Misawa City helps notify base residents of disasters

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez and Airman James B. Bauer
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Tsunamis, earthquakes and other disasters are a real possibility for those living in Northern Japan. The best way to deal with such disasters is to be informed and be prepared.

The Misawa City Department of General Affairs' Disaster Prevention Section introduced a new e-mail notification system Feb. 10, 2011, at Misawa Air Base to help residents stay informed on disaster prevention.

"This service has already existed for two years to the Japanese public, but now it is available in English," said Master Sgt. Lee Manley, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy fire chief.

This new system will send warnings and advisories on meteorological , fire, crime prevention, traffic safety and consumer affairs information.

"Disaster notifications will include tsunamis, earthquakes, floods and blizzard conditions," said Sergeant Manley.

In addition to disaster notifications, crime prevention notifications include warnings of suspicious persons in the local area.

"The notification will give you a brief description of the person, his age group, where he was and what he was doing," said Sergeant Manley.

Other Misawa Air Base warning services include American Forces Network, the Commander's Access Channel and the weather station, but Misawa City's notifications will be delivered directly to the e-mail address on the recipients' cell phone.

"If you are out and about and outside of AFN's broadcast range, you will still receive the notification about the local area," said Sergeant Manley. "You will get the notification way before the base even receives the information."

Personal home computer users can also sign up to receive e-mail notifications.

"I do not have a cell phone, but I will sign up for the e-mail notifications" said Airman 1st Class Bradley Baker, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter. "This service is definitely going to give everyone an early warning, which will improve my preparedness as a firefighter."

Residents can still sign up for this service by one of two ways. Send a blank e-mail from a cell phone to anzenjoho@bousai-misawa.jp or visit the bousai-misawa.jp website and select the English option. Follow the instruction prompts in both methods.