Living in Japan isn't all about games. Just mostly 
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.Panic Buying Hits the Kansai Region
Posted 03-14-2011 at 09:39 PM by Chris_D
Kansai is the part of Japan containing the cities Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Kobe city is famous for the immense damage it received during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995.
The Kansai area is far from the epicentre of Friday's quake and it was barely felt by most residents. However, this hasn't stopped panic buying in local supermarkets. Perhaps residents are expecting an escalation in the number of quakes across the country or it could be that they have just realised how woefully unprepared they are for a disaster of this magnitude.
I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that the lines at my local supermarket were as long as I've ever seen them in 4 years. Well, when I dropped in today to pick up some ingredients for lunch I was greeted by a number of empty shelves.
Rice was basically sold out.
Canned fish was popular.
And bottled water too.
I actually have always kept a significant amount of bottled water on hand (~40L), which is pretty much a typical recommendation for earthquake preparedness. Also, as is typical of foreigners living here, I buy a lot of things in bulk from the supermarket and import stores, like oats, nuts, pasta, soy milk, and canned goods. So, all in all, I probably have enough food for at least a month. Still, I am definitely thinking about my disaster preparedness for the future.
What disaster preparations have you made in your home?
See my previous post, A Different Reaction to the Great Tohoku Earthquake.
The Kansai area is far from the epicentre of Friday's quake and it was barely felt by most residents. However, this hasn't stopped panic buying in local supermarkets. Perhaps residents are expecting an escalation in the number of quakes across the country or it could be that they have just realised how woefully unprepared they are for a disaster of this magnitude.
I mentioned on Twitter yesterday that the lines at my local supermarket were as long as I've ever seen them in 4 years. Well, when I dropped in today to pick up some ingredients for lunch I was greeted by a number of empty shelves.
Rice was basically sold out.
Canned fish was popular.
And bottled water too.
I actually have always kept a significant amount of bottled water on hand (~40L), which is pretty much a typical recommendation for earthquake preparedness. Also, as is typical of foreigners living here, I buy a lot of things in bulk from the supermarket and import stores, like oats, nuts, pasta, soy milk, and canned goods. So, all in all, I probably have enough food for at least a month. Still, I am definitely thinking about my disaster preparedness for the future.
What disaster preparations have you made in your home?
See my previous post, A Different Reaction to the Great Tohoku Earthquake.
Total Comments 4
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Hope to never get hit by a earthquake in newfoundland good to know your ok
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Posted 03-14-2011 at 09:53 PM by MalReynolds
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None. Toronto's boring.
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Posted 03-14-2011 at 10:17 PM by LiquidRain
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That's crazy.
I work in a small town outside of the larger town that I live in, so I often do my shopping here on the way home, and the supermarkets here are as normal right now (I was just grabbing lunch there 15 minutes ago). Now I'm a little scared to go check out the ones near home though. My cousin in Tokyo is having similar problems and can't get toilet paper anywhere. |
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Posted 03-14-2011 at 10:45 PM by Lon Lon Rabbit
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Yes all OK here. Life goes on as normal around me apart from occasional aberrations like the above.
I spoke to my friend in Sendai by phone today and he sounded stoic in spite of having both his home and school completely trashed by the quake. He is monitoring the situation at the plant in Fukushima closely and actually thinking of taking his family further away if things deteriorate. If a quake happens here I know I'm better prepared than most. I have a stack of candles, a few batteries, and a portable burner along with 9 gas cylinders. I'm pretty convinced that at least 80% of the people who bought out all the rice in the above photo probably couldn't cook it in the event of a loss of gas and power. The main thing to worry about is that you never know how your apartment building will hold up under a big quake until you experience one. And, even though my building is kind of old (25 years), the Kobe quake wasn't so big here. |
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Posted 03-14-2011 at 11:17 PM by Chris_D
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Recent Blog Entries by Chris_D
- Panic Buying Hits the Kansai Region (03-14-2011)
- A Different Reaction to the Great Tohoku Earthquake (03-14-2011)
- Edge's Gran Turismo 5 Review - Ben Dutka MIA? (01-11-2011)
- My Game Studio - Pinky Games (01-02-2011)
- My Game Studio - Farmsoft (12-31-2010)
