Attitude to life

Have You Ever Seen When Encountering An Earthquake No One Runs Away?

My experience with having earthquakes in Japan

From 2004 to 2007 I lived in Tokyo, Japan. This country has impressed me in many ways deeply, especially how the Japanese people dealt with earthquakes really knocked my socks off.

Japan is an earthquake-prone country.

There are approximately 5,000 minor earthquakes recorded in Japan per year, with more than half measured between 3.0 and 3.9. Thus, most go unnoticed by people. However, around 160 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5 or higher can shake the Japanese archipelago each year.

A Japanese friend once told me that Japan seems to be riding on the back of a giant dragon, experiencing every shake of the dragon at any time. They must be ready to cope with the coming disaster once the dragon gets angry.

As far as I have seen, the Japanese have long been accustomed to the frequent shaking.

The first time I experienced an earthquake in Japan was at the company. Our company was located on the sixth floor of a building. After the lunch break, I was sitting at my desk and about to start work. Suddenly, I felt something move. I looked around but found nothing unusual.

Then the movement became stronger. The tables, chairs in the office, and even the ceiling began to shake. An earthquake!

I stood up involuntarily and was going to get out of this building as soon as possible.

Two colleagues were standing opposite me and talking. One of them raised her head and pointed at the shaking chandelier, she cried out: “Earthquake! Earthquake!” The other colleagues also Looked up at the ceiling.

No one seemed to want to run away. For about a minute, I stood there awkwardly, hesitating to go or stay.

Mr. Honda, our head, just walked into the office. With a smile on his face, “Hehe, where’s Mr. Nakahara? Did he get under the table?”

As he spoke, Mr. Honda bent down and looked under a table by the window, so everyone got excited and left their seats to seek Mr. Nakahara.

Before everyone could get close, Mr. Nakahara’s head poked out from under the table, and his black glasses had slipped to the tip of his nose. We all burst out laughing when we saw his funny face.

The earthquake dissipated in a roar of laughter, and I had long forgotten to run away.

Since then, I have experienced many earthquakes in Japan. The worst was in the summer of 2005. I can’t remember where the big earthquake occurred, but it was felt strongly in Tokyo.

In the early morning, we were woken up by the violent shaking of the bed, and even our three-year-old son got up, hugged me tightly, and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong, why is the bed moving!”

I ran nervously to the balcony, expecting to see a chaotic escape. It was just that there was no one outside, only some trees seemed to be frightened by me, their branches were swaying and making a slight rustling sound.

How could the Japanese people handle disasters so calmly?

I remember one year when an earthquake struck Seattle, and Vancouver was affected by the shock waves. Within minutes, Broadway was crowded with hundreds of people fleeing from the buildings on both sides. Everyone panicked and didn’t know what to do.

But the Japanese seem to be prepared and unhurried when encountering a disaster.

Maybe they also have complained about the injustice of fate and asked why they live on a troubled island. But it is their home, everything can be given up, except home. So they chose to face reality.

Over the years, the Japanese have been tirelessly studying the causes of earthquakes and various methods of preventing them.

During my time in Japan, I saw often measures against earthquakes on TV, such as how to strengthen a house to withstand a magnitude 7 or even 8 earthquake, and how to place furniture indoors to prevent it from falling and killing people in an earthquake.

In addition, shelters have been set up in each community to provide temporary place for people who have fled their homes when an earthquake occurs.

At the same time, there is also a team of volunteers who regularly visit people’s homes to spread earthquake knowledge. In the event of an earthquake, this team will also be the rescue team.

Clearly, the Japanese are working hard to get ready for disaster, both technically and psychologically.

Accept poor living conditions and take precautions consistently! Therefore, the Japanese can calmly deal with disasters that may occur at any time.

In fact, shouldn’t this be our attitude towards life?

Thank you for reading! Are there frequent earthquakes where you live? How do the people in your place cope with disasters? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

This story was inspired by Kohana. She wrote a story about her own experience with the earthquake in Japan as below.

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