Quake-hit Japanese urged to improvise for survival

[skyvia]

BUBBLE wrap, beer cans and plastic bags are just some of the day-to-day items that disaster management consultants suggest could be transformed into life-savers for those in quake and tsunami-hit areas of Japan.


Buckled roads, snow, blackouts and radiation fears have hampered efforts to deliver vital supplies to the north-east, which was ravaged on March 11 by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the devastating tsunami it triggered.


Amid mounting health hazards in crowded emergency centres, the number of people falling sick from the sub-zero temperatures or suffering from post-traumatic stress is rising, relief workers say. Finding anything useable in areas wiped off the map after a 10m tsunami tore into cities, towns and villages on the Pacific coast is a struggle following Japan's worst post-World War II calamity.


One recommendation is to use bubble wrap as an extra layer to ward off the biting cold, wrapping it around the body and under clothes as the tiny air pockets trap heat, disaster management specialists say.


A makeshift stove can be made using empty beer cans cut off from the bottom, aluminium foil and cooking oil - an idea offered by the SBK citizen's disaster management research centre. Once lit, the improvised stove can boil one cup of water in about ten minutes. The SBK however warned not to use gasoline or heating oil.


To deal with hygiene, especially for the elderly who are too frail to move, Japan Toilet Labo, a research group, has offered tips on how to make toilets from cardboard boxes and garbage bags stuffed with newspaper.

[seocorporation]

My heart shudders when I think of the hardships being faced by Japanese.Thanks for sharing the nice though and how can little things can be changed in life savers.