I experienced my first earthquake in Japan on Friday.

Since I’d only been in one earthquake previously, and my experience of it was little more than a slight shake, I had been wondering what to expect for something a bit stronger.

My first earthquake was Newcastle in 1989. It measured 5.6 on the Richter Scale and killed 13 people.

I was in Sydney visiting my Grandmother with my Mum and brother. We were in her apartment and I was in the shower. I was told to get out of the shower and to come downstairs immediately. I wasn’t even allowed to get dressed properly.

We were outside in minutes with only one other family there too. Turns out, not many in the apartment block had felt the quake. Since Australia isn’t really known for earthquakes, they may have just assumed it was a very large truck going by or something else had happened. An earthquake wouldn’t have been many peoples’ first thoughts.

My first Tokyo earthquake measured 3 on the Japan Meteorological Agency Scale (JMA) for the area where  I happened to be. It’s called the SHINDO system and is an intensity scale rather than a magnitude scale (which is what the Richter Scale is). The rating is based on your own location rather than the epicentre of the earthquake itself.

The impact in my serviced apartment was the couch I was sitting on shifted while I felt the floor tremble (I’m on the fifth storey). The windows shook in their frames. It lasted for about two seconds though it felt more like eight to me.

Earthquakes are fairly common in Japan so they do a good job of explaining what to do if one hits in your apartment and also at work. There are evacuation centres set up, people have disaster kits prepared and you’re encouraged to know your neighbours and make sure they are all fine too. The building regulations have also changed over the years and most are fairly stable compared to in the past.

My work place is even better prepared with kits underneath each desk which includes a hardhat for everyone. I know there are emergency supplies discretely placed yet easy to access all around the office. We all register where we live into a particular app that then sends messages to certain people in management if we haven’t checked in when there is an earthquake. It’s one of the many things that impresses me. Obviously it would be better if it wasn’t necessary but people here have adapted to the situation.

We all have the emergency notification app on our phones too which notify when an earthquake will be over a 5. This meant I had no warning for the current one. That said, there is another app which seems to be able to give you a warning for almost any measure. I’m not sure how accurate that is though it seems to link to the JMA site so it should be pretty good.

I am still nervous about the whole thing particularly since Japan also has more than its fair share of nuclear reactors. I am more calm now that I know what one feels like though and to start to get myself prepared at my new home for when the next one comes. It really is a matter of when rather than if.

To this end, my plan is:

• prepare my disaster kit and remember to have enough food and water for my dog too
• pack some clothes and shoes into a backpack
• find my new local area evacuation spot
• re-read the earthquake materials
• download the safety tips app so I have a constant reminder
• try to have faster showers (this will be tough)
• wear pyjamas to bed

* Thanks to Carole King for the title to this post.