Ten Points about Earthquakes

Earthquake Safety for You and Your Family
- If you can read PDF files, here is very useful earthquake handbook by Niigata Prefecture
http://www.pref.niigata.lg.jp/HTML_Simple/english.pdf

Ten Points about Earthquakes
A natural disaster like an earthquake can cause a wide range of serious damages. Individuals can try to minimize these damages in a number of ways.

Ten Points about Earthquakes
- In order to control your response during an earthquake:
1. First consider your personal safety and the safety of your family.
2. If a fire occurs, extinguish it immediately.
3. Quickly move outside.
4. Make sure that all exit doors remain open at all times.
5. Protect your head at all times.
6. If in a public location such as a store or theater, follow directions of the staff.
7. If driving, pull to the left and stop your car. Driving restrictions may be in place for affected areas.
8. Be aware of warning related to landslides, rockslides and tsunamis.
9. Evacuate on foot and leave behind all non-essential belongings.
10. Don't be confused by false rumor. Act on reliable information.

Ten Points about Home Safety
- In order to protect yourself from falling objects and furniture:
1. First ensure the safety of your home and protect yourself and your family.
2. Furniture in the home should be safely positioned.
3. Make sure the furniture is safe in the rooms of people with disabilities, the elderly and children.
4. To prevent falling, chose storage devices with a low center of gravity.
5. If the furniture might fall over, make sure it is not able to cause injury or block escape routes.
6. Ensure that glass is shatterproof to avoid injury or blocked escape routes.
7. Check the strength of furniture that is fixed to the walls and ceilings.
8. Basic furniture should be aligned in an L-shape and pushed tightly to the walls.
9. Fill in gap between furniture and ceiling to avouid it from falling
10. Don’t forget to secure home appliances and other large pieces of furniture like pianos.

Ten Points for the people away from home
- Take these steps when an earthquake occurs to ensure a quick and ready response when you are outside:
1. Don’t panic or raise your voice. Check around you.
2. Keep a radio-capable device like a mobile phone in your pocket.
3. Map out your return home.
4. Keep sneakers in your locker with an Emergency Kit.
5. Take simple foods like caramel and chocolates from your desk.
6. Speak with your family about meeting places and contact methods.
7. Confirm your safety via voicemail or checking in with relatives.
8. Train yourself on how to walk home.
9. Prepare according to the season, such as heating pads or towels.
10. Talk to each other. Help others.

by Tokyo Metropolis "Disaster Prevention Memos"