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Typhoon information, hazard levels, municipal evacuation instructions, and transport notices answer different questions. A typhoon track does not prove that your location is in a dangerous area, and an operating train does not prove that travel is safe. Read the issuer, place, hazard, level, and update time before combining any detail.
If a current municipal 警戒レベル4の避難指示 applies to your area, or current JMA Level 4 information shows the relevant hazard at your location, do not finish a language exercise first. Follow current official guidance and your prechecked hazard-specific plan. Do not wait for Level 5, when a disaster may already be occurring.
Call 119 for a fire, serious injury, or rescue emergency—not for a forecast, shelter-opening question, or train status.
Manga scene · Read from right to leftRead from top to bottom
Keep the forecast, facility, and train notices separate
Before conditions peak in this practice scene, Leo sees a broad typhoon forecast and assumes every local service has already stopped.
Leo全部、休みですか。
Is everything closed?
Maya does not decide the safety action; she points to the highlighted area and update time so Leo can read the current source precisely.
Mayaこの地域は対象ですか。何時の情報ですか。
Is this area included? What time is the information from?
Community staff give the current closing time for this facility only, without deciding weather risk or railway status.
Staff今日は六時に閉まります。
We close at six today.
Leo repeats the facility time, then checks the named railway line and section in the operator's current notice from the safe indoor location.
Leo六時に閉まりますね。電車も確認します。
You close at six, right? I will check the trains too.
Dialogue remains selectable HTML. The illustrations contain no dependable generated text.
Act on Level 4 and Do Not Wait for Level 5
The Japan Meteorological Agency began its current disaster-weather information system on May 29, 2026. Level numbers now appear in the names of information for river flooding, heavy rain, landslides, and storm surge. Municipalities separately issue evacuation information.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
レベル4大雨危険警報が出ています | reberu yon ōame kiken keihō ga dete imasu | A Level 4 Urgent Warning for heavy rain has been issued | Current JMA hazard information; check the exact area and KIKIKURU |
警戒レベル4の避難指示が出ています | keikai reberu yon no hinan shiji ga dete imasu | An Alert Level 4 Evacuation Instruction has been issued | Current municipal evacuation information for its target area |
危険な場所から避難してください | kiken na basho kara hinan shite kudasai | Evacuate from dangerous areas | Level 4 action; use the hazard-specific safe action |
警戒レベル5の緊急安全確保です | keikai reberu go no kinkyū anzen kakuho desu | It is Alert Level 5 Emergency Safety Measures | A disaster may already be occurring; take the best immediate safer action |
Finish evacuation from a dangerous area by Level 4. Level 5 is not a signal to begin an ordinary trip to a shelter, and it may not be issued in every disaster.
If outside movement has already become dangerous, use the current municipal instruction, the actual hazard, and the safest immediately available option. A generic sentence cannot decide between leaving the building, moving to a suitable upper floor, or moving away from a slope.
Recognize the Current JMA Level Names
Use the full hazard name. The sequence below uses heavy rain as one example; river flooding, landslides, and storm surge have their own names.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
早期注意情報 | sōki chūi jōhō | Early Advisory | Level 1 preparation information; check what may develop |
レベル2大雨注意報 | reberu ni ōame chūihō | Level 2 Advisory for heavy rain | Review the hazard map, route, and timing |
レベル3大雨警報 | reberu san ōame keihō | Level 3 Warning for heavy rain | Check the target area and prepare or begin early action as applicable |
レベル4大雨危険警報 | reberu yon ōame kiken keihō | Level 4 Urgent Warning for heavy rain | Dangerous-area evacuation is required; do not wait for Level 5 |
レベル5大雨特別警報 | reberu go ōame tokubetsu keihō | Level 5 Emergency Warning for heavy rain | A disaster may already be occurring; secure immediate safety |
Do not attach a level number to every typhoon-related notice. 暴風警報 and some other wind, wave, snow, thunder, or tornado information do not use this five-level name series. Read the exact visible name and current instruction rather than constructing a phrase from memory.
Separate the Typhoon Track from Local Hazard Information
JMA typhoon information describes the storm’s position, size, strength, track, and forecast. It does not by itself state that every municipality on a map has the same warning or that every service is closed. Even after a typhoon changes classification, heavy rain, strong wind, high waves, or storm surge can continue.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
台風が近づいています | taifū ga chikazuite imasu | A typhoon is approaching | A developing storm statement, not a complete local action |
この場所は対象区域ですか | kono basho wa taishō kuiki desu ka | Is this location in the target area? | Use your actual location and the current notice |
何時に発表されましたか | nanji ni happyō saremashita ka | What time was it issued? | Check the timestamp before acting on a screenshot |
大雨ですか、土砂災害ですか | ōame desu ka, dosha saigai desu ka | Is it heavy rain or a landslide hazard? | Identify the hazard instead of saying only typhoon |
最新の情報を確認してください | saishin no jōhō o kakunin shite kudasai | Please check the latest information | Conditions and target areas can change |
Use JMA’s current warning display and KIKIKURU for the named hazard and place. A forwarded screenshot, an old push notification, a national map, or this lesson is not a live local warning.
Separate JMA Information from Municipal Evacuation Information
JMA warnings and KIKIKURU are weather and hazard information. A municipality issues 高齢者等避難, 避難指示, and 緊急安全確保 for its target areas. They are related, but one is not a copy of the other.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
これは気象庁の情報ですか | kore wa Kishōchō no jōhō desu ka | Is this JMA information? | Identify the weather-information issuer |
市の避難情報を確認します | shi no hinan jōhō o kakunin shimasu | I will check the city's evacuation information | Check the municipality responsible for your location |
警戒レベル3の高齢者等避難です | keikai reberu san no kōreisha tō hinan desu | It is Alert Level 3 Evacuation of the Elderly, Etc. | People who need more time begin evacuating; others prepare and may also leave |
警戒レベル4の避難指示です | keikai reberu yon no hinan shiji desu | It is an Alert Level 4 Evacuation Instruction | People in dangerous areas evacuate |
どの地区が対象ですか | dono chiku ga taishō desu ka | Which district is included? | Confirm the listed target area |
Do not wait passively for a municipal message when Level 3 or Level 4 equivalent weather information applies. Current JMA guidance says to use KIKIKURU, river levels, the local hazard map, and actual conditions to make an early decision even if an evacuation instruction has not yet been issued.
Conversely, a municipality may act for local conditions that a broad typhoon track does not explain.
Match the Evacuation Action to the Hazard
避難 means moving away from danger, not automatically entering the nearest school. A 指定緊急避難場所 is designated for immediate safety and must match the hazard. A 指定避難所 supports people who need temporary accommodation after evacuation. The same building may have both roles, but the names are not interchangeable.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
指定緊急避難場所はどこですか | shitei kinkyū hinan basho wa doko desu ka | Where is the designated emergency evacuation place? | Check the place for the current hazard |
この場所は洪水に対応していますか | kono basho wa kōzui ni taiō shite imasu ka | Is this place designated for flooding? | A place can differ by hazard |
避難所は開いていますか | hinanjo wa aite imasu ka | Is the evacuation shelter open? | Opening does not by itself prove the route is safe |
どの道を通りますか | dono michi o tōrimasu ka | Which route do we use? | Confirm the currently safe route before conditions worsen |
外へ出るのは危険です | soto e deru no wa kiken desu | Going outside is dangerous | At a late dangerous stage, stop treating an ordinary shelter trip as automatic |
Before the storm, check municipal maps for flooding, landslide, and storm-surge exposure and identify more than one hazard-appropriate option.
During the event, do not cross floodwater, approach a river or coast, or move toward a slope to verify what you saw online. Follow current responsible instructions and visible route conditions.
Check Each Train and Facility Separately
Weather information does not set a railway timetable. One facility’s closing time does not apply to the station, hotel, school, or shop next door. Check the named operator or facility from a safe location.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
この路線は運転を見合わせています | kono rosen wa unten o miawasete imasu | This line is currently suspended | Check the named line, section, direction, and timestamp |
この区間は運休です | kono kukan wa unkyū desu | Service is cancelled on this section | Do not expand it to every train |
計画運休の予定です | keikaku unkyū no yotei desu | A planned service suspension is scheduled | A current plan that may be updated |
運転再開の見込みは未定です | unten saikai no mikomi wa mitei desu | The expected resumption time is not yet decided | Do not invent or promise a time |
今日は六時に閉まります | kyō wa rokuji ni shimarimasu | We close at six today | Current information for that facility only |
何時の情報ですか | nanji no jōhō desu ka | What time is this information from? | Reject stale status screenshots |
運転見合わせ is a current suspension and does not guarantee cancellation or a quick restart. 運休, 計画運休, a possible restart, and a confirmed restart are different states. Never travel to a station only to ask for status when current weather or evacuation guidance says movement is dangerous.
Use 119 Only for an Emergency Request
Call 119 for fire or ambulance response, including a serious injury or a rescue situation in which someone cannot get out. Give the current location and observed facts, then answer the dispatcher’s questions. Do not use 119 to ask whether a typhoon will arrive, whether a shelter is open, or when a train will restart.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
火事です | kaji desu | There is a fire | Start a fire emergency call |
けが人がいます | keganin ga imasu | There is an injured person | State an observed injury |
ここから出られません | koko kara deraremasen | I cannot get out of here | Report a rescue need without attempting a dangerous route |
場所はこの住所です | basho wa kono jūsho desu | The location is this address | Replace with the actual address or landmark |
For the full location and dispatcher sequence, use Japanese Emergency Phrases. If the immediate task is only transport disruption after safety is established, continue with Japanese Train Delay Phrases.
Use current JMA and municipal typhoon information
Source check (August 11, 2026): the JMA 2026 disaster-weather information system, current warning types, effective use of disaster-weather information, current English level leaflet, multilingual warning display, and typhoon information were rechecked with the Cabinet Office 2026 evacuation-information guidance, Cabinet Office evacuation-place guidance, GSI hazard-map portal, MLIT disaster transport links, and FDMA 119 guidance.
Target areas, hazard levels, evacuation information, open evacuation places, routes, transport status, facility hours, multilingual availability, and emergency conditions can change. Current JMA, municipal, operator, facility, and emergency-service information takes priority.
Ask a qualified professional about an unresolved language or weather/disaster-safety question.
Turn a typhoon notice into one current action
- Do not treat a typhoon track as a local warning or closure notice.
- Read the current full level name, hazard, target area, issuer, and update time.
- Finish dangerous-area evacuation by Level 4; do not wait for Level 5.
- Match the place and route to the hazard instead of assuming every open shelter is safe.
- Check each line, section, and facility separately; keep estimates provisional.
- Use 119 for an actual fire, injury, or rescue emergency—not information lookup.
Compare warning language across weather and earthquakes
Typhoon notices may change travel, opening, or evacuation decisions before conditions peak. Contrast that timeline with immediate earthquake instructions, and use the emergency lesson when someone needs direct help rather than information.
Street Check · 1–3 minutes
Try the real-world task
Use current hazard, municipal, and operator information to confirm one safe next action.
Ready means:
- I can separate a typhoon forecast from a current hazard alert.
- I can distinguish JMA level information from a municipal evacuation instruction.
- I can verify one named service or facility without turning an estimate into a promise.
Build the route
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