Photo/Illutration A typhoon topples trees along the streets of Okinawa city in September 2018. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

As massive Typhoon No. 19 barrels toward the Kanto region, I turned to friends I made on two occasions working in Okinawa Prefecture for advice on dealing with the coming storm.

I worked at the Naha bureau of The Asahi Shimbun in 2008-09 and 2015-18.

Okinawa Prefecture has long been a target of powerful typhoons, and it is not uncommon for winds as strong as 194 kph to hit the region.

I asked one friend living in Naha for advice.

“It’s simple, don’t go outside,” the friend said. “Stock up on batteries for portable radios and cup ramen. You should start eating perishables so the refrigerator empties out.”

While it seems obvious to avoid going outdoors when a typhoon approaches, the Okinawan people take that precaution to extreme limits.

For one thing, on the night before a typhoon is forecast to hit, supermarkets and convenience stores in Okinawa sell out of food. The most popular items are bread and foods in retortable packages that do not go bad even in a blackout.

When storm warnings are issued, buses stop running and schools, companies and government offices all close down and employees are sent home with the exception of those government officials handling disaster prevention measures.

When a typhoon strikes, air conditioners are not used because doing so intensifies the burden on the machine.

One experience that still remains with me occurred on Aug. 24, 2015. A deputy chief Cabinet secretary visited Okinawa Prefecture to discuss the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture. Most Okinawa prefectural government officials had gone home early because of an approaching typhoon.

But the meeting between the deputy chief Cabinet secretary and Okinawa vice governor proceeded as planned. However, the air conditioning was not used, and the central and prefectural government officials taking part in the meeting were soon perspiring profusely.

Some retail outlets remain open even during typhoons, but they more often than not switch off the automatic doors and open and close the doors manually to prevent a sudden gust from blowing into the building.

Similar measures were taken at the office housing Asahi’s Naha bureau. Security guards would lock all the doors and windows in the building whenever a typhoon approached, making it impossible to open them even from the inside.

Okinawa residents also bring potted plants and bicycles indoors and street signs are removed. To deal with a possible blackout, Okinawa residents also take baths and finish their meals before a typhoon approaches.

In a word, the only alternative during a typhoon is to remain indoors in a safe building and wait for the storm to pass.