About Disaster Prevention in Tokyo -About Flooding- From a French, Mongolian and Vietnamese Perspective

Has water ever come into your house in your country? In Vietnam, it happens quite often. When water comes up to your waist because of a typhoon, it doesn't drain away for about a week.

It also happens in France. The city I lived in, Toulouse, was safe, but there has been some flooding in the south of France, especially in southeastern Marseilles.

We don't have floods in Mongolia, since it doesn't rain much there. I' m scared of floodings in Japan. I can't swim, so I' m afraid of water.

I'm also scared of water. During floods, you can't swim because there are objects and debris in the water. If you swim, you might hit something in the water and get hurt.

I've never experienced flooding. I have seen it on TV though.

I've never experienced flooding either.

Some areas of Vietnam are damaged by typhoons every year. The damage is worse than in Japan. When it floods, you can't move. In Vietnam, people often use motorcycles, but when there is flooding, motorcycles can't be used. You can't go anywhere. When there's flooding, we have to use boats to get around on roads that we normally take motorcycles.
I am from Ho Chi Minh City, where it is not affected by floods. Typhoons and heavy rains often happen in the central part of the country.

I don't think I have much of an image of flooding, except for what I've seen on TV. I saw people canoeing to the supermarket, or firefighters helping people with stretchers. Two years ago, there was a flood in France. People were crying and calling the fire department and being rescued by helicopters when they escaped to the highest place in their houses, but the water was higher than the house. I felt very sorry for them. Even in France, there has been major damage like this.

Since there is not much rain in Mongolia, people think that when it rains, good things happen or people become happy. Mongolians love rain. When my friend came to Japan for a visit, there was a day when it rained a lot, and she was delighted.

I check the weather forecast every day.

I never checked the weather forecast before, but I would like to do so from now on for the sake of my children.

I don't check the weather forecast unless it's for a picnic. For example, if it's raining when I leave the house, I'll carry an umbrella, but if it's not raining (even if it's cloudy and looks like it might rain), I will not carry an umbrella thinking that I'll be fine. If it is raining on the way back home, then I'll come home while getting wet.

I check the weather forecast, and if there's a good chance of rain, I bring a folding umbrella. If there's a definite forecast of rain, I bring a folding umbrella or a regular umbrella. Since I live in Japan, I try to imitate the Japanese people.
If you are told that it's definitely going to rain in the afternoon, do you both take an umbrella with you in the morning?

I don't.

I do take one.

I had never heard of hazard maps (the term), but when we looked at it just now (the hazard map), it made me realize that I have seen it before.

This is the first time I hear the term "hazard map".

I had heard of the term "hazard map" before. I often hear it on TV. But I have never checked the hazard map of Shinagawa City. I'll be moving soon, so I'll check it at my new neighborhood.

The Arakawa River is near my house. I just checked the hazard map and the areas colored red are dangerous. The area where I live is orange.

My home is near the Sumida River. I checked the hazard map and it was orange. It was not red.

I do know about warnings and evacuation instructions. I studied them.

If I was told "Please evacuate", then I would go to an evacuation shelter.

I would go as well.

I would go too, but I live on the 6th floor and my husband always says the home is the safest place to be. As long as our home is not destroyed, I think we will be fine, but I am still afraid. I would like to talk about earthquakes and floods with my family, but I haven't had a chance to do so.

(After hearing that people cannot understand announcements from outside, such as evacuation instructions in the event of a disaster, etc.) If even Japanese people can't understand them, then it's even harder for us. It's the same as the cabin attendant's announcements on airplanes.

I remember that typhoon very well. I thought it would be safer to stay with friends, so we all gathered at a friend's house. It was like a party. The wind shook the house quite a bit, but there was no damage from the typhoon.

I brought all the flowers and other things from the balcony inside the house. We closed the curtains and stayed inside watching TV as a family, and made sure not to go outside.

I was on a business trip overseas at the time. I was supposed to return to Japan from Shanghai, but I couldn't come back, so I stayed there for about two extra days.