EARTHQUAKE PROCEDURES
In the event of a major earthquake, the school will follow the procedures below:· All children will be kept at the school until collected
· Children will be kept inside the school buildings unless there is a danger of building collapse or fire or the buildings are considered unsafe for other reasons; the streets around Shibuya are likely to be more dangerous than inside our building and the Showa campus is likely to become crowded as it is a public evacuation site
· If evacuations of the buildings are necessary, children will be taken to the evacuation sites; at Shibuya, the evacuation site is the large car park opposite the school building; at Showa, the evacuation site is initially the Astroturf in the centre of the campus and then the Cafeteria on the far side of the Astroturf if that building is safe
· The school bus between Showa and Shibuya will not run
· All clubs and events will be cancelled
· No children will be allowed to leave the school sites on their own, unless we receive permission after the earthquake from parents
· No children will be allowed to leave the school sites with the parents of other children, unless we receive permission from parents after the earthquake
· Children will be kept at the school for as long as necessary, including overnight or for several nights if required; we have blankets, emergency equipment and sufficient emergency food and water for 6 days
· Children on residential trips will stay at the residential centre, and children on day trips from school will stay with staff at their location, until we are able to communicate with parents
What should parents do?
· After an earthquake, look at the BST Facebook page, BST on Twitter, the BST Website and/or your email to find out if the school considers this to be a major earthquake and to obtain information on the current situation at the school; as general guidance, the school will normally consider a major earthquake to be one which is announced by Japanese media, such as NHK, as Shindo 5 or above in Tokyo (see note below on Shindo Scale) or where the Tokyo trains and subway stop and do not resume within one hour
· If you are unable to access the internet or email, assume that the school will be following the emergency procedures above; keep checking the internet sites periodically as they may come back online
· Come to the school to collect your children when it is safe for you to do so; because of fallen obstacles, fires, or dangerously crowded streets, it may not be safe for you and your children to be on the streets; this is more likely in the case of an earthquake which is announced as Shindo 6 or above; in this case, please do not rush to the school; we will keep your children at school until it is safe for you to collect them; this may be many hours later or the next day
· If all communication fails, your children will be kept at the school (or at the evacuation sites, if it is necessary to evacuate the school buildings), for several days if necessary, until you collect them or are able to contact the school with alternative arrangements
Note on Shindo Scale: the Shindo scale is used in Japan to measure the effects of an earthquake at specific locations, rather than its magnitude only at the epicentre of the earthquake. It ranges from 1 to 7. The 9.0 magnitude North East Japan earthquake measured 7 near the earthquake and 5 in Tokyo. NHK normally gives Shindo measurements within a couple of minutes of a major earthquake on TV, on its website www.nhk.or.jp/daily/english and its mobile phone site http://k.nhk.jp/daily
