Warm-up, Earthquake, and Chapter 5 Kanji -- 2020.09.01

 September 1, 2020  -- Tuesday     

令和２年9月1日   火曜日  　　　　　　　　ワームアップ？

This is an important day in Japan, for two reasons. 

The first day of September is the first day of school after the 6-week summer break.

And, because there was a huge, terrible earthquake on September 1, 1923, this is Earthquake Preparedness Day, or Disaster Preparedness Day　ぼうしんのひ　  防災の日.

1923 Great Kantō earthquake

The Great Kantō earthquake (関東大地震, Kantō dai-jishin) struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58:44 JST (02:58:44 UTC) on Saturday, September 1, 1923. Varied accounts indicate the duration of the earthquake was between four and ten minutes.[11] Extensive firestorms and even a fire tornado added to the death toll. Ethnically-charged civil unrest after the disaster (i.e. the Kantō Massacre) has been documented.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale (M_w ),[12] with its focus deep beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay. The cause was a rupture of part of the convergent boundary where the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the Okhotsk Plate along the line of the Sagami Trough.[13]

 

Earthquake

Desolation of Nihonbashi and Kanda seen from the Roof of Dai-ichi Sogo Building

The SS Dongola's captain reported that, while he was anchored in Yokohama's inner harbor:

 

“At 11.55 a.m. ship commenced to tremble and vibrate violently and on looking towards the shore it was seen that a terrible earthquake was taking place, buildings were collapsing in all directions and in a few minutes nothing could be seen for clouds of dust. When these cleared away fire could be seen starting in many directions and in half an hour the whole city was in flames.”

 

This earthquake devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region. The earthquake's force was so great that in Kamakura, over 60 km (37 mi) from the epicenter, it moved the Great Buddha statue, which weighs about 121 tonnes, almost 60 centimetres [23.6 inches].[15] 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923_Great_Kant%C5%8D_earthquake　

Earthquake　じしん　地震　　　Aftershock　ゆりかえし　揺り返し　　

What do people do on Disaster Preparedness Day?  They check their “evacuation bags” to make sure they are up to date and functional.

Sarah Ono, who lives with her Japanese husband - a disaster specialist - and their two children in Kochi prefecture on the southern Japanese island of Shikoku, has opened up her family's three grab bags to show what she has at the ready for such emergencies.

"We have evacuation bags in the house and the car - fireproof bags containing first aid, coins for public phones, as usually there is a loss of mobile phone service, enough food and water for three days and also portable toilets," she explains.

Sarah's kit also contains survival equipment, such as a ground sheet and sleeping bags, a water container to fill up at temporary pumps, gloves to protect hands from broken glass, knives, torches and rope for escape.

There's also wet wipes, other sanitary products and toilet absorption powder - in case there is no supply of water - as well as communications equipment, such as a wind-up mobile phone charger and a radio to stay across the latest warnings and information. The Onos have also installed solar panels at their home to ensure they have minimal power during cuts, and, Sarah explains, they take part in regular drills.

"We have an annual evacuation in September every year," she says. "We go to our local evacuation point and go through the procedures of what would happen in a real disaster."　　　　　 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12759840　

 

Now it’s your turn to think.

1.     What would you put in your evacuation bag?

 

2.     What would be a good place for your family to meet if an earthquake occurred when some of you were not at home, your home was too damaged to return to, and public roads/transport systems were broken?

 

3.     What else would you do to be prepared for an earthquake or other natural disaster?

Nakama Chapter 5 Kanji List (from Yoko Sensei’s kanji sheets, with meanings)

 

日     　月 　      火    　水              木  　            金　                 　 土　  　

sun        moon      fire        water       tree                money             　 dirt

day       month                                     wood-             gold               　  earth

                                                               material         metal

 

曜     　      年　　 時　　       間                       週　　　何　　　半

day of     year       time                time-         week         what        half

week                      o-clock            interval 

 

分　　　             今　

minute                now

understand

divide　

 

Important kanji combinations using kanji from this list

今日　　　　　一時　　　　　二時間　　　　今週

きょう　　　　いちじ　　　　にじかん　　　こんしゅう

today                   1 o’clock                 two hours             this week

 

９時半　　　　今年                        　5 分　

くじはん　　　ことし　　　　　ごふん

9:30                        this year                     5 minutes

“half past

Nine” 　　　　

宿題　　　しゅくだい　　　Homework

Nakama (some) Chapter 5 kanji sentences

 

ローマじ　で　かきます。　それから　えい語　で　かきます。 You will write these in RO-MAji (our alphabet/Roman letters). After that you will write them in English.  (Please type.)

 

えい語　の　クラス　は　9時半　です。

 

今週　ともだち　は　レストラン　に　いきません。

 

今　何時　です　か。

 

木　の　ちかく　に　水　が　あります。

 

今日　　３時間　ぐらい　べんきょう　します。

 

ハワイ　に　火山（かざん）　が　あります　ね。

 

１０月　に　日本人　は　つき　を　みます。　（つきみ）

 

今年　は　日本　で　何年　です　か。