Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan who are dealing with the aftermath of the massive devastation wrought by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe.

The tragedy serves as a reminder we need to prepare for emergencies.

In China, several government departments, such as the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Chinese Academy of Governance, have released the first official report on how to deal with emergencies. It is a manual informing us of how to prepare for contingencies in an emergency. It will come out every year.

It is easy to delude ourselves into thinking that we can successfully defend against all eventualities, manmade or natural. Though we can control so much in the world, it is hard to accept that natural disasters remain cruel whims of fate that we have no control over.

But while we cannot prevent such acts of nature, most horrifying disasters are stamped with human incompetence and mismanagement from beginning to end.

We can learn a thing or two from the tragedy in Japan. We have to admire the fact that most high-rise buildings survived the earthquake. Japan imposes very strict building codes.

Video clips also showed people calmly reacting to the earthquake when it struck. There was little panic or hysteria.

In earthquake-prone Japan, the threat of such natural disasters is a part of life. Its people stayed calm as they and their government are better prepared for such events. Their precautions include safety preparations, regular drills and quake-proof buildings.

China's first report on emergency measures includes what the government did during crises such as the earthquake in Sichuan in 2008 and the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus.

But the report is short of specifics telling citizens how to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

Many parts of the nation are prone to disasters like typhoons, earthquakes, floods and droughts. We are facing increased extreme climate events and natural disasters, all these call for more specialized research on disaster management and improvements to fine-tune the country's response to natural calamities.

Good preparation by both the government and individuals is key to minimizing the effects of natural calamities.

We can learn a lot from Japan.

Some preventive measures include good planning and strict enforcement of building codes. It is also important to conduct drills to prepare the public for possible devastation brought by natural disasters.

Japan has shown the world how to prepare for such disasters by making sure buildings are safe and its people are thoroughly prepared and trained to face earthquakes.

Sadly, no amount of preparation can withstand the forces nature unleashed on Japan.