In schools in Japan, earthquake drills are held once a month. If an earthquake strikes while they're in a classroom, children know how to get under their desks, head first, and to hold on to the legs of the desk until the quake is over. After that the teacher leads them out of the building and calls the register to make sure everybody is there and safe. If a quake hits when the children are in the schoolyard, they are taught to gather in the middle, away from the school building. Sometimes, with help from the local fire department, children also take turns practicing in earthquake-simulation devices, which are special rooms that can be made to shake just as they would in a serious earthquake. This would enable them to understand the severity of potential earthquakes and therefore allow them to prepare.
Earthquake safety and protocol is heavily integrated into the academic curriculum from primary through to college. Additionally, schools are equipped with special computers that receive JMA’s (Japan’s Meteorological Agency) earthquake warnings.

Another feature of the drills is to pretend that a fire has broken out and to find a safe way out of the school. The location of the imaginary fire is different every time, so the children can learn what to do no matter where it breaks out.

Right after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 many public elementary and middle schools served as emergency shelters for people who had lost their homes. Some of these schools