in Japan
FireDepartment:171110

Be prepared for earthquakes～ Protect yourself from large earthquakes ～7March, 2019

Published and edited by the Institute of ScientificApproaches for Fire & Disaster3-14-1 Nakahara, Mitaka City, Tokyo 181-0005
TEL : 0422-24-7803
FAX : 0422-46-9940
URL : http://www.isad.or.jp

Disasterprevention memo

119

Disaster
Emergency
Message Dial:

PoliceDepartment:

message board
service

Residence card number