Living Guides
Disaster Preparedness
Staying prepared is an important way to keep damage to a minimum when a disaster strikes.
Be Prepared so that You Can Act Calmly in an Emergency
- It is a good practice to obtain disaster prevention information from your local government’s website on a regular basis, check the locations of local disaster evacuation sites, plan your routes to those evacuation sites, and be aware of the importance of early countermeasures when a disaster strikes. Confirm the potential risks of your evacuation routes in advance, as well.
- When an earthquake strikes, there is a danger of furniture in the room toppling over. Install braces to keep your furniture from falling.
- When a disaster strikes, there may be delays before rescue and relief arrive. In addition, it may be hard to obtain phone and Internet services; supplies of electricity, water, and/or gas may be stopped; roads may be blocked; trains may not be running. It is a good idea to refer to Items for Your Emergency Kit to prepare the items you may need.
Get the Latest Updates and Remember the Importance of Taking Action Early
- Be sure to make use of apps and SNS to obtain up-to-date disaster alert information.
Recommended Disaster Prevention Apps, SNS, and Information Websites
- Tokyo Institute of Technology – Information for International Researchers
- Japan Tourism Agency – Disaster Information App “Safety tips”
Information in eleven languages (Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog, and Nepalese). - Japan National Tourism Organization’s Twitter page – “Japan Safe Travel”
- Disaster Preparedness Tokyo App
- Meguro City Disaster Prevention Map (Disaster Prevention Map App for Smartphones)
*Please also read“Disaster Drill” in the news section on this website.
Why Not Get Some Hands-On Disaster Prevention Practice?
In the Greater Tokyo Area and Kanagawa Prefecture, there are facilities related to disaster prevention where you can gain hands-on experience – with how to evacuate during a tsunami, for example – and other insights .
- The Tokyo Rinkai Disaster Prevention Park – Sona Area Tokyo
- Ikebukuro Life Safety Learning Center
- Yokohama Disaster Risk Reduction Learning Center
Why Not Participate in Some Evacuation Drills?
“Disaster Preparedness Drill for Foreign Residents” are conducted in English and simple Japanese by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government each year in January. Experience an earthquake produced by a simulation truck and receive training in emergency first aid using an automated external defibrillator (AED).