Kawasaki Releases Guide to Sheltering at Home During Disasters, with Essential Tips for Apartment Residents

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:44 JST, December 29, 2025

Kawasaki has published a booklet for residents to refer to when sheltering at home during disasters. It includes a section on “condominium disaster preparedness,” reflecting the city’s large number of multi-unit apartment buildings.

In 2017, the city released a booklet summarizing more broadly how to prepare for a disaster. Officials say the latest guide focuses specifically on sheltering at home, incorporating new lessons drawn from recent disasters, including the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

Through a manga featuring a family of four — two parents and their two children — the booklet explains how to use portable toilets and why it is crucial to secure furniture. In the section on food and household supplies, it highlights a challenge unique to apartment living: carrying water and relief items up flights of stairs after a disaster. Consequently, it urges residents on higher floors to stock extra supplies.

The booklet is 16 pages long and B5-size. The city printed 18,200 copies and distributed them at ward offices and other locations. It is also available for download on the city’s website.