Emergency Procedure

Our ‘Earthquake Safety Manual for Parents’ has been created to clarify emergency earthquake procedures at BST if an earthquake were to occur during school time, including:

What BST has done to prepare for a major earthquake
What students should do in the event of an earthquake
What parents should do in the event of an earthquake

Please take the time to read this entire manual. If you have any questions about the contents or suggestions for additions or revisions, please contact the Deputy Principal, David James at djames@bst.ac.jp.

BST students ducking under the desks during earthquake drill

BST 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; this is because at Azabudai Hills the streets are likely to be more dangerous than inside our building and at Showa the campus may become very crowded as it is a public evacuation site
If evacuations of the buildings are necessary, children will be taken to the evacuation sites; at Azabudai Hills, the evacuation site is Azabudai Hills Central Park; 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 Azabudai Hills will not run
All clubs and events will be cancelled
No children will be allowed to leave the school site 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 3 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 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 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 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 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
Do not telephone the school. Look at the website, Twitter feed or Facebook
No students will be released from school unless a parent or carer comes to pick them up or we receive permission after the earthquake from parents.
We will release children to adults other than their parent/carer only if we receive written authorisation after an earthquake from parents.
Beware of aftershocks
Listen for information on the radio (Inter FM 76.1FM or NHK World Japan)

Earthquake Preparation

Tokyo has more earthquakes than any other large city in the world. Therefore we take emergency preparedness very seriously at our School. Three core principles inform our approach.

1. Good Planning

Health, safety and emergency issues are overseen by the Principal and Deputy Principal. The school maintains close links with local authorities, emergency services, the British Embassy and other relevant bodies in Tokyo, and seeks advice from emergency consultants to develop and refine our emergency procedures. Additionally the school employs a Health & Safety Officer. The Health and Safety Officer, works closely with the Deputy Principal and plays a key role for all matters relating to Health and Safety.

All risk assessments for off-site trips and expeditions must refer specifically to earthquake preparedness and, where necessary, advance contact will be made with local authorities and emergency organisations in order to gain an understanding of any specific requirements related to the area of the visit.

2. Careful Preparation

We have ensured that the School is well resourced.

We have ‘Classroom Emergency Kits’ in all teaching and administrative areas that will provide for the needs of students and staff in the immediate aftermath of an emergency (food, water, head protection, warmth, first aid, sanitation and ‘TLC’).

We have supplemented these with ‘Emergency Resource Points’ that contain supplementary provisions and resources to provide for the whole School’s needs for a period of up to 72 hours, if necessary.

If a group leaves either School site, a ‘Go Pack’ is taken to provide for first aid, earthquake preparedness and ‘TLC’ in case of an emergency. Emergency communication procedures when students are off site on school trips, including residential visits, are always carefully explained in the information sent out to parents in advance.

Both School sites have an ‘Emergency Communication Kit’ allowing us to both receive and provide information as and when needed. These packs include radio-telephones, two way radios and provision for other methods of electronic communication (mobile phone, email, website, Twitter etc) and small solar panels for recharging.

Finally ‘Search & Rescue Kits’ are stored in appropriate locations on both sites to equip rescue teams with lifting and wreckage clearance gear if required.

The School routinely trains and drills its staff and students.

3. Effective Communication

The same principles apply to all emergencies, including fires.

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Emergency Procedure