Vol.26 Preparation for Typhoon

It's usually typhoon season around from August to October. According to the weather forecast, we will have totally about 26 typhoons this year. (There is No.8 coming far east of Japan right now.)

Typhoons bring great disasters every year. It is possible to prevent or mitigate damage by using disaster prevention and weather information.

Today, I will introduce some information which I learned from Japan Meteorological Agency site etc.

【Categories】
First of all, there are 3 categories for  strength. 

1. 強い Tsuyoi - Strong
2. 非常に強い Hijo ni tsuyoi - Very strong
3. 猛烈な Moretsu ni tsuyoi - Violent 

    *With category no.2 and 3, it is said that trees will fall down, wooden houses will collapse, and steel structures will be deformed.

And there are 2 categories for size.

1. 大型 Ogata - Large
2. 超大型 Cho ogata - Very large

    *Very large size can cover almost whole Honshu. 

【Preparation for outside】
Let's do it before heavy rain and strong wind.
・Hold the windows and shutters securely and reinforce them if necessary.
・Clean gutters and drains to improve drainage.
・Put things inside that are likely to be blown by the wind so that they will not fly. Ex) garbage bins, plants, bikes, toys and laundry poles etc. 

【Preparation for inside】
・Emergency supplies
Flashlight, portable charger, emergency medicine, clothes, emergency food, portable gas stove, valuables, etc.
・Safety measures of the room
　Attach anti-scattering film to window glass. Drop curtains and blinds in case of jumping in of flying objects.
・Secure water
   Drinking water in preparation for running out of water, Water for daily use such as filling the bathtub with water.

【Confirmation of evacuation site】
・Check the evacuation route to designated places such as schools and public halls.
・Discuss evacuation sites and contact methods with your family.
・When evacuating, keep your belongings to a minimum and use both hands.

【Time of storm with the approach or landing of a typhoon】
Don’t go out
・In the case of a typhoon, it is basically necessary to wait in the building to pass by.

Evacuate from underground facilities to above ground.
・When you are in an underground facility, it may be difficult to understand the actual rain conditions outside, and if the ground is flooded, it may be difficult to evacuate to the ground as water suddenly flows from the evacuation route.
・It may be safer to evacuate to a sturdy building on the second floor or higher in the neighborhood than to move to a designated evacuation site even after you have gone to the ground. When evacuating, act comprehensively based on the surrounding conditions.

Stay away from running water. Don't go to rivers, waterways, manholes etc.

Don't use elevator. It may stop due to power outage. 

Do not approach steep slopes such as mountains.

【One more thing to know.. Guerrilla rainstorm = Sudden downpour】

Since a couple of years ago, Japan has been attacked by Guerrilla rainstorm = Sudden downpour. It rains suddenly so hard with a lot of thunderstorms in very small area and stops in about 30 min. You may have experienced already. 

The term "Guerrilla rainstorm" is not an official weather term. However, Japanese media often use it. The origin of the word seems to come from "guerrilla attack" since the appearance of sudden approach and serious damage is similar to the image of guerrilla warfare. 

It's same here, during this sudden downpour, stay inside of building and wait, come up from underground and don't use an elevator etc.

It's so difficult to predict since it's very sudden but you can use rain cloud radar. It helps to be ready if you're already outside and witness a very dark rain clouds in the sky. 

You can check it here or there are a lot of application that you can download to your smartphone. Search it with the word "リアルタイム雨雲レーダー（Live rain cloud radar）". 

Be ready for this season together!