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First car survival drill held in Kumamoto for earthquake evacuation

15.07.2026 05:13 1 min 2 sources
yomiuri.co.jp JPN + 1 more
First car survival drill held in Kumamoto for earthquake evacuation
Original source: 読売新聞

In Brief

Kumamoto City held its first overnight car evacuation drill at the Kumamoto Keirin velodrome. About 70–100 people in 40 cars practiced preventing economy-class syndrome and learned about emergency gear.

Kumamoto City held its first hands-on overnight car evacuation drill at the Kumamoto Keirin velodrome, which has been designated as a car evacuation site for earthquakes. The event was based on lessons from the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake, when many residents slept in their cars due to fear of aftershocks, leading to health issues.

According to one source, about 70 people in 40 cars took part; another source says about 100 people, including families with children. Participants filled out surveys via QR codes, performed exercises to improve blood circulation and prevent thrombosis (economy-class syndrome), and familiarized themselves with emergency equipment. The velodrome will be opened for evacuation when an earthquake of intensity 6 or higher occurs.

Aggregated by OpenVan.camp from the public sources listed below, with AI-assisted translation and summary. We always link to the original source. Machine translation may differ from the original -- check the source for important details. Images and content remain the property of their respective owners. Copyright information

Story sources

First car-sleeping evacuation drill held in Kumamoto to prevent economy class syndrome

27.05.2026 yomiuri.co.jp JPN Original source

Kumamoto holds car sleeping evacuation drill at velodrome designated for earthquake refuge

26.05.2026 fnn.jp JPN Original source

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