Several dozen pupils queue up to take part in a simulated disaster in a seven-richter "artificial" earthquake truck at a school in Tokyo.

They gaze and giggle at a group of their classmates who are already being heavily shaken as they take cover under a table set up on the bed of the truck.

The children were participating in a national earthquake drill - one of hundreds being held across Japan on September 1.

At the same exercise, some of their parents climbed down an artificial wall with safety ropes around their waists, or aimed a fire hose at a nearby riverside, pretending to extinguish a large blaze that threatens their houses.

Others learned how to provide first aid or use drilling machines or electric saws to tackle possible emergency problems.

In one corner of the school a young mother holding her three-year-old son's hand showed him a fire truck while explaining how it helps to extinguish fires.

These drills reflect the level of public awareness about reducing damage from natural and man-made disasters.

The Japanese - with decades of experience dealing with earthquakes, typhoons and tsunamis - are prepared for the worst.

The 2004 tsunami forced Thailand to learn the hard way about natural disasters, and many still wonder how many lives could have been saved if the Kingdom had been better prepared.

Flash floods in Uttaradit province a few months ago claimed hundreds of lives, although there was a measure of early warning.

Since the tsunami, which claimed more than 5,000 lives in this country, the Thai government has introduced several safety measures and early-warning strategies for natural disasters. But the question remains whether the preparation is good enough.

Public awareness about natural disasters, as well as the need for preparation, is a key element in preventative measures.

Japan's regular experience of natural disasters means ongoing development and improvement of its prevention measures, with real effort put into educating the public.

One of the key elements in Japan's strategy takes place every September 1, designated in 1960 as Disaster Prevention Day in order to remind people of the Great Kanto Earthquake which struck Tokyo, Yokohama and the surrounding areas on September 1, 1923.

Japan has since developed earthquake disaster prevention measures in all of its prefectures across the country.

During this year's Disaster Prevention Day, at least 800,000 people took part in earthquake drills across the nation, while up to 1.79 million people participated in drills during the subsequent disaster awareness week.

"I've experienced two big earthquakes in my life," says Mamie Yoshii, a conference interpreter who attended the drills in Tokyo. "I was so distressed, particularly during the second one, when I was still pregnant with my second child.

"I was on the fifth floor of my apartment building. Although I wasn't hurt then, I worry about when the third quake will come."

 Toshio Watanabe, director of earthquake disaster prevention at the Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Centre, says it is crucial to provide correct information to people even when there is no sign of an earthquake or tsunami.

Tokyo, with 5.7 million households and a daytime population of around 15 million, is situated in one of the most seismically active areas of the quake-plagued country.

With this in mind, Watanabe says, the centre is constantly reviewing its earthquake disaster prevention measures in the city.

Jiwamol Kanoksilp

The Nation

Tokyo