On 30 October, the Uji Campus hosted a comprehensive disaster drill in cooperation with the local Uji-shi Higashi Fire Station. The drill assumed a Nankai Trough Earthquake with a seismic intensity of "6 lower" on the seven-point Japanese scale affecting the local area. More than 1,000 faculty, staff, and students, including members of the Uji faculty-and-staff fire brigade, participated.
In addition to basic disaster responses specified in Kyoto University’s Crisis Management Plan, the drill covered safety confirmation and communication, providing an opportunity to practice systematic evacuation guidance and communication under a realistically simulated fire and casualty situation.
Participants learned about and performed a variety of disaster-response roles, such as fighting initial fires, confirming the safety of others, guiding evacuees, helping the injured, and gathering information on those evacuated. They also learned how to use a fire extinguisher through a briefing and hands-on session, both provided by Uji-shi Higashi firefighters.
Upon the drill's conclusion, Dr Yasuaki Kishimoto, director of the Institute of Advanced Energy (IAE) and organizer of Uji Campus events, delivered remarks, followed by Tetsuya Kadota, director of the fire prevention division of Uji-shi Higashi Fire Station, commenting on the participants' performance. An exchange session then took place, where representatives of the Fire Station and the Uji Campus in-house fire brigade, as well as other participants, actively discussed disaster responses.
IAE Director Kishimoto delivering remarks
Uji-shi Higashi Fire Station's fire prevention director Kadota commenting on the drill
Emergency task force collecting safety information
Helping the injured
Practicing the use of fire extinguishers
Evacuation drill
