Digital Disaster Prep
Stay ready with these 7 apps and websites to help you face whatever nature throws your way.
One of the first things my mom said to me when she heard I was going to go to Japan was “But what about all of the natural disasters?”
I’d been hoping for a ‘wow Chloe, I’m so proud’ but we can’t always get what we want. Moving on, I told her that I wasn’t worried — the part of Canada that we lived in had periodic floods, tornado warnings every summer, and at least three grass fires that almost burned down our house. Wouldn’t that terrify a Japanese mother who wanted to send her child to Canada?
That argument satisfied my family enough that it wasn’t a point of contention again. I actually didn’t even think about natural disasters of any kind until my second night in Japan. I was in the quarantine hotel in Tokyo, on the 24th floor, and an earthquake woke me from my sleep.
I come from a very seismically stable part of the world, so this was a completely new sensation. It felt like someone stood at the foot of my bed, rocking it hard enough that I’d wake up. Full transparency — it freaked me out.
After that, natural disasters (especially earthquakes) have been on my mind. In the time I’ve lived here I’ve experienced torrential rains, typhoons, earthquakes, and the Japanese border opening again. The biggest thing that helps me calm my mind is making sure I am prepared and informed in case something goes wrong. Thankfully, we have the internet for that.
This is not a substitute for developing a plan, finding the community centres near you, or building your go-bag. There really are no substitutes for those. Prepare those things no matter what — the sooner, the better.
I have put together 7 apps and websites I use on a regular basis and I think you might want to use them as well.
Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list, this is not a definitive list, this is a list compiled from what I’ve found useful as a JET in Hiroshima city. They’re also not sponsored, but god I wish.
One: A Weather App
App or Website? App
iPhone:
Weather
The Weather Network
Android:
The Weather Network
Price: Free, The Weather Network offers an optional paid subscription
It seems basic but it’s crucial. Weather, or 天気 (tenki), is one of the biggest changes I’ve faced in Japan. Disasters aside, Japan has a unique climate that differs greatly from the Canadian prairies. I check the temperature, humidity, and rain every day before I leave for work.
If you come from a place that uses Fairenheit (you know who you are), these apps help put celsius in context, usually by providing both measurements. 30 degrees Celsius is warmer than you think it is.
I have used the standard Weather app for iPhone andThe Weather Network and am happy with both. You can also Google your location and “tenki” or 天気 to get local weather predictions.
Two: A Weather Radar
App or Website? Website
Price: Free
Weather apps are great, but they have their limits. A weather radar is going to show you how the next few days (usually 48–72 hours) will impact your location. You most likely have seen them during typhoons and tropical storms, like the one that happened in September.
Radars are great for looking at scale. They will show you a broader scope of where is being affected and when. It’s free and convenient. It’s also important to know that most people don’t know how to read a weather radar, so take recreational meteorologists’ opinions with a grain of salt.
Three: Yurekuru
App or Website? App, Twitter
iPhone:
Yurekuru
Android:
Yurekuru
Twitter:
Yurekuru
Price: Free, with an option for a paid monthly subscription on the app
Yurekuru is a disaster preparedness app focusing on earthquakes. It displays the epicenter of an earthquake surrounded with user-submitted feedback of how severe it felt. It is simple to use and it has a pretty decent English interface.
I’ve only experienced one notable earthquake in the prefecture since I arrived. In addition to my phone’s automatic emergency alert system and the city’s loudspeaker notification system Yurekuru has a feature that counts down by the second to the time that you will feel the earthquake — and it was really accurate. I was also able to check and see where was most affected and report my own experience.
A bonus outcome of downloading this app is that I can see just how many small earthquakes Japan has each day. Japan is one of the most seismically researched places in the world, if something happens here you’re going to know about it — and that is a huge relief.
Four: Your City’s Disaster Prevention/Information App or Email List
App or Website: Both
Price: Free
Prefectural Disaster Preparedness Email List
Hiroshima City
Website
iPhone App
Android App
Higashihiroshima
Website
Onomichi
Website
iPhone App
Android App
Shobara
Website
Above are links to disaster preparedness apps, sites, and email lists.
The apps provide details about where to go in case of emergency, safe shelters, how to address certain kinds of natural disaster, and notifications about when you are supposed to evacuate.
The Hiroshima city app even has an option to translate text in-app, which can be a huge help.
There are also the websites that belong to each city that provide maps and outline what to do in case of emergency.
And finally there are mailing lists you can join that will send you updates on emergencies either prefecturally, or for your block specifically.
If your part of Hiroshima has an app or website that we missed, send it to us and we’ll add it to the database!
Five: Line
App or Website: App
iPhone
Line
Android
Line
Price: Free, in-app transactions
Line is an online messaging app used every day to connect you to your block’s group chat, talk to your supervisors, and follow your city’s Line account. The City of Hiroshima even sends out information about Covid-19 numbers and daily garbage collection.
You can even use this app as translation or payment in case of emergency. Also, it’s a necessity if you want to navigate Japan at all.
If you don’t have it yet, I’d recommend getting it now.
Six: Online Transit Status Information
App or Website: Website
West Japan Rail Website
Price: Free
There is an idea that the trains in Japan are perfect. They’re not. There are so many kilometres of train tracks around this country that it is just a statistical likelihood that they are going to have delays at some point. If you are worried about a delay, check out the West JR website, choose “Chugoku Region”, and it will let you know in English if there are any delays and why.
Seven: The JET Programme’s Registration and Your Country’s Registration for Citizens Abroad
App or Website: Website
Linked above are a few international citizens abroad databases. This is one way to have your safety monitored while you are abroad. I have had to send a notification to the Canadian government saying that I’m okay after an event twice.
I was unable to find any registration for UK citizens abroad — if you have information please send it to us so we can update this registry!
If your country is not represented on this list, please send us your information and we will update the list to better reflect our audience.
BONUS: Your notes app of choice
App or Website: App
Price: Free
Okay this one is a bit of a cheat — keep your information on your phone! If you are going to go anywhere or do anything, keep relevant cell phone numbers, addresses, emails, and other contact information in your phone in both English and Japanese. Also, put some basic phrases in Japanese in case you are stuck without wifi and need help. Sometimes the simplest route is the best.
If you’re worried about privacy, you can password protect this note on your phone.
I’d also recommend keeping your info on a separate piece of paper in your wallet, but this is an app list, so do what you will with that knowledge.
In Conclusion
As my mother always says: “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Or she often says “one minute of planning is worth one hour of execution”. (She also says “never trust a man with two first names”, but I don’t think that one is as relevant.)
What I’m trying to say is that it takes very little time and effort to do some research now. Once you set up these apps and notifications, they’ll usually just hum away in the background. The goal is to make it as easy as possible to get you information that keeps you safe. Hopefully, this list can help you do that.
If there is an app or website that you use all the time, send it to us and we’ll try to upload it to this list, and please feel free to save this list to come back to!
