{"id":5113,"date":"2026-10-30T15:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pro-7.co.jp\/en\/?post_type=disaster-prevention&p=5113"},"modified":"2026-10-20T15:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T06:01:16","slug":"earthquake-preparedness-animal-hospital-pet-boarding","status":"publish","type":"disaster-prevention","link":"https:\/\/www.pro-7.co.jp\/en\/disaster-prevention\/earthquake-preparedness-animal-hospital-pet-boarding\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep Caring After the Shaking: A Resilience Guide for Animal Hospitals and Pet Accommodation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n

For most clients, a pet is family. When that family member is on your treatment table or in a boarding run, a strong earthquake leaves them no way to protect themselves. Protecting them falls to you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earthquake preparedness in a veterinary setting is about more than the building. Heavy equipment, tall shelving, and medication cabinets can topple in seconds. They can injure people, frighten animals, and halt care for days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"For<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article explains what can go wrong, how business continuity planning applies to an animal hospital or pet accommodation (boarding) business, and where to start with practical anchoring. It also points to public guidance you can use wherever your clinic is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Shaking Stops: How Earthquakes Hit People, Patients and Equipment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

It helps to sort the damage into three groups: people, patients (including boarded pets), and equipment. One toppled cabinet can affect all three at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start with people. After recent earthquakes in Japan, the Tokyo Fire Department found that 30 to 50 percent of injuries came from furniture that tipped over, fell, or slid. A treatment room and a pharmacy hold plenty of heavy items. If staff or clients are hurt, patient care and evacuation both slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You do not need an extreme event for this to happen. Japan\u2019s official shaking scale, published by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), runs from 0 to 7 and rates how strong the shaking is at a given place. At level 5 Lower, well below the top, JMA says unsecured furniture may move and unstable furniture may topple over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes in Japan show what this can look like for veterinary businesses. Two strong earthquakes, of magnitude 6.5 and 7.3, struck two days apart. Both brought the highest level on JMA\u2019s scale, level 7, to the town of Mashiki. Magnitude measures the energy an earthquake releases. JMA\u2019s scale instead describes the shaking at a location, in a way similar to the Mercalli scale used elsewhere. At level 7, JMA\u2019s descriptions say people cannot remain standing or move without crawling, and most unsecured furniture topples or may even be thrown through the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment\u2019s record of the response reports that 39 of the 157 clinics belonging to the Kumamoto Prefectural Veterinary Medical Association had facility damage: 1 completely destroyed, 2 heavily damaged, 5 half-destroyed, and 31 partly damaged. On April 20, shortly after the quakes, 131 clinics could treat patients, 11 could treat on a limited basis, and 15 could not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

Why does Japan use the JMA Seismic Intensity Scale? \ud83e\uddd0
\ud83d\udcd6 Learn more here \ud83d\udc49https:\/\/t.co\/kVXej0Z9Ik<\/a>#Magnitude<\/a> #Seismicsafety<\/a> #beprepared<\/a> #DRR<\/a> #\u5730\u9707<\/a> #Pro7<\/a> #terremoto<\/a> #DisasterReady<\/a> #Sismo<\/a> #\u9707\u5ea6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QYHjzdJWo6<\/a><\/p>— Proseven Co., Ltd. (@PRO7PAD) September 30, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>