Essay

Earthquake weather

By Samantha Loong

In New Zealand, when the air seems still — almost a little too still — it's not uncommon to hear people use the expression, "Feels like earthquake weather."

In late August, when the air is at its thickest, Tokyo holds its annual Disaster Preparedness Week.

I always feel a little nostalgic when I see the sight of volunteers covered in fake blood, sporting fake wounds and lying in awkward, painful positions, because they remind me of the emergency drills we had in high school in New Zealand.

As students, my classmates and I saw the opportunity to "play victim" as the perfect way to excuse ourselves from class, and the drama students thought of it as a perfect way to show the world, or at least the emergency services crew, their acting abilities.

As an adult, I wish I had taken these drills more seriously because, as several large tremors in August kindly reminded us, Mother Nature can surprise and terrify at any time she pleases.

New Zealand and Japan are similar not only in land mass but also in how seismically active they are. My hometown, Wellington, is similar to Tokyo in that it sits on or near several major fault lines, and that its residents and infrastructure are alarmingly ill-prepared for disaster.

Japan certainly seems more technologically organized when it comes to broadcasting earthquake information. I was watching TV moments after the 2004 Chuetsu earthquake in Niigata, and was impressed by a centralized system that allowed people in the affected area and their loved ones around the country to communicate via a message board displayed on screen.

But it takes more than technology to lessen the impact of a disaster. I hope that Japan's Disaster Preparedness Week includes educating and empowering children with the knowledge that they can do something to look after themselves and others during a major earthquake. At primary school in New Zealand, during our emergency drills teachers would warn us that, at any given time, if they yelled "EARTHQUAKE!" we would all have to run under our desks and hold them in place. They would time and grade us on how well we did. I used to resent these nerve-wracking interruptions to class, but in truth, a real earthquake would be much worse.

In various centers around Japan, adults and children alike have the opportunity to experience earthquakes of varying intensity. At Wellington's Te Papa Museum, a small "earthquake house" serves to show visitors what a mild tremor would be like. They were forced to lower the maximum intensity of the shakes after the screams of terrified children panicked too many museum visitors.

But I think that, screams or no screams, everyone really needs to experience what a bona fide earthquake might be like and know what to do during and after, because, at least in a controlled environment, you know that there's an "OFF" switch somewhere.

Shukan ST: September 11, 2009

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