Disaster May Strike in Class! What would you do?
-Risk Management at Waseda-

A plate at the entrance of Toyama Park. It is your risk management that you know where to flee for safety before a disaster occurs.

Fig.1 30km area map centring around Shinjuku

Fig.2 the number who can go home at a disaster in proportion to the distance between their places of work and their homes Though the distance is less than 20km, it is very possible that the people in mules or sandals cannot go home. Fig.1 and Fig.2 are based on A Report on the people who cannot go home at a disaster made by Shinjuku Ward

A warehouse between the Building 15 and the Building 16 provided against a disaster

In the warehouse there are not only water and food but blankets and prefabricated toilets which have reached the ceiling.

If a big earthquake struck Tokyo at 6 p.m. and public transport was paralyzed, it is estimated that there would be about 350,000 people in Shinjuku Ward living more than 20 km away who could not go home on foot. Not only an earthquake but also blackouts in large areas and terrorist incidents are imaginable. What would you do if you were in Waseda when such a disaster struck?

POINT 1
Right after a major disaster, Waseda will not let students go home. First of all, head for your Evacuation Area.

Temporary evacuation areas are designated at Okuma garden in the Nishi-Waseda area and at Toyama Park in the Toyama and Okubo areas. Please evacuate from classrooms to these places. Arbitrary decisions would lead to a secondary disaster caused by collapsed buildings or panicking crowds. Especially around railroad stations, tens of thousands of people might gather in panic. At the evacuation areas, information about the disaster and public transport will be immediately offered by the local authority and the University. Students will be given proper instructions. Accurate information is indispensable amid confusion. Therefore, please understand why the University will not allow students to go home right after the occurrence of a disaster.

POINT 2
Exchange information about personal safety by using "Message Dial". Contact the office of the School you belong to!

In an emergency, telephone lines are likely to be jammed. For such a situation please find out about the 'Disaster Message Dial'. Make plans with your families and friends. It is possible to call from mobile phones in devastated areas and phone back from places outside a disaster area.

When things calm down, please contact your School office to tell them of your safety. Right after a disaster occurs, each office will set up a special team to confirm the safety of students.

Disaster Message Dial
0180-99-3524
[URL] http://www.ntt-east.co.jp/voiceml/

POINT 3
Student Strength for Getting Waseda Back to Work!

Local authorities such as Shinjuku and Chiyoda Wards have introduced agreements with universities, including Waseda, to use the universities as evacuation facilities for local people or for people stranded in the area. Waseda has an agreement with Shinjuku Ward, and we have built up a store of rescue facilities and supplies. We are also constantly updating our risk management manuals for students who have difficulty in going home, and for local people. Also, the association of Waseda traders and shopkeepers has sets up a nationwide liaison system against earthquake disasters. The organisation and the university cooperate in providing relief goods and organizing volunteers.

If disaster strikes, the university and the neighbourhood will unite to secure the safety of the people and to restore the area. The vitality of the students is necessary as the driving force in those measures. Waseda students are already known to have set up support systems after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake and the Taiwan earthquake in recent years. Each and every student, we hope, will realize his or her own responsibility for risk management at Waseda, and act under the spirit of "cool head & warm heart" not only for themselves but also for others during an emergency like this.