Japanese Vocabulary for Natural Disasters

Looking for words and vocabulary related to earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and other disasters in the Japanese language?

Japan is known for its vulnerability to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons, floods, and landslides. Due to its geographical location, the country regularly faces these events, and the inhabitants need to be prepared to face them.

Preparation includes knowledge of specific terms and words related to disasters, as well as recommended safety measures.

In this article, we will explore some of these words and terms used in Japan for natural disasters, to better understand how the Japanese prepare for and deal with these events.

We recommend using your browser’s search function to find the words you want, as it is an extensive vocabulary list. (You can use CTRL + F)

We recommend reading:

• List of disasters in Japan by number of deaths
• Gaman and Nintai – Resilience in Japanese
• The 10 worst earthquakes in Japan

Main alert terms in Japanese

Below are some alerts and warnings in Japanese, important terms that have official weight and indicate the severity of the situation. See below:

• 注意報 (chūihō) – Warnings
• 警報 (keihō) – Alerts
• 特別警報 (tokubetsu keihō) – Emergency alerts
• 気象情報 (kishō jōhō) – Bulletins

List of warnings and alerts

• 風雪注意報 (fūsetsu chūihō) – Wind and snow warning
• 強風注意報 (kyōfū chūihō) – Strong wind warning
• 大雨注意報 (ōame chūihō) – Heavy rain warning
• 大雪注意報 (ōyuki chūihō) – Heavy snow warning
• 濃霧注意報 (nōmu chūihō) – Dense fog warning
• 雷注意報 (kaminari chūihō) – Thunderstorm warning
• 乾燥注意報 (kansō chūihō) – Dry air warning
• なだれ注意報 (nadare chūihō) – Avalanche warning
• 着氷・着雪注意報 (chakuhyō chakusetsu chūihō) – Ice/snow accumulation warning
• 霜注意報 (shimo chūihō) – Frost warning
• 低温注意報 (teion chūihō) – Low temperature warning
• 融雪注意報 (yūsetsu chūihō) – Snow melting warning
• 高潮注意報 (takashio chūihō) – High tide warning
• 波浪注意報 (harō chūihō) – High wave warning
• 洪水注意報 (kōzui chūihō) – Flood warning

Words related to disasters

Below we will see a complete list of words related to natural disasters in Japanese:

• 地震 (jishin) – earthquake
• 震度 (shindo) – intensity of the earthquake
• 震源地 (shin gendochi) – epicenter of the earthquake
• 津波 (tsunami) – giant wave caused by an earthquake
• 避難 (hinan) – evacuation
• 地震動 (jishin dō) – seismic movement
• 地震発生 (jishin hassei) – occurrence of an earthquake
• 地盤沈下 (jiban chinka) – ground subsidence caused by an earthquake
• 緊急地震速報 (kin gi jishin sokuhō) – emergency earthquake alert
• 地震予測 (jishin yosoku) – earthquake prediction
• 地震警報 (jishin keihou) – earthquake alert
• 震源 (shin’gen) – origin of the earthquake
• 地震傷害 (jishin shouga) – damage caused by the earthquake
• 地震被害 (jishin higai) – damage caused by the earthquake
• 津波警報 (tsunami keihou) – tsunami alert
• 津波被害 (tsunami higai) – damage caused by the tsunami
• 風水害 (fuu suigai) – damage caused by strong winds
• 台風被害 (taifuu higai) – damage caused by the typhoon
• 洪水被害 (kouzui higai) – damage caused by floods
• 山岳地震 (sangaku jishin) – mountain earthquake
• 火山噴火 (kazan funka) – volcanic eruption
• 土砂崩れ (dosha kuzure) – landslide
• 地盤沈下 (jiban chinka) – ground subsidence
• 地すべり (jisuberi) – land slip
• 雪崩 (yukibou) – snow avalanche
• 津波 (tsunami) – tsunami
• 火山噴火 (kazan funka) – volcanic eruption
• 洪水 (kōzu) – flood
• 山岳地震 (sangaku jishin) – mountain earthquake
• 地盤沈下 (jiban chinka) – ground subsidence
• 土砂崩れ (doshabare) – landslide
• 台風 (taifū) – typhoon
• 雪崩 (yukibare) – avalanche
• 竜巻 (tatsumaki) – tornado
• 雷 (kaminari) – lightning
• 雨 (ame) – rain
• 雷雨 (raiame) – thunderstorm
• 水害 (suigai) – water damage
• 風 (kaze) – wind
• 嵐 (arashi) – storm
• 津波警報 (tsunami keihō) – tsunami alert
• 緊急事態 (kin’gyō jitai) – emergency situation
• 避難 (hinan) – evacuation
• 救助 (kyūjo) – rescue
• 緊急給水 (kin’gyō kyūsui) – emergency water supply
• 避難所 (hinansho) – emergency shelter
• 消防車 (shōbōsha) – fire truck
• 救急車 (kyūkyūsha) – ambulance
• ヘリコプター (herikoputā) – helicopter
• 消防士 (shōbōshi) – firefighter
• 救急隊員 (kyūkyū taiin) – paramedic
• 防災 (bōsai) – disaster prevention
• 災害 (saigai) – disaster