How does japan prepare for natural disasters?

Question:

I am doing a current event essay about japan, and i was opening with methods of how japanese prepare themselves for when natural disasters occur, is there any videos or source of information about it?

Answer:

Japan is a disaster-prone country. Not only earthquakes and tsunami, but volcanoes and typhoons happen yearly somewhere in Japan, so they know it's coming.

One way they prepare is by regulations. There are strong building codes, and also, the government designates shelters for each area, as well as neighborhood meeting points.

There are drills. Kids practice for earthquakes like my hometown school used to practice for tornadoes. Also, once a year, in memory of the Great Kanto Earthquake, citizens are urged to check their disaster supplies,and review their safety plans. So, like the other poster said, when an earthquake happens, people know what they are supposed to do.

Finally, so much of school life and social life is a kind of practice for a disaster. People (kids as well as adults) are split up into "hans" (the hancho is where the English word "head honcho" comes from), and they do work. For kids, it might be cleaning the school, or choosing the music or whatever. For adults, it's usually about funerals, recycling teams or planning for spring and fall festivals. This is a lot of fun, but when disaster strikes, they are READY to get into small groups, and WORK. They already know who is bossy and who is willing to get things done and all that, and they can work together (usually (-:).

Sorry, I don't have sources for you; this is what I've observed after living in Japan for 20 years. It really is quite amazing.