Disaster Preparedness: Earthquake Drill, Proper knowledge, Saving Lives.

Have you ever wondered about earthquakes?
Have you experienced a large earthquake?

I can still vividly remember way back year 2017. I was going to school because it was a school day. Our school is just a walking distance from the house. While walking to school, I felt a sudden shaking of the road, I thought it was just because of the big trucks that passed by but the shaking got stronger and caused me to stumble a bit. Though near to the school, I stopped. It's the time I saw all the passers-by at the side of the road stop and hold on to something. Then I realized it was an earthquake. I panicked a bit because I'm in the middle of the road and can hold on to nothing.

The National Road in front of the school.

The shaking goes so strongly that even making a single step is not possible. So what I did was kneel and hold on to the ground, I did not mind if I wore a school uniform. Because it got into my mind what my grandma believed, she said that if you stumble down in an earthquake you'll get insane. (LOL)

As I was kneeling, I saw someone ahead of me riding a bike. He did not feel the shaking at first so he kept on peddling until the shaking got a bit stronger. He stumbled with his bike, its then he realized it was an earthquake. The strong shaking lasts one to two minutes.

When the shaking stopped, I observed the man with the bike who stumbled down. He did not go insane. (LOL) Why did I say so? Because he was able to recall his experience in detail shocked and shaking.

The lesson learned is that we should always have presence of mind in every situation we are in. Recall the prior knowledge on how to react in such a situation.

Our country Philippines lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which causes the country to have frequent seismic and volcanic activity. This brings concern to the government. As a solution, they came up with the conduct of the earthquake drill in schools.

That is why, we at Caduawan Elementary School conducted a quarterly earthquake drill in our school simultaneous with the nationwide conduct.

Before the execution, teachers will first talk about earthquakes. Then will explain what to do when trembling begins, emphasizing the following:

First, everybody must duck to the floor. Then take cover under a sturdy table or desk. And lastly hold until the shaking stops.

Then, pupils will be taught the passageway to the evacuation area intended by the school which is identified to be free of hazards.

In going out pupils must:

• cover their head with anything hard for protection from falling debris.
• walk slowly, and do not push each other to avoid disorder that might result in chaos.
• the pupil nearest the door must go out first and straight to the intended evacuation area and the rest will follow.
• they must stay calm and wait for further instruction at the evacuation area.

So, teachers need to firmly establish to pupils the necessary knowledge to protect themselves when an earthquake happens before the execution of the drill.

After a thorough discussion, they will wait for the bell to ring, which is a signal for the drill to start.

"Ma'am, why do we need to do this drill?", a pupil asked. "We've been doing this for quite some time".

"These drills are important to prepare us for the necessary knowledge of how to react immediately and appropriately when an earthquake strikes to reduce accidents and loss of lives". I answered.

After a few minutes, the bell rang and the drill began.

At the evacuation area.

Thank you dear friends for your time and for patiently reading my blog. SALAMAT!