Disaster Prevention Field Trip

My Japanese class went on a field trip to a surprisingly fun place this week. We went to the Kyoto City Disaster Prevention Center to learn about well... preventing disasters and preparing for/surviving them when they do occur.

They had several hands-on activities where we could realistically experience several types of disasters. For example, they had an apartment (a lot like ours) that you could enter which would then simulate the experience of an earthquake. My group survived a 7.0 magnitude quake while carrying out all the tasks they had given us ahead of time.

As the quake began, we had to protect ourselves by ducking our heads under the kitchen table and hugging the table legs. Next, as the shaking subsided, we had to scurry around to turn off the heater, gas stove and other appliances. Then, we had to open all the doors and crawl back under the table before the aftershocks arrived. It was fairly violent and surprisingly realistic! A few people were a little scared, I think.

There was a typhoon simulation with winds of over 30 meters per second. That's equivalent to roughly 70 miles per hour for all you metric system impaired folks. > Besides thinking of all the roof tiles that the wind would be whipping around had this really been a storm in Kyoto, the typhoon simulation was fun... and made all the girls' hair look fabulously "windswept chic."

We got to use fire extinguishers to try to combat virtual fires. Essentially, we shot water onto videos of fire on a giant screen. The scenarios were hilarious and usually resulted in the fire winning. It was really useful to see what it feels like to use a fire extinguisher. Pulling the pin out and puncturing the pressure seal was easier than you'd think.

The least fun simulation was the Smoke Simulation where we had to escape a hotel fire. They had a maze of hotel hallways filled with (non-toxic) smoke. We had to navigate our way to the exit. It was fairly difficult though as the hallways were dark, many of the Exit signs and all of the lights were realistically burnt out and the smoke was um... bothersome. My group escaped the most quickly which I attribute to our decision to crouch/crawl instead of walk. The smoke filled the hallway from about shin height upwards, so it was less lung-crushing along the floor.

They had an arcade type area with several firefighting video games, a 3-D ride about the "Great Kyoto Earthquake" and a Air Rescue Helicopter Flight Simulator where you could fly around Kyoto extinguishing fires and saving people during disasters. The difficulty of these games resulted in our being seriously impressed by real-life firefighters and helicopter pilots.

It was a fun and very practical field trip. I think every big city should have one of these centers - an informed and educated public has to be a much better thing in time of a disaster than, say, for example, FEMA.

1-1-9? Kyuu kyuu desu!

My Japanese class recently had some special guests. The Kyoto City Fire Department came by to tell us (in Japanese) about fire prevention, the leading causes of fire in Japan, and what to do if you have a fire or other emergency.

Most importantly, we were taught how to make a 119 call. 1-1-9 is Japan's emergency number, like 9-1-1 in the US. They highlighted the fact that in an actual emergency we would likely panic and want to resort to our native languages, so we had a fun practice activity.

Using two connected telephones, they had each member of the class call 119 and explain their situation to the 119 operator (AKA one of the firemen wearing a headset). We were asked to report either a fire or emergency situation. Throughout the call the "operator" asked us for things like our names, our addresses, descriptions of nearby landmarks to help them find us, our phone numbers and a brief description of the emergency. It was fun to make up crazy answers to the questions (ie: What is burning? My entire house is burning, thanks.) Most of all, it was neat to realize that we know enough Japanese to be able to do this. :)