Firefighters and others are seen trying to rescue hotel guests who were trapped in an elevator that stopped due to a power outage caused by an earthquake, in the city of Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, in April 2011. (Mainichi/Yusuke Komatsu)

       TOKYO -- Japan has always lived with the worry and danger of earthquakes. Despite this, and more specific concern about a major temblor in the Nankai Trough or right under Tokyo, people remain at risk of getting trapped in elevators when a quake strikes, because little work has been done to prevent it. So, what should you do if you get stuck in an elevator during an earthquake?

       According to the Japan Elevator Association, there were 772,715 elevators nationwide as of March this year. And people tend to get trapped in them when a strong quake hits an urban area, which has many apartments and other tall buildings. When a powerful temblor jolted northern Osaka Prefecture in 2018, some 63,000 elevators were shut down in 11 prefectures including Osaka. Of these, people got trapped in 346 elevators in five prefectures.

       A quake registering an upper 5 on the 7-point Japanese seismic intensity scale hit Tokyo's 23 wards in October, the first time the Japanese capital had had such a strong jolt in the 10 1/2 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake. It caused about 78,000 elevators to stop. People only got trapped in 25 of them, as the quake occurred at night.

       However, the government's Central Disaster Management Council announced in 2013 it expects that up to about 17,400 people will be trapped in elevators in the event of a major quake under Tokyo.

       A person can get stuck in an elevator if an earthquake causes the car to come off its rails between floors, or if its emergency brakes are triggered. To avoid this, an "earthquake control operation device" that automatically stops the car on the nearest floor to allow passengers to escape when shaking is detected was required under the Order for Enforcement of the Building Standards Act of 2009. According to the Japan Elevator Association, this device is installed in about 590,000 of the nation's elevators.

       Residents are seen learning how to open an elevator door during training to rescue people stuck in an apartment elevator, in the city of Inagi, Tokyo, on Nov. 14, 2021. (Mainichi/Takuya Yoshida)

       Recently, there are also elevators that start moving again when no abnormalities are detected, so that passengers can escape at the nearest floor.

       Even so, getting trapped is unavoidable in some cases. In an earthquake, the preliminary wave (P wave), which consists of vibrations of small amplitude, is followed by the far shakier and thus damaging secondary wave (S wave). The elevator detects the P wave and stops on the nearest floor so that anyone on it can get out.

       However, if the elevator is near the earthquake's epicenter, the car will stop if the S wave hits before the car can reach the nearest floor. Also, regardless of the nature of the earthquake, power outages can cause people to become trapped if the elevator has no backup power source.

       Anyone could get stuck in an elevator at any time in an earthquake-prone country, but greater countermeasures have not been forthcoming, especially for apartment elevators.

       The rescue of trapped people is essentially left to elevator maintenance company employees and rescue services. However, depending on the state of the damage, maintenance staff and rescue workers may not be able to get to the scene quickly.

       Participants are seen learning how to use the phone receiver during training to rescue people stuck in an apartment elevator, in the city of Inagi, Tokyo, on Nov. 14, 2021. (Mainichi/Takuya Yoshida)

       Toru Kamaishi, secretary-general of the private disaster prevention measures group "Saigai Taisaku Kenkyukai," recommended that "building management unions have residents discuss the dangers and the need to run evacuation drills, and to actually conduct them."

       What should you do if you get stuck in an elevator in a big earthquake?

       Shohei Yoshimura, managing director of the Tokyo-based elevator maintenance company "i-tec24," explained, "Immediately after feeling the shake, you should press the buttons for every floor." There is a high possibility that the car will open its doors on one of them. If the car has stopped at the right place, passengers can open the door by pressing the "open" button inside the elevator. The buttons in the elevator lobby, however, will not open the doors.

       If a passenger is unable to get out, it's important for them to let others outside know about the situation as soon as possible. In an apartment, one can contact the manager's office, the maintenance company or another relevant party by pressing the intercom button in the elevator. If they are unable to reach anyone using the intercom, they can contact someone by mobile phone.

       Yoshimura said, "You may become anxious about being in a closed space, but it's rare for a person to be injured by getting trapped (in an elevator), and you don't have to worry about running out of oxygen."

       If a family member or an acquaintance becomes trapped, and you can reach them over the phone or intercom, tell them that "it's safe inside" and get them to describe the situation. Then contact the maintenance company or a rescue team at a fire department for help. This can lead to a smoother rescue.

       (Japanese original by Takuya Yoshida, Science & Environment News Department)

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