Patent ID: 8452540

Claim:
An earthquake damage spread reducing method for use in a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a boat for loading objects to be processed therein, in a multistage fashion, the method comprising: a step of receiving, via a communication circuit of a receiving unit, urgent earthquake information, based on preliminary tremors detected earlier than a principal shock of an earthquake, wherein said urgent earthquake information is received from a meteorological related agency and/or a third-presenter earlier than the principal shock, wherein, when the urgent earthquake information is received by the receiving unit, performing: a first step of stopping operation of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, earlier than the principal shock, based on the urgent earthquake information received by the receiving unit; and a second step of holding the boat, earlier than the principal shock, in order to prevent fall down of the boat, in which the objects to be processed are loaded in a multistage fashion, in parallel to the first step.