During the second leg of the study abroad, we visited the Tokyo Fire Department Hongo Citizen Disaster Prevention Center, where we engaged in four simulations related to an earthquake, a flood, a fire, and a typhoon. These simulations, focusing on disaster response and survival techniques, ended up being one of my most memorable experiences of the trip.
The first simulation was the earthquake one, where we entered a room with six mats in them, with a backdrop depicting a typical living room and kitchen. The mats were rigged to shake in accordance to various earthquakes that had happened in the past, including the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. The mats would not necessarily recreate the magnitude of the earthquake, but it would slowly increase in intensity, which is a scale of how rattled the human body feels after an earthquake. During my simulation, we slowly increased the intensity from 1-6. On the mats, we would sit on our calves. When the earthquake tremors started, we were to bend over, covering our heads with our hands, as we were supposed to do in an actual earthquake. I went in the second group, and I was surprised to find myself struggling to not fall over. Behind me in the backdrop, dishes and cabinets fell over, and it became incredibly clear why drills like this were needed—even if I had known the protocol for earthquakes beforehand, it was difficult in practice to stay in position. If it was a real earthquake, the dishes and furniture falling would have panicked me, and might have exacerbated an already dangerous situation.
The second simulation was related to flooding, where we learned that even a few inches of water build up could make it challenging to open doors. We were shown a front door and car door to open as practice with different water levels as difficulty settings. I hadn’t realized prior to the simulation how strong just a little water could be—I struggled opening just the first settings. This also gave me a newfound appreciation for flood prevention systems, especially near houses.
The third simulation was a smoke simulation, related to fire. First, we watched a projection of fire over a created bedroom, where an outlet plugged in for too long sparked and set fire to the curtains. Within minutes, the room was clouded with smoke and the window was blocked by the fire, leaving the resident no option but to leave through the door, through all the smoke. We were told to cover our nose and mouth with whatever cloth was accessible, and to crouch down for mobility rather than crawl. We were to use our right hand to feel the wall in front of us and feel our way through a mini smoke-filled maze set up for us. Since my prior knowledge about navigating a fire consisted of “stop, drop, and roll,” I thought this simulation was also very insightful and useful.
The last simulation was a typhoon one, where we wore raincoats, pants, and boots that were so thick and covering that only our faces were exposed. We went into a room with handlebars, that we were to hold onto and lean against, as heavy winds and rains artificially whirled around us. My bangs were soaked, but overall, I thought that this was the easiest simulation. It might have been because we were from Columbus, but I thought the winds were nothing compared to pre-tornado winds in Ohio. Still, the winds were very strong, and I did appreciate the value of the demonstration.
Disaster preparation is easily overlooked, even in the public health sphere, because of the lack of frequency of such events. However, the simulations at the Disaster Prevention Center helped me appreciate how important practicing for natural disasters is.