BOSAI: Be Prepared - Safety Pictograms

Are you ready if disaster strikes?

Find out what you need to do by watching this program...

BOSAI: Be Prepared.

Our topic this time is Safety Pictograms.

The many signs seen along city streets include geographical information and danger warnings.

Are you aware that some of the signs are related to disasters?

Safety pictograms...

Hoping to spread their usefulness,

promotional activities are underway in various parts of Japan.

Hello, my name is Janni Olsson and in my home country, Sweden,

there are a lot of different maps and signs that will keep you safe when you're out in nature.

And I heard they have them here in Japan too.

So today I want to find out more about these symbols that you can find here in Japan. Let's go!

Hello!

Today, Urabe Kenshin, who's been involved in producing safety pictograms, will take us around Shinagawa in Tokyo.

In fact, on the streets of Tokyo there are many safety pictograms.

These green ones, for example.

Do you know what they mean?

Evacuation exits are also green in my country, for safety.

Yes, green is the color to indicate places where you can evacuate.

When a disaster occurs, the first thing to consider is how to secure your personal safety.

The green pictograms are all related to places to evacuate.

How should we interpret them for action?

Now we are here.

- A person is escaping into this round green area.
- Yeah.

So, this indicates a place for protecting lives first of all.

So it will be safe, for example, even if the surrounding area is on fire.

Do you know what these two mean?

These are wave shapes, so escaping from a tsunami...

That's right. Tsunami evacuation routes.

Immediately after a disaster, you should head to the locations indicated by these three pictograms.

An evacuation area is a large park or riverbed which is less susceptible to earthquake damage or fire.

A tsunami evacuation area is located on high ground a tsunami cannot reach.

A tsunami evacuation building should be tall and sturdy.

The final one is an inside version of the first one.

It shows a person fleeing to a building.

This means it's a place where you can stay for a while.

- Ah, so this is the place where we can seek refuge, but this is a place where we can stay.
- That's right.

Evacuation shelters are the place to go once you have secured your own safety.

They are set up in places such as schools and community centers

to provide shelter in the event of a disaster.

They're equipped with supplies such as food and blankets,

so you can stay as long as the immediate danger remains.

There are other safety pictograms.

- Is this it?
- Yes.

A yellow pictogram.

It suggests danger, right?

Yes. Yellow has the meaning of caution,

so this pictogram means that there's the danger of a tsunami hitting this place.

There are three types of yellow pictograms.

A wave depicting a tsunami or storm surge.

Falling rocks representing a steep slope failure or landslide.

And rocks and sediment carried by water representing debris flow.

If I see a sign like this, what should I do?

Well, first, you should clearly understand the hazards indicated by each design.

Then, you should look around at your surroundings and carefully think about how you could evacuate safely.

When you see a yellow pictogram,

you should regard it as a place of potential danger and remain on guard.

Why did you decide to create these safety pictograms?

Well, I come from the city of Kobe,

and I was there when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit the Kobe area in 1995.

Many houses were destroyed and we had to take shelter in a nearby elementary school.

We all thought it would be better if everyone had a clear idea where the evacuation areas are,

so we decided pictograms would improve the information available.

Before the earthquake, the evacuation areas in Kobe were not widely known.

The quake raised awareness that their location should be clearly indicated,

and so the Alliance for Disaster Reduction Designs was formed.

Twelve of the pictograms created by the study group have been approved as national standards,

and they are currently being spread throughout Japan.

In their effort to enhance local disaster preparedness initiatives,

some municipalities are promoting the pictograms in a unique way.

Members of the Regional Disaster Prevention Support Section of Itabashi Ward in Tokyo

present pictogram performances to indicate evacuation areas and evacuation shelters.

They disseminate information by producing a variety of instructive videos related to disaster preparedness.

Residents commented that they didn't understand the difference between an evacuation shelter and an evacuation area,

so we came up with the idea of using videos to inform the public.

The videos have been well received by residents, so we want to continue our promotion efforts.

To understand the safety pictograms fully, there's one more thing you need to know.

Over there, I can see a pictogram of an evacuation area,

but there's something underneath it as well...

- Yes.
- What's that?

Black pictograms are used to indicate the type of disaster.

This one means a big fire and it shows where you should evacuate in that case.

- Ah, I see. It explains the disaster type.
- Yes.

Black pictograms are combined with other signs to indicate disaster details.

This one indicates an evacuation site to use in the case of a large-scale fire disaster.

There are five types in all.

It's important to remember that safety pictograms are often combined to show more detail.

Finally, we would like to introduce some other signs that are useful to know at the time of a disaster.

Emergency exits located inside a building.

Aim at this sign when evacuating.

It depicts a person running away toward the outside.

This design of a tap and a plastic tank indicates where water is available in the event of a disaster.

In the event of a major earthquake,

only emergency vehicles are allowed to use roads on which this sign is posted.

The design features a catfish, which is traditionally believed to predict earthquakes.

I'm very grateful.

Not all foreigners can read kanji,

so they are afraid of not being able to read the information.

What should we do when something happens?

With a picture, we can at least tell the most important message, which is a great relief!

That's good to hear!

Yes, in that sense,

you can get a lot of information from the safety pictograms even if you don't understand Japanese.

So I hope you will look at them carefully and learn all the designs.

Let's learn and notice all the safety pictograms!