There are many lists of information on things to put in Disaster / Emergency Kits. However one common problems with these lists is the confusion between Emergency equipment you need in a bag and Emergency supplies you need to have stored in the house. The often quoted 3 liter per person per day for 3 days is all very well, but carrying 9litres of water for yourself and another 9litres for a child is not practical and probably won`t leave much space in your bag for anything else.
So lets consider that in a disaster there are 2 scenarios you should prepare for, one where you need to leave you home (Evacuate) because of damage/fire/tsunami risks or the other where there is no need to evacuate but your home is left without power/water. Note I have included the Japanese Kana for items you might want to search for online.
Situation 1 Evacuation:
Ideally items 1-3 keep next to your bed at night and 4-6 on your person during the day
1)(LED)Torch 懐中電灯with batteries
Keep near bed and/or put in top or side pocket of bag for easy access – you don`t want to be emptying your evacuation bag to find your torch in an Emergency at night. Note that LED torches are more efficient don`t suffer from broken bulbs. Also torches that convert to lanterns and can be recharged by wind-up/solar mechanisms may be useful if you have to stay in an evacuation shelter.
2)Slippers (Earthquake)
Keep near bed to avoid the risk walking barefoot onto any broken glass
3）Prescription Glasses
If your vision is poor keep a pair of glasses ready by the bed and an old pair in the emergency bag
4）Mobile phone
Keep it with you during the day (not a problem for some) and near bed at night. It might not work immediately after a large disaster (due to the network being damaged and oversubscribed with people contacting each other) but SMS`s or perhaps internet connectivity might eventually get through. Also chances are your mobile has all your important contact details in it to make a landline/payphone call (sometimes more reliable than the mobile network in a disaster)
5）Wallet/Purse
Keep near bed at night and with you during the day, again whilst you can keep copies of ID health insurance cards and credit cards in your bag its best if you have the real things. Also try to keep an up-to-date picture of your family in it.
6）Keys
For access to home if area declared safe to return (ideally keep a spare set in Emergency kit).
Before you leave your home;
Assuming the house is not crumbling down, there is no immediate threat of fire and you don`t live right next to the sea or large river it`s best to get some information on the situation before you decide to leave, check TV, radio or internet (if accessible) broadcasts.
Things to put-on before you step-out;
Helmet 防災 ヘルメット (Earthquake)
In the case of an Earthquake – especially in an city with tall buildings like Tokyo, there is a risk of falling debris, so if your going to go out on to the street having something to protect your head is important – hence many large companies provide these to workers as part of their office emergency kits.
Heavy duty gloves (Earthquake)
Ideally Tough Work Gloves in case you need to pick up/move glass or debris (available in DIY/100yen shops)
Dust mask(Earthquake, Volcanic Ash)
In the case of a large Earthquake debris may include dust and possibly asbestos so having ideally a dust mask from a DIY shop or at least a surgical mask or handkerchief to cover your mouth
Rain clothes (Earthquake, Typhoon, Volcanic ash)
Best to have a long sleeve rain coat and trousers to make sure all your limbs are protected from either sharp debris or cold rain. (available in 100yen shops)
Goggles(Volcanic ash, Earthquake)
According to people in Iceland Ski goggles are just as good a safety goggles for keeping out volcanic ash and dust so if your a skier you may already have this covered and should just consider putting your ski goggles with your emergency kit
Sturdy Shoes
The devil may wear Prada, but for the person fleeing in the street Heels, Sandels and flip flops are not recommend. Ideally tough hiking boots, Welly boots or at least trainers/pumps which cover your feet.
Life Jacket ライフジャケット (Tsunami/Floods)
Rarely this is mentioned in Emergency kit list, however if you are living by the sea or a large river that could flood and are not that close to high ground it may be worth investing in an life jacket because probably nothing else you may put on to evacuate with is not going to help you float if you get caught by the water. (use the Katagana opposite to look up life jackets online or from Amazon.co.jp)
Items in/on the Disaster Bag/ Go bag/ Emergency kit
1) Pen and paper
Certainly if you live with others this should be near the top of your bag so you can use immediately it to leave a message before you leave. You could pre-prepare a message `Gone to X meeting point` to put out. If you have kids you might want to put extra in for them to draw with at an evacuation centre.
2) First Aid kit (including essential medication) ファーストエイドキット
Put at the top of your bag or in a side pocket so you can access it immediately. Try to get a reasonable kit (with instructions in your native language) and add extra items such as prescription medicine and painkillers. Look in hiking shops / loft or Tokyu hands.
3) Whistle
The whole purpose of having a whistle in an emergency kit is to signal others if you need help, therefore try to put the whistle on the straps of your emergency bag, if its inside the pack its unlikely you`ll think to use it. You should be able to find a whistle from a 100yen or DIY shop
4) (LED)Torch with batteries 懐中電灯
As mentioned should be in side pocket or near top of your bag for easy access with battery close by. A quality LED torch can be picked up Online, though 100yen shops also has them. Also torches that convert to lanterns and can be recharged by wind-up/solar mechanisms may be useful if you have to stay in an evacuation shelter. Try to avoid cheap alkaline batteries as they may leak.
5) Portable Radio AM/ＦＭラジオand phone charger 携帯電話も充電可能
Ideally hand powered or battery, could be combined with the torch, might be worth putting a sticky label on the radio with the emergency broadcast frequencies (in Tokyo 810AM Eagle, InterFM 76.1FM, Japan FM 81.3FM)
6) Local map
In case you have to take an alternate route or need to move to an alternate evacuation centre. You should be able to obtain a free map of the local evacuation sites from your local city hall.
7) Cash
Definitely you should have money in you Emergency bag but opinions vary on how much – the Japanese government recommends small change and notes for a payphone, the FEMA advices people in the USA for disasters to have a minimum of $100 and some might want enough money in hand for flights out of the country (though perhaps if you want to go to that extreme you should consider having an emergency). credit card in your bag along with the small change)
8) Photo of close family members
For identification by authorities – so if you have children you may need to get into a routine of updating it once a year.
9) Contact details and Meeting Place Information
Mobile and telephone numbers and perhaps business cards of your partner/ friends and relatives
10 Copy of ID, passport, driving license, health insurance cards, credit cards,
Ideally put this, the cash, contact details and the photos into a waterproof pouch in your bag least something leaks or it gets wet.
11) Utility Knife
Camp knife/Swiss army style knife. Ideally middle-position in bag – no at the top where your child could get to it but not at the bottom where it would be a struggle to find.
12) Emergency water 防災用 水
The difference between emergency water and normal water is the purity. Emergency water is purer and will last for up to 5 year, normal water does not age well. As water is heavy pack most at bottom of bag. However put a small 500ml bottle near the top (or in side pocket) to quench first, clean wounds etc. Again only pack as much as you can reasonable carry with all the other items (say in total 2ltr). Bulk storage of water such as 3litre per person per day should be kept in the home.
13) Wet tissue (disinfection type)/toilet tissue/Diapers
For cleaning hands, cutlery, ablutions...
14) Emergency food 防災用 食品
These can probably be packed near the bottom of your bag as hopefully you wont be breaking into your emergency food until you have reached shelter. There is a variety of emergency food available; canned items (heavy), dried items (need water), camping food, Space food, baby food, biscuits, nutrient bars – some only have 1year use by dates while others may last for 25year (though the long lasting items also tend to have the least taste).
15) Plastic Bags
For rubbish, dirty clothes, returning to your home and collecting items in.
16) Emergency blankets 保温シート/sleeping bag
Emergency blankets (the Aluminum sheet type) are the lightest and easiest thing to pack and highly recommended. Sleeping bags are obviously more bulky but more comfortable
17) Plastic ground sheet
Big enough for your family to lay on in the emergency centre and can go right at the bottom of the bag. cab be found in DIY shops or sections of departments store and 100yen shops
18) Cooking utensils
Cutlery (minimum of a spoon), Can opener (if your canned items are not ring pull). Since the Tohoku disaster polythene wrap is popular among Japanese people as an essential in their emergency kit so they don`t have to wash plates, however if your happy to eat food out of the can/pack, then plates/washing is not essential.
19) Spare clothes
Change of underwear, long sleeve top, jogging pants – non essential but will make life more comfortable if you cant return home for a few days
Supplies for in your Home
After the Tohoku disaster approximately 4.4million* people suffered electricity shortages (*see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami ) which was vastly more than the 300,000 evacuated. Furthermore panic buying created food shortages as well as shortages in sanitary items and diapers. Therefore keeping a backup in your home is just as essential as what is in the Evacuation bag.
1) Emergency Water and Water Container (防災用水 )
Assuming your water supply may be cut off or polluted the normal recommendation is 3ltr per person per day (min 3 days). Also getting a water container to collect water in should you need to get water from water trucks before the water system returns to normal.
2) Emergency food (防災用 食品)
Canned items, dried items (need water), biscuits, nutrient bars, ideally Ready to Eat meals, try to keep and excess of stored food in your cupboards as well as with your emergency supply. Though it was curious to note that during the panic buying after the Tohoku disaster items such as canned soups stayed mostly available on the supermarket shelves in Tokyo. Most Japanese bought out pot-noodles and perishable items such as milk, bread, yogurt.
3)Sanitation items (非常用トイレ)
The water system might not run or if your toilet is entirely electric it might not function when the power is off in which case you can by Toilet bags to go under your toilet seat to collect the waste. Also keep a store of toilet paper and diapers (if you have a baby or are elderly and need them)
4) Blankets/sleeping bags
You will no doubt already have blankets in your house for your bed so may not need to make an extra provision of these. However if you only have large bed blankets it might be worth getting something smaller to come back for.
5)Disinfectant wipes
For cleaning off your cutlery and saving your water.
6)Portable cooker
Assuming lack of electricity and gas its worth buying a small portable cooker with a few gas cans for cooking and boiling. Either a camp cooker or a `Nabe` cooker. Hopefully you should already have pots and pans in your home to use with it.
7) Telephone
Note the digital phones which require mains power may not work when the powers off so if possible have an old style plug in telephone somewhere in your home
8) Diapers (おむつ)
If you have a child/children wear diapers its best to get into a habit of having a spare bag in the cupboard. This also applies to elderly that require them.
9) Baby items
Emergency centers have powder milk, buying double so there is always an extra tin is a good habit to form. This goes for baby food as well.
Links to other websites with emergency kit lists and advice
Tokyo Police Guide
http://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.jp/seian/jisin/image/e_c_jisin_note.pdf
Tokyo Fireservice guide
http://www.tfd.metro.tokyo.jp/eng/119/119-05.html
Minato-ku
http://www.city.minato.tokyo.jp/e/liv/prepa/reduct/index.html
Ready America FEMA site
http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/supplykit.shtm
http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html
Canada government advice;
http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/knw/kt/kt-eng.aspx
UK Embassy
http://ukinjapan.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-japan/preparing-for-emergencies/emergency-kit
Wikipedia Guide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_kit
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bug-out_bag
San Francisco City
http://72hours.org/build_kit.html
Southern California
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/roots/seven_steps.html
