There’s something to do before you stock up on disaster supplies: secure your furniture.

According to the Tokyo Fire Department:

Approximately 30% to 50% of earthquake injuries were caused by furniture tipping over, falling, or moving.

Between 30 and 50 percent of injured people were hurt by furniture. Put the other way, that many injuries could have been prevented if the furniture simply hadn’t fallen. Stockpiling supplies is about what happens after you survive; securing furniture is preparation for surviving in the first place.

In Okinawa, people feel earthquakes less often than on the mainland, so securing furniture tends to get put off. But as the Great Meiwa Tsunami shows, it’s not that earthquakes don’t reach this region.

Order matters — reduce → rearrange → secure

The Tokyo Fire Department recommends thinking about this in three stages.

  1. Reduce — consolidate storage and reduce the amount of furniture in the living space itself
  2. Rearrange — reconsider the layout
  3. Secure — fasten it down with hardware

Buying hardware is the last step. If you simply don’t put tall furniture in the bedroom in the first place, there’s nothing to secure.

As layout principles, the fire department lists the following:

  • Keep furniture out of places where you sleep or sit, as much as possible
  • Don’t place anything that could tip over near an evacuation route or doorway (fallen furniture blocking a door means you can’t get out)
  • Don’t face the large flat side of a piece of furniture toward the bed (so it doesn’t fall directly onto you)

If it shakes while you’re asleep at night, there is no time to run. It’s worth reviewing the bedroom alone, first.

The most effective method is “fastening with screws”

The Tokyo Fire Department is direct about the effectiveness of different hardware:

The most effective furniture anti-tip device is one fastened with screws (such as an L-shaped bracket).

But an L-shaped bracket won’t work if installed incorrectly. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency lays out the key points:

  • An L-bracket should be placed at right angles to the wall stud, at the top of the furniture, and fastened with wood screws
  • It has no effect if the wood screws don’t reach the wall’s stud (the framing behind the surface). You need to account for the thickness of the wallboard
  • “Where the furniture has no internal frame member at that position, attaching a bracket will not produce a reliable effect.” (This is a separate point from the wall stud above — the bracket also needs solid material to bite into on the furniture’s own side.)
  • Install it at both ends, at a position where the furniture’s own internal frame member is definitely present

In other words, just driving a screw into plasterboard alone accomplishes nothing. Wall studs are said to generally be spaced at 30 cm or 45 cm intervals. Locate them with a stud finder (a sensor or pin type) before fastening. When the stud position doesn’t line up, one documented method is to attach a horizontal batten to the wall studs first, then secure the furniture to that.

If you’re renting and can’t put holes in the wall

Many people in Okinawa live in apartment-style housing, and no small number can’t drive screws into the wall. The Tokyo Fire Department gives a clear alternative for this case:

Combining two or more devices that don’t require drilling holes is recommended.

Specifically:

  • Stopper type (wedged under the front of the furniture to make it harder to tip forward)
  • Adhesive mat type (bonds the base of the furniture to the floor)
  • Pole type (braces between the furniture and the ceiling)

Of these, combining a stopper type (or adhesive mat type) with a pole type is said to produce an effect equivalent to the most effective option, the L-shaped bracket.

The key is combining them. A pole alone, or a mat alone, is not enough.

When a tension pole (pole type) doesn’t work

This limitation is easy to overlook, but the Fire and Disaster Management Agency states it clearly:

A so-called tension-pole type, which supports the gap between furniture and ceiling at a point rather than across a wide surface, has limited effectiveness when there is a large gap between the furniture and the ceiling, or with furniture that has little depth.

If you’ve assumed “I put up a tension pole, so I’m fine,” check whether the gap to the ceiling is large, or whether the furniture is shallow. Also, if the ceiling side is weak, the pole can punch through it. A commonly recommended method is to spread the load using a board.

Don’t forget appliances

It’s not just furniture — appliances can become dangerous too. The Tokyo Fire Department lists:

  • TV — secure both the TV itself and the TV stand to the wall or floor with straps or adhesive mats
  • Refrigerator — fix the feet in place, and connect the top to the wall with a strap
  • Microwave — secure both the unit and the stand it sits on with straps or mats

More households in Okinawa now keep a portable power station for typhoon blackout preparedness. These are heavy, so place them somewhere they can’t roll or fall, too.

Beyond securing furniture

  • Don’t put things on top of tall furniture (they become falling objects)
  • Apply shatterproof film to glass cabinet doors
  • Fit stoppers on cupboard doors so they can’t swing open
  • Keep slippers or shoes by the bed (so you don’t have to walk over broken glass)

What this article does not cover

This site does not cover whether an earthquake is currently occurring, or active tsunami warnings. Always check official up-to-date information. What to do when the shaking hits, and tsunami preparedness, are covered in Tsunamis Do Reach Okinawa.

Note that choosing and installing specific hardware depends on your building’s structure and wall framing, which vary case by case. If you’re unsure, consult your municipality’s fire and disaster-prevention division, or a contractor.