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Orientation for visitors the disaster learning center lobby (photos credit: Allison Haines)

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Visit to the disaster learning center

 

by Thomas Baye

 

The disaster education center is located at Ariake,  a suburb of Tokyo. We were lucky to have June, a JET in Tokyo help us navigate the myriad trains and bus rides that we took to get there. The facility is an imposing building just a walking distance from the train stations. We were given an oriention by the staff at the facility. the center is free and open to the public and we joined a young lady and her four year old son.

 

We got into an elevator and the staff informed us we would be going through the simulation of an earthquake and we were to follow the signs after the door to the elevators opened. In adddition, each person was given a tablet which had instructions and questions on the various scenarios we would encounter in the building.The elevator did start to shake with crashing noises and an alarm went off for a few seconds. The elevator door opened and we started evacuating following the signs showing the escape route. Inside the building are re-creations of a disaster zone; fallen buildings, broken down cars, damaged offices, debris strewn all over the place, fires etc, all scenarious that depict an actual disaster zone. The tablet was used to scan bar codes placed at various points that open up a windows on the tablet. The window had questions about a particular disaster situations and options for the answers on what to do when faced with such a situation. Each question answered provided feedback as to the merits or demerits of choosing such an option.

 

After covering the various scenarios, a score is given and a pass indicated survival while failure results in either hospitalization (depicted by a hospital bed) or death. At the end of the skill assessment, we moved to an exhibition hall. The walls were filled with posters showing how to respond to different emergencies. The exhibit stands contained various objects of everyday use and explanation of how these objects could be improvised in the event of an emergency.

 

Examples include using a nylon bag or a neck tie to make a sling, stringing together plastic bottles to make a bench for sitting, using an empty box and a plastic sheet to make a makeshift out-house anongst others. There was also an exhibit of a mock up of the Japanese coastline showing the intensity of earthquakes in different regions. At the exhibiton hall, we also watched a movie about two children caught up in an earthquake disaster and how they were able to make it back to their home after two days.

Through a glass partion, we could see the emergency control center fully equipped with computers, radios, large monitoring screens, maps, desks and chairs, with neon and orange coloured vests strung across each chair. We were made to understand that the control center is activated during an earthquake and designated officials man each desk and utilize an integrated approach to mobilizing resources in the event of an earthquake.

 

All through the session, the underlying emphasis was on survival for 72 hours after an earth quake, being prepared and having the knowledge about earthquakes goes a long way to reduce loss of human life.

After our visit to thhe disaster education center, with the help of our guide, we spent the rest of the day touring landmarks of Tokyo, shopping at teenagers street and visiting the Meiji shrine. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.