CAMP ZAMA, Japan – The odds of a natural disaster affecting a U.S. military installation in Japan are high, according to emergency management officials here.
Due to its location, where four tectonic plates converge at two points, Japan sees an average of three to six noticeable earthquakes each day. Earthquakes have also been known to trigger tsunamis, mudslides and other secondary disasters.
In addition, Camp Zama is within 50 miles of two active volcanoes – Mounts Fuji and Hakone. Since 2013, Japan has had more than 15 volcanic eruptions, officials said.
This week, hundreds of U.S. Army personnel stationed across Honshu have been conducting a review of their Emergency Evacuation Program packets to better prepare them for the next potential disaster.
The EEP process helps posture Soldiers, Army civilians and their family members to be able to quickly evacuate if an emergency were to occur, said Mikael Merrick, the EEP manager for this year’s drill.
“We never know what can happen,” Merrick said. “So we want to be sure that our community is prepared and that everybody knows what the [evacuation] process is going to look like.”
In an emergency situation, many Soldiers would likely stay to assist with relief efforts, such as they did in 2011 during Operation Tomodachi after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked much of the country and caused a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster.
“It’s very important for our families to understand what the [EEP] process is going to be and what’s going to happen when everybody is trying to get out of the country and people are scared,” Merrick said.
The Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, or DPTMS, along with 12 different organizations, reviewed community members’ packets, which include various forms and details on the sponsor and their dependents to facilitate a hasty evacuation.
Christina Henson, who has three children and works as an infant lead teacher for Child and Youth Services, attended the event on behalf of her family.
Henson, who has lived in Japan for 15 years and is no stranger to earthquakes, still appreciated the exercise that served as a refresher for her.
“I’m glad that they are offering us this kind of drill for everybody,” she said, “so that we’re ready just in case an emergency happens.”
Master Sgt. Christopher Hirata, the operations sergeant for DPTMS, also completed the process for his family and plans to pass down all the instructions to them.
“Having all that proper paperwork in order definitely makes it easier on the family members,” he said.
Phase II of the EEP process is scheduled for September, he said. During that exercise, officials will practice how to transport some personnel to Yokota Air Base and simulate their evacuation to the United States.
On Monday, Sgt. Heath Bain, assigned to the U.S. Army Japan Band, helped input personnel details into the Noncombatant Evacuation Operation Tracking System. The system can make it easier to create manifests for evacuations out of the country.
“We put it into our system and that helps us essentially move people and track them wherever they go,” he said.
The Phase I drill also allowed a few Soldiers who haven’t used the NEO system before to become familiar with it.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get a chance to run them through it and get them up to date,” Bain said, “so if anything does happen they’ll be ready to go.”
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