Preparing Your Home For Disasters: Emergency Stockpiling
Stockpiling the right supplies is crucial to being prepared for a disaster.
Why? Well, this is a photo I took at a convenience store a week after two major earthquakes hit Kumamoto on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu in April 2016…
After a major disaster, there may be panic buying and disruption to infrastructure, including roads — so supplies of food, water, and other goods may run low for extended periods of time.
And remember, the best option for you and your family may be to stay at home once things settle down, as opposed to staying in an emergency shelter, if (and only if) your home is safe. For example, you may be caring for someone who is physically unable to move to a shelter, or the emergency shelter may be overcrowded.
This means that you should keep extra supplies to make sure that everyone in your household can stay comfortable at a time when you can’t rely on buying from supermarkets, convenience stores, and shops.
There will also likely be extended disruptions to lifelines (water/sewerage, gas, electricity). In Tokyo, the government says that electricity may be unavailable for 7 days, water/sewerage for up to 30 days, and gas for up to 60 days in the event of a major quake.
Have you every thought about how you would live at home without running water for 30 days? Or how you would cook for yourself and your loved ones for 2 months without gas?! It may be a daunting thought.
But these kinds of worries can be minimized by planning ahead. For example, you can prepare the essentials, including portable stoves and gas canisters (kassetto konro / カセットコンロ), portable toilets (keitai toire / 携帯トイレ), and solar chargers.
Also, remember to consider everyone’s needs — Do you have enough nappies and milk formula for the baby? How about sanitary items (this was a lesson learnt from the 2011 tsunami in Japan, when mostly men managed the distribution of relief supplies)? How about your glasses, medication, or inhaler?
Stockpile List
One key point — your emergency stockpile (備蓄品 / bichiku hin) is different from your emergency bag (非常持ち出し袋/ hijyo mochidashi bukuro). The bag is the one you can carry out with you after a disaster. It’s recommended that you prepare both (see “Preparing Your Emergency Bag in Japan” for more information).
While everyone’s needs will be different, here is a Emergency Stockpile List (Link) to get started. This list has been compiled by Peace Boat, which runs disaster preparedness workshops in Japan.
*The critical items are marked “Things to keep stocked at home” in the left-hand column.
Rolling Stock (ローリング ストック)
One of the challenges with stockpiling supplies is that we forget about them, and they expire… To avoid this, you can try out the “rolling stock” method. This means regularly eating items from your stockpile, and then replacing them with new items.
For example — once a month, find the oldest food item you have in your stockpile, and eat it. And then simply replace it with a new item of your choosing.
This way, you can systematically eat through the older food items nearing expiration, and ensure a fresh supply of delicious emergency foods at home.
One last tip: Practice makes perfect
This is a crucial point — preparing your stockpile is only half of the battle. Make sure you know how to use your gear by actually opening it and using it at least once, ideally with your household/partner/flat mates. You can even make it a fun activity for the whole family or a team-building exercise.
Want more practical advice? See “6 things NOT to do after an earthquake in Japan” or “Preparing Your Emergency Bag in Japan”. I work as a disaster preparedness trainer for Peace Boat, an organisation which provides training in both English and Japanese in disaster preparedness. Feel free to get in touch with any questions!
