The powerful earthquakes that hit the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture in October, forcing the evacuation of up to 100,000 people, have jolted prefectural and city governments throughout the nation into reviewing their own disaster countermeasures.
The central, prefectural and city governments reinforced their disaster measures after the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, which resulted in the loss of more than 6,000 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people.
One of the major lessons learned from the Hanshin quake was the need to secure sufficient amounts of emergency rations. After the killer quake severed their lifelines and transportation networks, many local governments -- dependent on outside help -- found themselves unable to obtain enough food and drinking water.