Timed with Disaster Prevention Day (September 1), the Palaceside Building held an earthquake-response drill on September 4, with about 50 people taking part.
The building repeats drills so people learn in their bodies how to respond in many situations: earthquake drills, fire drills, first-aid courses and more. For earthquake response we vary the time of day — daytime, night — and the scenarios: falling walls, broken glass, fire, injuries — so we can handle whatever comes.
This drill started at 10 a.m. with "an intensity-6 major earthquake." In the fifth-floor Mainichi Building Co. office and elsewhere, staff practiced taking cover under desks. An "earthquake-response headquarters" was set up at once,
and reports from various places were written on a whiteboard =photo right.
The damage scenario assumed a building-wide blackout; we confirmed the steps to start the emergency generator and secure power. Then reports came in: "glass broken in the show window in front of Mainichi Hall on B1," "fire on the first-floor east side," "water leak on B3." Teams were sent to each site and briskly ran through mock work: setting no-entry zones, initial extinguishing with extinguishers =photo at the end, fighting fire with indoor hydrants =top photo, closing pipe valves at the leak.
After the drill a review meeting aired not only what went well but also missed reports, reports that did not get through accurately, incomplete instructions... and confirmed tasks ahead.
The Palaceside Building will keep stacking such drills steadily toward a safe, secure building.
