Earthquake in Tokyo

Just experienced my first earthquake in Tokyo last night, magnitude of 3.1 . Just baby I know but really got me thinking about getting prepared. I'm going to be here just a few months so can't really make long term serious preparations but hoping to get advice on what to do in the short term. House is very old an wooden so I imagine it would fall. So should I run outside? I'm in a very built up area, lots of over head power lines.

Any tips? especially relevant to Tokyo i.e. resources I can actually buy here?

 

Really yea? are they they specifically for survival/emergency situations?

 

Wow that's great advice thank you so much ! I'll look up where to find these stores and try follow what your advice.

 

When it happens, you should probably run in the middle of the street, as this is the only place where the least can happen to you physically unless a building falls into the middle of the street, or it craps open wide enough for you to fall inside.

I have heard about a lot of people staying put inside their homes, getting under the table, or hiding in closets. Unless there is a Tsunami coming, then I don't want to be anywhere near a building. More people die from being close to, or inside of building than people who are already, or getting close to being outside.

 

Yes I initially thought getting outside would be best option but Tokyo is covered in power lines, it's crazy how many and how big they are even on small streets, but mayne the power will be lost pretty quickly?
Would the fallen lines become safer if there has been a quake, as maybe the power has been cut? assume loss of power in cut lines is pretty instant right?

 

If you're in Tokyo, check out the department store called "Tokyu Hands" in Shibuya - they have a ton of earthquake preparedness stuff there I've also gotten bits and pieces off Amazon Japan - you can literally just search in English for "earthquake survival" and a bunch of good results come up. Plus they deliver so fast!

 

Thanks so much, I've been wondering about stores specialised in preparedness stuff! I wonder how much Japanese prep. like when it happens you just have moments, they have some popular saying here along the lines of it can't be helped. I wonder if thats there attitude to earthquakes?

 

Yes, you're right! しょうがない or shoganai...means exactly that, it cannot be helped!

Our Japanese neighbors seem 50-50 in terms of their preparedness. My husband had asked them about it (his Japanese is fluent, not like my basic words here and there!) and some have full kits prepared (they're very intense about it!) but others very much adopt the shoganai principle!