Play to Survive: Disaster Preparedness Along the Ring of Fire

We live in a fragile world. This much is evident as stories abound of natural disasters that wipe out communities in an instant.How can we survive the future on such a planet, amid intensifying climate change?This question is particularly poignant along the Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt in the Pacific region that routinely faces some of the most devastating disasters in the world.Based on ethnographic research spanning seven years, Play to Survive examines the work of preparedness training in Japan and Chile, two primary nations along the Ring of Fire that experience frequent and intense disasters.Experts from these countries have often collaborated to create some of the most advanced disaster preparedness systems in the world.Chika Watanabe traces how local city officials, NGOs, and members of neighborhood and grassroots organizations are, counterintuitively, using fun, playful methods to teach preparation for our darkest hours. While there are many important studies of post-disaster