Our house in Fukae kitamachi were we lived at the time of the earthquake collapsed instaneously due to the earthquake. I was buried alive and I almost resigned myself to death but I was luckily rescued. There were others who were not so lucky in the neighborhood, and in that pitch darkness, I must say that it was really difficult to signal to the outside that I was alive underneath the rubble.
Where I live now,I can hear from quite a distance away a whistle being blown during a school PE lesson. If such a whistle can be used, it will be possible to let others know very clearly exactly where you are. A whistle is small so everyone can carry it around in his pocket all the time.
(Female,Nishi Ward)

Fire Deperment Advice
In many cases,it took several hours to rescue people from collapsed houses. All-out rescue work was carried out not only by the fire department but also by relief teams gathered from throughout japan. Sadly,because the disaster zone was so extensive, we were unable to rescue everyone alive. Every single collapsed building was checked out and if there was any possibility or evidence that there could be survivors, a thorough search and rescue activity was undertaken. It took a long time to do this. Using a whistle is an extremely effective means of alerting rescue workers. Rescuers found it very helpful to see just a single piece of paper stuck to the house stating the family`s safety. saying for example,"We are all safe and are sheltering in XX Primary School."