Since the devastating earthquake struck Japan this past week, online sales of earthquake kits have seen a sharp increase among Chinese consumers.

Hours after the Japanese earthquake, entries began circulating on Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese micro-blogging site, informing the public about possessions that will prove helpful in an earthquake, such as emergency food and water, shelter space and lighting. Tens of thousands of Chinese Internet users have viewed the advisory.

"Even if at school we are not taught the best ways to cope with emergencies, we can all do something to take precautions," read one comment.

"I will get an earthquake kit just in case," said another Internet user, who goes by the name of Zaizaifish. "It won't cost much, maybe 500 yuan ($76). And I hope it will never be used."

Shortly after the posting, many people began searching for earthquake kits on taobao.com, a popular e-commerce website in China.

"Over the past weekend, we have sold about 3,200 earthquake kits, attracting more than 20,000 clicks," said Chen Jia, a vendor selling emergency suppliers on the website.

"Sales this year have already reached 6,000, and our 2010 figure was merely 10, 000."

Chen charges 380 yuan for each kit, which contains first aid supplies, lights, communication equipment and similar things - 26 items in all.

Fu Jianping, a manager of a Hangzhou-based emergency kits supplier, said public demand for survival kits has risen sharply in the wake of the recent earthquakes. The quake kits, commonly priced at 400 yuan to 500 yuan, seldom attracted shoppers to the company's website. But with the recent disasters, they have come in droves, according to Fu.