Alert Levels

When there is a chance of a natural disaster, the Japan Meteorological Agency and local authorities will issue notifications known as Alert Levels. There are five levels in total, and at each level, there are various steps you should take. If you are in an at-risk area, you should evacuate before the Alert Level reaches 4.

• Alert Level 1

  There will be an announcement by the Japan Meteorological Agency.
  Check the weather forecast on TV or online.
  Prepare in advance of coming heavy rains or typhoons.

• Alert Level 2

  There will be an announcement by the Japan Meteorological Agency.
  Check the homepage of your local authority to confirm where and how you should evacuate.

• Alert Level 3

  There will be an announcement by local authorities.
  Those who need time to evacuate should head to a safe location immediately.
  Everyone else should prepare to evacuate.

• Alert Level 4

  There will be an announcement by local authorities.
  There is a risk of an imminent disaster.
  People in at-risk areas must evacuate by Alert Level 4.

• Alert Level 5

  There will be an announcement by local authorities.
  A disaster is occurring.
  Find as safe a location as possible to take shelter – on upper floors, away from windows.

Check how to evacuate on the following site.

Cabinet Office Disaster Prevention Information Page (with a multilingual QR code in the PDF)

Find information on the locations of evacuation areas/centers on the following site.

Tokyo Metropolitan Prevention Map (Machine translation available [English, Korean, Chinese])