Natural Disasters

Japan is a country with four distinct seasons, and a variety of seasonal disasters such as torrential rains and typhoons, occur frequently. Due to the influence of the seasonal rain front, heavy rains fall from late spring to early summer, while several typhoons approach or descend upon Japan every year from summer to autumn. As these heavy rains and typhoons can cause various disasters such as landslides and flooding, confirm dangerous locations and determine where shelters are beforehand, and make adequate preparations in your daily life.
Japan is also a land with a high level of seismic activity compared with other countries. Earthquakes are the shaking of the ground which ensues due to the sudden slippage of usually stable underground tectonic plates along a portion of their edges.
When a strong earthquake occurs, the shaking can cause the collapse of buildings, outbreak of fire, and other calamities. In each of our daily lives, we should prepare for such an event to minimize damage.
Furthermore, a great earthquake, the Tokai Earthquake, is expected to occur in the near future, covering a large area and centered in the Tokai region. This Tokai Earthquake has occurred at a rate of about once every 100 years in the past. Since its last occurrence in 1854, more than 150 years have passed. We have reached the point where the Tokai Earthquake could occur at any moment.
It is generally difficult to predict earthquakes, however the Tokai Earthquake offers the possibility of prediction. Should its occurrence be predicted, the Prime Minister will issue the Official Earthquake Warning to call attention. This warning will be broadcast across media including television and radio, therefore, pay attention to this warning when broadcast. For information about what precautions should be taken in preparation for a disaster, please refer to the pamphlet “Kasai, kyukyu, jishin, fusuigai ni sonaete” or “What to do in the Case of a Fire, Earthquake, Typhoon, or Flood,” available in five languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, on the City of Nagoya official website (Top Page > Publications).

On September 11-12, 2000; August 28-29, 2008; and September 20-21, 2011; the Tokai region received great damage by various natural catastrophes, including torrential rains and Typhoon Roke. Torrential rain is heavy rain that falls on a concentrated area in a short period of time. It is comparatively difficult to predict because of its characteristic tendency to occur suddenly and without warning, so please be attentive to the nature of falling rain.

Rain and strong winds caused by a typhoon, depending on its course, can cause flooding and unpredictable destruction of buildings. Pay special attention to weather information during the typhoon season. When a typhoon is approaching your area, make the following preparations:

1. In case of electrical blackout, please prepare a flashlight, portable radio, and fresh batteries.
2. Pay attention to weather information on radio or television.
3. Reinforce windows and be sure to close any amado, or sliding shutters, if you have them.
4. Bring objects at risk of being blown away (such as potted plants or laundry poles) indoors, or fasten them securely.
5. Do not go outdoors unnecessarily.
6. In areas at risk of flooding, move household goods to a higher location.
7. Prepare such things as food, drinking water, and medical supplies.
8. Prepare food, valuables, etc. for quick evacuation.
9. In at-risk regions where there is a possibility of flooding, prepare for quick evacuation at all times. (Please see a flood hazard map (Japanese only).)
10. Confirm the locations of Shelters beforehand at your local ward office and the Nagoya City Official Website.

Itis impossible to predict earthquakes. Therefore, it is important to continuously make adequate preparations and react correctly in the case of an emergency. Please take the following daily precautions:

1. Have a family disaster prevention meeting to determine Earthquake Safe Areas as well as a means of contacting your family (such as the Disaster Emergency Message Dial 171 system or the Disaster Message Board service).
2. Implement anti-falling preventative measures, such as securing furniture to walls with metal fittings.
3. Store 7 days worth of food for your family and prepare 3 days worth in a backpack as an emergency supply, together with such items as flashlights, radios and valuables, for easy carrying to a Safety Evacuation Area.
4. Check the ground stability beneath your house or building.
5. Do not place combustibles near stoves, etc.
6. Prepare fire extinguishing tools such as fire extinguishers and buckets of water, etc. in case a fire should break out.
7. Check the locations of Safety Evacuation Areas and evacuation routes.
8. After the Official Earthquake Warning is announced, the City will announce an evacuation advisory or evacuation order to people living in areas designated unsafe (areas in which tsunami or landslides are anticipated). Check beforehand at your local ward office if your residential area is designated as an unsafe area.
9. Actively participate in the fire drills organized by voluntary anti-disaster organizations and neighborhood associations.

However calm you may be in daily life, panic may strike in times of emergency. In order to act in a calm manner, the following should be learned so that they become automatic behavior:

1. If the shaking is so great you can not move, assume a low posture and protect your head.
2. If you can move, protect your head with a helmet or cushion, and take refuge in a room where the furniture has been made tip-resistant or under a sturdy table or in a similarly safe place.
3. Open the doors to secure an exit.
4. Put out any fires once the building stops swaying.
5. Be careful of broken glass indoors.
6. When going outdoors, remain calm.
7. Prepare various routes to the evacuation site, and evacuate by the safest route.
8. Acquire accurate information through radio and television.
9. Be cautious of landslides and tsunami tidal waves.

Safety Evacuation Areas and shelters (e.g., elementary and junior high schools) have been established to accommodate persons who must evacuate their homes because of difficulty in daily living, due to damage from earthquakes, typhoons or floods, as well as for persons who are evacuated in advance from high-risk areas. Please check evacuation routes in advance, and check for dangerous spots along the route to the safe areas.

For further details regarding the location of Safety Evacuation Areas and shelters, please refer to the “Map of Your Ward’s Safe Areas” available at your local ward office, the Nagoya International Center, and the Nagoya City Official Website.

Preparation for evacuation is essential. Please evacuate to a safe place in accordance with directions from your ward office, the police, the fire department, and volunteer anti-disaster organizations or when faced with the threat of flooding, tsunami (tidal waves), landslides, collapse of housing or the spread of fire.

1. Before evacuation, check that you have put out all fires, and turn off your gas line at the source, as well as switch off electrical breakers.
2. Do not forget to leave a message at home describing your whereabouts, contact information, and health condition prior to evacuation.
3. Wear comfortable clothing, and do not forget to protect your head when an earthquake occurs.
4. Evacuate with provisions and supplies in an emergency backpack.
5. Evacuate on foot, never by motor vehicle.
6. Firmly hold the hands of the elderly and children.
7. Have a family meeting on disaster prevention to determine which shelter(s) to use.
8. When going to Safety Evacuation Areas or to shelters, avoid narrow streets and do not walk near walls or rivers.
9. Once an earthquake has occurred, distance yourself from the shore as quickly as possible.
10. Stop what you are doing (swimming, fishing, etc.) and distance yourself from the shore, in cases of a tsunami advisory.
11. Tsunamis occur in waves. Watch conditions from a safe place until the tsunami warning or tsunami advisory has been lifted.

Intimes of disaster, telephone lines into the affected area are expected to become overwhelmed. As rescue and recovery efforts by emergency organizations and the telephone services they depend on can be hindered as a result of incoming calls, please refrain from making unnecessary or non-urgent phone calls.
Grey and green public telephones will be easier to dial out of, even if regular phone lines cannot connect.
Cases in which one is unable to get through to those in the affected area, the Disaster Emergency Message Dial 171 (telephone service), as described below, is available for use.

When an earthquake or other disaster occurs, telephone lines may become overwhelmed with calls to the affected area by people checking on the safety of their loved ones, and conditions making it difficult to get through may last for days.
Therefore, the Disaster Emergency Message Dial 171 Service is available to confirm the safety of family, relatives, and friends in such a situation. This is a service in which those outside the affected area can confirm the safety of family, friends, and others through playback of a message recorded by those persons in the affected area and stored at the Disaster Emergency Message Dial Center.

• Cases in which one would like to get in contact with family or friends in an area affected by a disaster to confirm their safety.
• Cases in which one would like to hear from family orfriends in an area affected by a disaster  to find out if they are safe.
• Cases in which family members in an area affected by adisaster are in separate places and would like to get in touch with each other.
• Cases in which you are in an area affected by a disaster and would like to let family and friends know that you are safe.

  The Disaster Emergency Message Dial 171 Service is only available during times of disaster. First dial 171, then follow the voice instructions to record or listen to a message. For more information in English about this service, please visit the NTT WEST Website at  http://www.ntt-west.co.jp/index.html(外部リンク) and click on the “English” tab at the top of the page.

  General directions for use are listed below, however, for more details regarding settings and use, please call 116 or email NTT WEST at:  saitai@west.ntt.co.jp

Usable Telephones: NTT EAST and NTT WEST subscribed phones (touch-tone and pulse dial types), public phones, and Hikari Denwa (optical IP telephone service).
Please contact your carrier for information regarding use of the service from cellular phones, PHS, or carriers other than NTT EAST or NTT WEST.
Charges: Charges apply to the phone number used when recording and listening to messages (the same as when making a normal phone call). There is no separate charge for using the message storage center.
Availability: This service will be quickly initiated when an earthquake of 6 or greater on the JMA seismic intensity scale occurs, and also when disasters and other emergencies result in conditions making it difficult to connect through telephone lines. At that time information about the initiation of this service will be made available by NTT through media such as television, radio, and the Internet according to the situation.
Time for Recording: 30 seconds are allotted per message.
Period Message will be Saved: The recorded message will automatically be deleted 48 hours after recording.
Number of Messages: Up to 10 messages can be recorded from one telephone number. (Information available after initiation of service)

Dial 171 and follow the pre-recorded instructions to record or playback a message.

*1 There is no charge for using the center to record or listen to messages.
*2 There is no charge for trying to record a message when the number of recorded messages exceeds the limit and no charge for trying to playback messages when none are saved.

○Disaster Prevention Week: August 30th, 9:00-September 5th, 17:00
○Disaster Prevention & Volunteer Week: January 15th, 9:00 - January 21st, 17:00
○First and 15th of every month 00:00-24:00
○January 1st-3rd,00:00-24:00

*1 Messages will be deleted at the end of the trial period even if 6 hours have not passed.

• Choose beforehand among immediate family members, relatives, and acquaintances which number you will use as a “Key Telephone Number” when recording messages. *2
• Please speak so that information can be accurately recorded within the allotted time.
• You can listen to messages by indicating the “Key Telephone Number” they were recorded with.

*2  “Key Telephone Number” refers to the telephone number entered to record/playback a message by following the guidance (it will either be one’s home telephone number or the telephone number of the person one is trying to reach).

You can experience artificially simulated earthquakes (e.g. past earthquakes or the predicted Tokai Earthquake) or disasters like the Ise Bay Typhoon at the Nagoya Minato Disaster Prevention Center.
For more information, call the Minato Disaster Prevention Center.
Address: 12-20, Komei 1-chome, Minato-ku, Nagoya (TEL 651-1100 FAX 651-6220)