When you have something good, people want it and judging by the reaction on the internet, the free Tokyo disaster manual is a hit. Compiled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, this free guide is over 340 pages long and addresses a wealth of preparedness and survival topics that could be useful all over the world not just in Tokyo.
The guide, printed and distributed to every person living in Tokyo has generated so much interest for its pretty wide range of subjects that people have taken to selling it online. You don’t have to live in Tokyo, speak Japanese or even pay for this guide because it is free in PDF form online right now in English.
I was given a heads up about this guide from Sideliner and went to check it out. While I wouldn’t put this in the same category as dedicated survival manuals, it does have some pretty unique and interesting information in the pages. From the usual topics of simple first aid (transporting the injured, making homemade bandages) to more creative ideas for survival like making a “haramaki” belly warming band out of newspapers to warm your body, fashioning cloth sanitary napkins, or changing a AA Battery into a C battery, this manual could save a lot of lives. I haven’t seen a resource as comprehensive from the U.S. Government. Please let me know if I missed a gem that rivals this manual. There are emergency routes, contact numbers, earthquake checklists and even exercises to get you ready for the big event!
This is not a “what if” story
Tokyo is no stranger to the effects of earthquakes and there are many sites dedicated to simply tracking the historical earthquakes. They have already had 73 earthquakes (M1.5 or greater) this year alone. Fukushima was a 6.6 earthquake that we are still feeling the effects from today and we are around the world. Earthquakes are a real part of living in Japan and their outlook for preparedness seems to be summed up in a comic that is included with this survival manual that states “This is not a “what if” story. This story is sure to become reality”.
In preparedness circles we usually roll the same statistic off the cuff of how there is only 3% of the population that is prepared. I agree we aren’t the majority by any stretch but I do think there is a lot more interest in prepping than 3% and the surge in popularity for this free Tokyo disaster manual shows that at least in one country, they are taking survival seriously.
I don’t wish the type of natural events on anyone that the residents of Japan have to live with but I do admire both their resolve and their resignation that they almost surely will face a crisis in their lives. This guide is a resource that I think preppers all over the world can benefit from. Yes, there is a lot of information that is only pertinent to people living in Japan, but the guide itself is still worth a look. If nothing else, it might show you some cracks in your own preparedness plans.
Print them out and give them to family and friends. Wouldn’t it be great if there was such a clamor for disaster survival information that our government was complaining?
Download the Tokyo Disaster Manual at the links below:
- Cover(PDF:130KB)
- Introduction, Table of Contents, Symbol Mark(PDF:1.3MB)
- 01 Simulation of a Major Earthquake (P14-79) (PDF:3.9MB)
- 02 Let’s Get Prepared
- Disaster Preparedness Actions (P80-141) (PDF:3.7MB)
- 03 Other Disasters and Countermeasures (P142-173) (PDF:1.3MB)
- 04 Survival Tips (P174-235) (PDF:3.1MB)
- 05 Disaster Facts and Information You Should Know (P236-321) (PDF:1.9MB)
- Manga comic: “TOKYO ‘X’ DAY” (PDF:4.5MB)