The Akashi Newsletter (Koho Akashi) is a newsletter published by Akashi City. It releases on the 1st and the 15th of each month. There are many announcements in each issue of the Akashi Newsletter. We have selected five of the most important or useful announcements and translated them into English.
Announcements in the January 15th Issue
Double-Check to Be Sure You’re Prepared for an Earthquake
31 years ago, on January 17th, 1995, there was a huge earthquake in Japan. An earthquake can happen at any time, without warning. Please prepare yourself so that you and your family can be safe in case an earthquake happens. In addition, there is the possibility of a powerful earthquake called the “Nankai Trough Earthquake”. This earthquake is likely to occur at some point beneath the sea south of Japan. That’s why it’s even more important to be prepared.
■ Check the inside of your home to make sure everything is safe and secure.
◦ Don’t put anything near your bed or the exit to your room that can fall over easily.
◦ Use metal fittings (金具, kanagu) or tension rods (突っ張り棒, tsupparibou) to secure your furniture so it won’t fall down during an earthquake.
■ Prepare supplies and important things in advance to make life easier in case of an earthquake
Keep these things ready in case you need them.
◦ Prepare emergency supplies, such as drinking water, food, a flashlight, a portable toilet, etc.
◦ Keep ready to bring with you the important things you need if you must evacuate suddenly during an earthquake. For example, things like money, your driver’s license, your residence card, your medication record book, etc.
■ Check the Hazard Map and think about what to do if you need to evacuate.
◦ The Hazard Map shows different places where you can evacuate in case of an earthquake.
◦ Be sure to talk with your family and confirm the route to get to the nearest evacuation area. Also talk about how to contact each other in case you are in separate places when an earthquake happens.
◦ You can look at the Hazard Map using the QR code on the right.
■ You can check on earthquake-related news with your smartphone.
◦ By registering at “Disaster Prevention Net Akashi” (防災ネットあかし, bousai netto Akashi), you can check the latest earthquake information, as well as other important info.
◦ You can register using the QR code on the right.
◦ Click the “Simple Registration” (かんたん登録, kantan touroku) link and it will let you send an e-mail to akashi@bosai.net. You don’t need to write anything in the e-mail. After you send a blank e-mail, then you will get an e-mail in return. Read the contents of the e-mail and follow its instructions.
If you have any questions about this article, please contact the General Safety Planning Office. Their phone number is 078-918-5069. Their fax number is 078-918-5140.
