[September 26 (Thursday) Event] Kurashiki City Earthquake Response Drill - Learn the safety actions of "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" during an earthquake to reduce unexpected situations and prepare for emergencies.

For those living in Kurashiki City, when hearing the word "disaster," it is easy to imagine "flood damage" due to the heavy rain disaster in July 2018.

However, looking at the national level, it can be said that the "Nankai Trough Earthquake," which is said to have a high probability of occurring within the next 50 years, is a more pressing disaster than earthquakes.

For this reason, Kurashiki City has planned the "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill."
First, it is essential to learn to "protect your own safety," and to reduce unexpected situations as much as possible, the aim is to create an opportunity to review daily disaster prevention measures.

Let me introduce it in detail.

What is the "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill"

The "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill" will be held on September 26, 2024 (Thursday) at 9:00 AM. This will be the first simultaneous disaster prevention action drill targeting all citizens in Kurashiki City.

The purpose of the drill is to learn to "protect your own safety" when an earthquake occurs, and to strengthen community disaster prevention capabilities by ensuring that people do not get "injured" even in the event of a disaster, and by helping those nearby.

Basically the same as the "ShakeOut Drill"

The "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill" is implemented under the name "ShakeOut Drill" in other local governments.

ShakeOut is the name of a new earthquake disaster prevention drill proposed and started by earthquake research organizations in California, USA, in 2008.

The basic concept is to decide a date and time for safety actions 1-2-3 in the community, conduct pre-registration and pre-learning, and perform the drill "simultaneously" in the places where each participant is located.

The safety actions 1-2-3 are as follows:

1. First, drop down (DROP)
2. Protect your head (COVER)
3. Do not move (HOLD ON)

The name ShakeOut is a coined term by the originator.
In Japan, it is said to be referred to as ShakeOut or ShakeOut Drill, but it seems that they also accept translations like "simultaneous disaster prevention drill," so "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill" is a case of using a translated name.

What is the ShakeOut Drill? | The Great Japan ShakeOut | Japan ShakeOut Promotion Conference

www.shakeout.jp

How to participate in the "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill"

The method of participation is simple.

For general citizens, no application is required. As a pre-learning activity, please read the explanation page and flyer of the Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill to understand the purpose and content of the drill.

For organizations (businesses, voluntary disaster prevention organizations, neighborhood associations, schools, etc.), participation registration is recommended, so please check the Kurashiki City website and register for participation.

If you have an emergency notification FM radio "Kokucchi", please confirm that it works, and install the "Yahoo! Disaster Prevention App" on your smartphone to be fully prepared.

Then, on the day (September 26), let's conduct the drill at 9:00 AM.

The drill itself will only take a few minutes.
Feel free to participate and take this opportunity to review your actions in the event of an earthquake.

The first "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill."
We spoke with Tatsuya Miyoshi and Yoshiaki Hiramatsu from the Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Office of Kurashiki City, who are in charge of planning and operation.

Interview with the person in charge of the Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management Office, Kurashiki City

Could you tell us the background of planning the "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill"?

Miyoshi (no honorifics)

In fact, discussions started last year (2023), but following the Noto Peninsula Earthquake on January 1, 2024, the sense of urgency increased, and it was decided to implement the drill.

Hiramatsu and I went to the Noto Peninsula to support the affected areas. Knowing the current situation in the disaster area, I felt that the city office had not conducted enough training in the initial response, so we thought we should do something to consciously confirm this.

Since earthquakes cannot be completely predicted, the basic principle in the initial response is "self-help." I felt that even at the organizational level, it was somewhat weak, and I thought that if the 480,000 citizens of Kurashiki City had self-help preparedness, we could move to the next stage.

For this reason, we decided to implement the drill in a way that increases the number of participants as much as possible.

Since this is the first implementation, is it a unique initiative for Kurashiki City?

Miyoshi

It is the first for Kurashiki City, but it is being implemented nationwide as the "ShakeOut Drill."

However, when considering conducting drills at home, the term "ShakeOut" is not familiar, so we decided to use a name that is easier for more people to understand, "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill."

Content-wise, you can think of it as being almost the same as the "ShakeOut Drill." If I had to point out a difference, we have also prepared a system to inform participants about the implementation of plus-one training, which could be considered unique to Kurashiki City.

This is because I believe there are training methods that Kurashiki City has not thought of, and we want to know about them.

What do you want people to think about through the drill?

Miyoshi

The most troublesome thing during a disaster is when "unexpected situations" arise.
While it is important to know how to respond when unexpected situations occur, I hope people will think about how to reduce unexpected situations as much as possible, such as discussing with family.

This applies to administrative staff as well.
This drill will be conducted on a weekday morning, and if an earthquake occurs while citizens are visiting the city office, it will be necessary to discuss how staff should respond.

Especially since Kurashiki City has not experienced a major earthquake in the past, there are many buildings that do not meet seismic standards, and there is a prediction that unexpected situations could spread endlessly.

First, I want to confirm and decide to protect oneself and then move on through this drill.

What should we prepare first?

Hiramatsu (no honorifics)

The first priority is securing furniture.
When there is furniture in the rooms where you live and sleep, many people unfortunately die when furniture falls over.

For your own protection, please prioritize securing furniture.

Another request would be for stockpiling.
Recently, the term "rolling stock" has been heard often, and I hope you can stockpile at least three days' worth of food while using it in order.

Finally, please give a message to the citizens.

Miyoshi

The Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill is implemented in the hope that it will serve as a good opportunity for everyone to reconsider earthquakes.

This drill is conducted to review "self-help," and by doing this properly, it should lead to mutual assistance and public assistance in the future.

We hope you will participate.

Conclusion

The author has been involved in disaster volunteer activities during the heavy rain disaster in July 2018, and thus has a strong impression that "disaster = flood damage."

I was surprised and at the same time convinced when I heard during the interview that,

Kurashiki City has not experienced a major earthquake in the past, so there are many buildings that do not meet seismic standards.

The Bikan Historical Area is an area where residents chose to preserve the townscape through their efforts, but it may be necessary to recognize that the absence of earthquakes allowed this preservation.

The drill itself will only take a few minutes.
On September 26 at 9:00 AM, why not take part in the "Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill" and take some time to think about disaster prevention?

Data on the Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill

Name	Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill
Date	September 26, 2024 (Thursday) at 9:00 AM
Location	Home, business, school, etc.
Participation Fee (including tax)	None ※ For organizations (businesses, voluntary disaster prevention organizations, neighborhood associations, schools, etc.), participation registration is recommended
Website	Kurashiki City Simultaneous Earthquake Response Drill (Kurashiki City Official Website)

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