家いえと 職場しょくばの じゅんびWhat to sort out before it happens — and what to ask your employer.

クイズQUIZ

大おおきな 地震じしんの あと、水道すいどうが とまりました。1人ひとりに、1日いちにち どのくらいの 水みずが いりますか。
The water supply stops. How much water does one person need per day?

A500ミリリットル B1リットル C3リットル

えらんで ください。Tap one.

The part you can do on a normal day

The first two articles were about the moment itself — how often earthquakes happen, and what to do in the first minute. This one is about the ordinary evening before.

Most of what protects you is decided long before the shaking starts: whether the shelf above your bed is fixed to the wall, whether there is water in the cupboard, whether your family knows how to reach you.

None of it takes long, and none of it costs much. It is the kind of thing that only gets done if someone tells you it matters.

01いま、家いえで できる こと

大おおきな 地震じしんでは、倒たおれて きた 家具かぐの 下したじきに なって、けがを した 人ひとが たくさん いました。

In large earthquakes, many people were injured when furniture toppled onto them.

水みずと 食たべものは、3日分にちぶんが めやすです。水みずは 1人ひとり 1日いちにち 3リットル。ふだん 食たべて いる もので かまいません。とくべつな ものを 買かわなくても いいです。

Three days of water and food is the usual guide — 3 litres of water per person per day. Ordinary food you already eat is fine. You do not need to buy anything special.

02家族かぞくと、先さきに 決きめて おく こと

大おおきな 地震じしんの あと、電話でんわは つながりにくく なります。みんなが いちどに かけるからです。

After a large earthquake calls do not get through, because everyone rings at once.

ですから、どうやって 連絡れんらくするかを、先さきに 決きめて おきます。地震じしんが きてから 考かんがえるのでは、おそいです。

So decide in advance how you will make contact. Working it out after the earthquake is too late.

日本にほんは 広ひろいです。地震じしんが あっても、ゆれる ところと ゆれない ところが あります。じぶんが どこに 住すんで いるかを、家族かぞくに 先さきに 伝つたえて おくと いいです。

Japan is large. An earthquake may shake one area and not another. It helps to tell your family in advance where you live.

日本にほんの 中なかの 人ひととは、171(いちなないち)と いう 電話でんわでも 連絡れんらくできます。じぶんの 電話番号でんわばんごうに こえを のこすと、番号ばんごうを 知しって いる 人ひとが 聞きく ことが できます。

Inside Japan you can also use the phone service called 171. You record a message on your own phone number, and anyone who knows that number can listen to it.

03会社かいしゃに 聞きいて おく こと

この3つは、地震じしんの まえに 聞きいて おく ことが できます。聞きいても、へんに 思おもわれません。

You can ask all three of these before an earthquake happens. No one will think it strange.

ハザードマップと いう 地図ちずが あります。じぶんの 家いえが どんな あぶなさか、見みる ことが できます。にげる 場所ばしょは、災害さいがいの しゅるいで ちがいます。

There is a map called a hazard map. It shows what risks your own home faces. Where you evacuate to differs by the type of disaster.

04自分じぶんの 身みを まもる ために

地震じしんが 起おきた とき、自分じぶんの 身みを まもる ために ひつような 知識ちしきを、じゅんばんに 整理せいりします。この 連載れんさいは 全ぜん6回かいです。
Six short articles: what to know now, what to have ready, and what to do when the ground starts moving.

1. どのくらい 多いかHOW OFTEN公開ずみPublished 1日本にほんは 地震じしんが 多おおい 国くにです How often earthquakes happen, and where
2. ゆれて いる ときWHILE IT SHAKES公開ずみPublished 2地震じしんが きました。さいしょに することは 何なんですか The first minute — and why the answer depends on where you are
3. 起きる まえBEFORE IT HAPPENS 3家いえと 職場しょくばの じゅんび What to sort out first, and what to ask your employer
4. 起きた あとAFTER IT STOPSじゅんび中Coming soon 4地震じしんの あとで、こころが つかれます What almost everyone feels afterwards, and where to get help
5. じょうほうINFORMATIONじゅんび中Coming soon 5警報けいほうと 情報じょうほうの 読よみかた How to read the alerts, and where to look for information

05英語えいごで よむ

Where you sleep comes first

• Fix tall furniture to the wall. If you rent or live in company housing, ask before drilling.
• Keep nothing tall beside your bed, and nothing that can block the door when it falls.
• Slippers and a torch within reach of where you sleep.

Water and food

• Three days' worth. Three litres of water per person per day.
• Ordinary food you already eat. You do not need to buy special emergency supplies.
• If your room is small, do not try to do all of it. Start with where you sleep.

Agree with your family before it happens

• Phone lines jam after a large quake, so decide the method in advance — which app, who to ask if you cannot reach each other, and how long silence is normal.
• Tell your family now which part of Japan you live in. Japan is large, and a quake felt in one region may not be felt in another.
• Inside Japan, 171 is a voice message service others reach using your phone number. You can practise it on the 1st and 15th of every month.

Three questions for your employer

• Where do we gather? Who do I contact? When am I not expected to come in?
• Asking now is normal. Nobody will think it strange.

The rest of this series

This is the second of four. The first covers how often earthquakes happen here and where. The next two are being written now:

• Before — what to arrange at home and at work, and what to ask your employer.
• After — how to read the alerts, and where to look for information.

Each one is written in plain Japanese with furigana, and in English, like this one.

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