SORABYCO | Life in Japan

When your home floods, your first instinct may be to start cleaning immediately. There may be mud on the floor, wet furniture, damaged appliances and things you want to move outside as quickly as possible. But before you start cleaning, there is one important thing to do: Take photos of the damage first. Official disaster guidance in Japan recommends taking photos of your home before you start cleaning or making repairs. The photos can help show what happened, how high the water reached and what was damaged before the evidence disappears. It sounds simple, but it is easy to forget when you are standing in a wet, muddy home and just want to clean up. I live in Narita, Chiba. After recent heavy rain, there was flooding around the area where I live, and some roads in the direction of Inbanuma became difficult or impossible to use. My husband normally travels that way, so the flooding suddenly felt much closer to everyday life. While watching news coverage, I kept hearing the same practica...

I used to pay very little attention to the things left outside when a typhoon was approaching. I knew there would be strong wind and heavy rain, but I assumed that anything reasonably heavy would stay where it was. Then one storm changed my mind. After the typhoon passed, I went into our backyard and found a tall, narrow planter lying on its side. It looked as though it had rolled several times before stopping some distance from where I had left it. The planter was filled with soil, so it was not particularly light. My first thought was simple: what if that had been on a balcony or somewhere higher? Fortunately, nothing was damaged. But since then, I have paid much more attention to outdoor items when a typhoon is forecast. If you live in Japan, the basic rule is straightforward: before strong winds arrive, move or secure anything that could fall, roll, tip over, or be blown away. What Should You Bring Inside Before a Typhoon? You do not need a complicated routine. Start by looking aro...