Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Kochi University

Disaster Prevention on Monobe Campus

Preparations for Disasters on Monobe Campus

On Monobe Campus, we keep on working with various preventive measures against natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami.

Earthquake-Proof Construction

All major buildings on the Monobe campus have now been seismically retrofitted.

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Evacuation Drills

We believe evacuation drills are most important to protect yourself in the face of an emergency. All the international students are required to take evacuation drills so that they can properly act without hesitation or delay.

Signboard with the Height above Sea Level (Various Places on Campus)

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Disaster Preventive Education

With the support of Kochi International Association, all the international students have handbooks on how to prepare for the Nankai Earthquake. The brochures are issued by the KIA (Kochi International Association) in six languages: English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Indonesian, and Vietnamese. The same contents are also available on the KIA homepage:

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Voices from International Students

Winnie Sowah(Ghana / AAP Course*)

Hi everyone. I'm Winnie from Ghana. I'm studying Fisheries Biology in the AAP Course.

I arrived in Kochi about a month after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that shook the whole country. At the time I was a little concerned, but I was comforted with the fact that Kochi is far from Fukushima.

When I finally settled in, I realized that my concerns about safety were completely unnecessary. Here is why;

Kochi University ensures all students take part in disaster prevention drills. They are organized periodically so that everyone can act properly in the event of a disaster.

The international students' residence is well secured with auto lock doors that protect residents from intruders. All rooms are equipped with fire extinguishers and smoke detectors. They are routinely maintained to be in good condition in the event of a fire outbreak.

Professionals from the police station are invited to educate us on legal and illegal behavior to ensure that we live within the law and not break the law out of ignorance.

Apart from what the Monobe Campus does for our safety, the Nankoku International Association (NIA) also organizes disaster prevention drills. It is a volunteer group in Nankoku City and helps foreigners living in Kochi adjust to the city.

On these grounds, I think Kochi University is one of the safest places in Japan.


Chuan He(China / AAP Course*)

Hello everyone. My name is Chuan He and I come from China. I am now studying in the Lab of Aquatic Environmental Science in Kochi University.

As we all know, Japan is prone to earthquakes. I still remember the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on March 11, 2011, caused tremendous damage to an exceedingly wide area of Japan, mainly in the Tohoku region.

I also remember the Great Sichuan Earthquake, which was a deadly earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China, killing an estimated 68,000 people. The biggest lesson learned from both these events is the importance of being well-prepared for a disaster that exceeds the scope of our assumptions.

In order to be prepared for the unexpected possible occurrence of a massive Nankai earthquake and minimize the damage if and when it actually occurs, I participated in the disaster prevention lecture and drills held by the university.

I have learned earthquake-proof construction has been completed for all the facilities on the campus. I have also learned I should take cover under a sturdy desk or against an inside wall, and hold on during the quake jolts. Once it stops, I should cautiously escape to the rooftops of the buildings to avoid the tsunami after the quake.

All of the information is really helpful to me to be well prepared for the disasters. Thanks to the preventive measures on the campus and the disaster prevention drills, I can now concentrate on my research.


(* AAP Course of the Graduated School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Kochi University.)