Divine Word High School of Dana-Ili

Dana-Ili, Abulug, Cagayan

Tuguegarao Archdiocesan School System

Will everyone in your household do the right thing during the violent shaking of a major earthquake?

Before it is too late, get together with your family or housemates to plan now what each person will do
before, during and after. Once the earthquake or disaster is over, we will have to live

with the risk of fire, the potential lack of utilities and basic services, and the certainty of aftershocks. By
planning now, you will be ready. This plan will also be useful for other emergencies.

The safety and well-being of your loved ones are important, so take time NOW to develop a family
earthquake preparedness plan. If you’ve already developed a plan, take time NOW to review and update
it. Below is a sample plan that you can use for your family.

PLAN WHAT TO DO DURING AN EARTHQUAKE

Practice "drop, cover, and hold on” to be safe during an earthquake.

Identify safe spots in every room, such as under sturdy desks and tables.

Learn how to protect yourself no matter where you are when a disaster strikes.

PLAN HOW TO RESPOND AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE

Keep shoes and a working flashlight next to each bed.

Teach everyone in your household to use emergency whistles and/or to knock 3 times repeatedly if
trapped. Rescuers searching collapsed buildings will be listening for sounds.
Identify the needs of household members and neighbors with special requirements or situations, such as
use of a wheelchair, walking aids, special diets, or medication.

Take a Red Cross first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training course. Learn who in your
neighborhood is trained in first aid and CPR.

Know the location of utility shutoffs and keep needed tools nearby. Know how to turn off the gas, water,
and electricity to your home. Only turn off the gas if you smell or hear leaking gas.

Get training from your local fire department in how to properly use a fire extinguisher.

Install smoke alarms and test them monthly. Change the battery once a year, or when the alarm emits a
"chirping" sound (low-battery signal).

Check with your city or county to see if there is a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
program in your area. If not, ask how to start one.

PLAN COMMUNICATION & RECOVERY AFTER THE QUAKE

Locate a safe place outside of your home to meet your family or housemates after the disaster.

Designate an out-of-state contact person who can be called by everyone in the household to relay
information.

Provide all family members with a paper list of important contact phone numbers.

Determine where you might live if your home cannot be occupied after an earthquake or other disaster
(ask friends or relatives).
Know about the emergency plan developed by your children’s school or day care. Keep your children's
school emergency release card current.

Keep copies of essential documents, such as identification, insurance policies and financial records, in a
secure, waterproof container, along with your disaster supplies kits. Include a household inventory (a list
and photos or video of your belongings).

Have occasional "earthquake drills” to practice your plan. Ask your babysitters, house sitters, neighbors,
coworkers, and others about their disaster plans, and share your plan and with them.

Understanding Educational Facilities Damage and Considerations to Reduce Losses

Earthquakes may not only cause damage to school buildings, they also can damage local/regional
infrastructure, which may disrupt school facility operations without evident physical damage being
present.

Local/Regional Infrastructure Damage

While your buildings may be well-built and have very little damage in an earthquake, your school may
still be unable to resume operations due to damage to utility systems (power, water, gas,
communications), hazardous material spills, and other issues beyond your control. These issues may
complicate your response and prolong your recovery. Your emergency plan needs to have back-up
options in case your normal resources are unavailable.

Building Damage

Local/Regional infrastructure issues are beyond the control of school officials, but school buildings are
not. Earthquake shaking can damage any building, but some are more likely to be damaged severely
(such as brick buildings or others built before modern building codes. Your buildings may seem fine but
have been weakened in the main earthquake, only to collapse during a large aftershock. Though
complete collapse is quite rare, even minor shifting can cause doors to be jammed, glass to break, and
exit routes to be blocked. You should evaluate your school facilities and consult with a structural
engineer if possible to determine which are most likely to be damaged.

Building Construction Issues to Consider:

Schools are built to building codes at the time of their construction. Newer codes require better designs
to withstand expected levels of earthquake shaking for the area. A school built in California may have
stricter requirements than one built in New York, where earthquakes are less frequent and less intense.

The goal of building codes is life safety, not continued operation. So new codes may prevent deaths and
limit injuries, but your school buildings may still have significant damage.

Codes only as good as their enforcement. If contractors "cut corners" to save costs, and this is not
noticed by building inspectors, then even new buildings may fail during earthquakes.

Some states have special guidelines for public school construction, yet requirements for private or
charter schools may be less strict. For example, the California Field Act of 1933 requires higher
standards for public school buildings as well as thorough inspection requirements. (However, results of
recent investigations have shown the difficulties the state has had in recent years in overseeing these
requirements.)

Prevention-Mitigation is...

Understanding Educational Facilities Contents and Considerations to Reduce Losses

School building collapse is certainly a major concern requiring long-term planning and investment
toward prevention. However significant injuries and damage may also result when contents within
classrooms, offices, and other facilities fall or are thrown during earthquake shaking. Furniture can fall
on students or block doorways, and expensive computers and other equipment may be damaged.
Chemistry labs and industrial shops have unique hazards to consider. Fortunately, the solutions for
preventing most of these issues are relatively inexpensive.

Secure Your Space!

Straps, buckles, and other devices are widely available to secure content within facilities. Companies can
be hired to secure furniture and contents in your school buildings, though your maintenance staff are
likely capable of installing the necessary equipment. They can be ordered online through many sources,
or purchased at home improvement stores. It is essential that commitment to their use must be a long-
term policy. When classrooms or offices are painted, furniture is moved, or computers are replaced, it
should be required that the straps, brackets, and other solutions be re-installed and the budget should
include this work.

Preparedness is...
Collaborating with community partners to develop plans and protocols to prepare for the possibility that
the identified hazards, vulnerabilities or emergencies will occur.

Any significant earthquake will affect your entire community, and emergency management officials will
be coordinating according to the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which includes these
main components:

Preparedness

Communications and Information Management

Resource Management

Command and Management

By following these protocols, schools will support the efforts of first responders and local emergency
managers. For this reason, personnel must be trained in the implementation of NIMS, and in particular
the Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized approach within Command and Management.
Regular training in conjunction with community partners and frequent updates to the school emergency
plan are essential to better integrate NIMS and ICS. Extensive documentation and resources for school
implementation of NIMS are available from the REMS Technical Assistance Center.

Alongside school implementation of NIMS, your plan should include making arrangements (in advance!)
with structural engineers or contractors to report to your school to help determine the severity of
building damage.

Preparedness is...

Utilizing Educational Facility Design to Conduct EarthquakeTrainings and Drills

Most states require several fire drills a year, perhaps monthly. Fewer states require earthquake "Drop,
Cover, and Hold On" drills. While fire and earthquake drills are often held separately, in a real
earthquake a fire may be started such that during the shaking the concern is falling items but
immediately after the concern may shift to fire evacuation.
Schools often include building evacuation as a part of their earthquake drill, since assembling in a
common area after an earthquake will be the best way to account for students, prioritize first aid and
triage, and conduct search and rescue.

Preparedness is...

Utilizing Educational Facilities Storage to Organize and Maintain Emergency Supplies

After a damaging earthquake, your students and staff may need to stay on site for several days until
parents and emergency responders can arrive. Two important factors must be considered for
emergency supplies: a secure storage location and an adequate amount of supplies. School officials
should be prepared to be self-sustaining for a minimum of 3 days in times of an emergency. The
assigned team (as delegated in the NIMS Command System) is responsible for the procurement, storage,
and maintenance of specific supplies for earthquake preparedness. Their team responsibilities further
include keeping supplies fresh, especially first aid, food and water, and maintaining an accurate, on-
going inventory of supplies.

Basic List of Necessary Emergency Supplies

Adequate First Aid Supplies

Sufficient Water

Food Supplies

Flashlights and Extra Batteries

Battery Powered Radios and Extra Batteries

Space Blankets, Heavy Duty Plastic Bags or Regular Blankets

Sanitation Supplies

Useful Nonprescription Drugs

Extra Fire Extinguishers

Emergency Search and Rescue Tools

First Aid Supplies

Large commercial first aid kits should also be stored in each cargo container. Such kits are typically
sufficient for up to 400 people, though this does not mean 400 injuries. The kits assume only a portion of
the people will require first aid.

First aid materials inside wheeled containersIn addition to the standard first aid kit, you may want to
supplement with additional supplies:

Bottled water to flush wounds

Mylar or regular blankets to keep people warm and dry

Box of non-latex exam gloves to protect against infections and disease

Fresh bleach can be mixed with water (10:1) and used as a universal disinfectant

Make sure your first aid kits are maintained on a regular schedule:

Kits should be labeled

Stored in a clean, safe location - at the front of the emergency bin/container

Replace expired items immediately; or preferably before they expire! Include timelines in your
emergency plans for when to replace perishable items.

Another example for storing first aid kit materialsKeep perishable items separate so they are easier to
replace, such as in a quart-size plastic bag

This bucket-style portable toilet has a bucket, a liner, and a special seat designed for fitting on top of the
bucket

In an emergency, you will need an area for a latrine if toilets are not working because the water supply is
out or if bathrooms are not accessible. Simple "bucket" toilets can be used to store supplies until
needed. The ideal ratio is 1 bucket for every 30 people. In addition to the bucket itself, be sure to store
toilet paper, a privacy partition (such as a tarp or large cardboard enclosures), hand sanitizer gel, and
other related items.

Response is...

Working closely with first responders and community partners to effectively contain and resolve an
emergency in, or around, school facilities.

As soon as an earthquake begins to shake your school, your emergency planning is put into action. The
educational facilities procedures and teams developed and trained will now be put to a real test.
Earthquakes present unique challenges for educational facilities, such as:

Reacting for Self Protection: Drop, Cover, and Hold On (Protect from Structural or Building Contents
Injury)

Reacting for Appropriate Building Evacuation

Reacting for Fire Suppression and HazMat Control

Reacting Promptly for Educational Facilities Search and Rescue Efforts

Response is...

Reacting for Self Protection: Drop, Cover, and Hold On (Protect from Structural or Building Contents
Injury)

In managing educational facilities, the most important aspect of earthquake response is preventing
injuries and deaths due to structural or building contents. Because earthquakes strike without warning,
students and staff must know how to protect themselves with little or no time for instruction.
Fortunately, the largest earthquake waves usually follow an initial "jolt", perhaps with a few seconds in
between or even longer if the earthquake is further away (similar to the delay between lightning and
thunder). So this may allow enough time for getting into a safe position.

Studies have shown that most people are injured by falling contents or by trying to move to another
location, such as running outside. Moving can be very difficult during strong shaking, and the periphery
of buildings is the most dangerous place for falling building components, especially in brick buildings.
The safest action in most situations is to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

Drop to the floor

before the earthquake drops you!

Take Cover

under a sturdy desk or table

or get down next to a wall and cover your head with your arms
Hold On firmly

if under a shelter, be ready to move with it until the shaking stops

Step 5 of the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety describes what to do in various situations (in bed, at the
theater, etc.), when you feel earthquake shaking.

DO NOT get in a doorway!

It does not protect you from falling items

In strong shaking you cannot stand or brace yourself

If you are in a room with 25 students, how many can fit in the doorway?

DO NOT believe the "triangle of life"

You are safer UNDER, not next to a table as recommended by this theory

The photo on the left below is a school in Calexico, CA, showing how ceilings will collapse in pieces, but
desks provide shelter.

The photo on the right below is a school in Mexico City. The floors collapsed in the 1985 earthquake, but
the tables held up the concrete slabs.

The "Triangle of Life" theory says that buildings always collapse and crush tables, so you should be next
to the table to be in a "triangle of life". As the pictures shows, this just isn't true.

Plus you can't predict where such a space would be when the shaking starts.

Response is...

Reacting for Appropriate Building Evacuation

Teacher leading students to assembly areaOnce the earthquake has happened and the shaking has
stopped, then your plan will likely include evacuating classrooms and administrative offices to central
assembly area(s), wherever you go for fire drills. Make sure the area is away from structural facilities, so
that you will not have to worry about aftershocks. The following instructions are for classroom teachers
but can be modified for administrative officer and other school locations.

After shaking stops, assess your room for any dangers (broken glass, fallen items, fire, chemical spills,
etc.). Deal with anything urgent if possible, quickly.

NEVER evacuate automatically; there may be more danger outside than there is inside. Check for safe
passage/clear exit route from your room to the assembly area (look out the door/window; don't leave
children unsupervised).

If an aftershock occurs while you are exiting, Drop, Cover, and Hold On until the shaking stops.

Do not use any elevators.

Once to the assembly area, quickly advise search and rescue teams to return for those who did not exit
with the class.

Instruct students so they know that if there is an earthquake when they are outside of a classroom (such
as during break or lunch), they should exit with the nearest class and should NOT go back inside. If they
are between classes, they should assemble in the outdoor emergency assembly area with their next
period class.

Response is...

Reacting for Fire Suppression and HazMat Control

Fires often start in the aftermath of an earthquake because of ruptured gas lines, the content of rooms,
things left cooking on the stove, and electrical fires. Thus, fire constitutes a fairly great risk after an
earthquake. Many teachers and school staff members have never handled a fire extinguisher, so make
sure that your staff is prepared and trained in their proper use.

One training opportunity is to ask the technician who comes to cycle out your old extinguishers and
replace them with new ones to provide a training demonstration. This is a great chance for teachers and
staff to safely practice using a fire extinguisher. Involving your local fire station is another option, which
has the added benefit of creating and maintaining a working relationship with your local fire station.
After this basic training, establish a Fire Suppression and HazMat Team to respond in the event of an
earthquake or other emergency. Specific duties may include:

Keeping inventory and locations of hazardous chemicals on campus

Tracking expiration dates of fire extinguishers and assessing other fire-related equipment

Evaluating potential release of chemicals.

Locating and extinguishing small fires as appropriate.

Checking gas meter and, if gas is leaking, shutting down gas supply.

Shutting down electricity only if building has clear structural damage or advised to do so by the incident
commander.

Posting yellow caution tape around damaged or hazardous areas.

A demonstration of fire suppression using a fire extinguisher

When using a fire extinguisher, remember the acronym PASS:

Pull the pin

Aim

Squeeze the handle

Sweep
Response is...

Reacting Promptly for Educational Facilities Search and Rescue Efforts

Several questions must be answered before deploying Search and Rescue teams. Is it safe to conduct
search and rescue? How damaged are your buildings? Who is making those determinations? One simple
qualification for a Search and Rescue team to enter a damaged building is that it needs to have all four
walls and its roof, and should not be leaning at an extreme angle. Buildings in such condition should be
left to professionals to enter. As is said in the fire service: "Never bring victims to a scene." The
individuals acting in a rescuer capacity should not put themselves in a situation where they can also be
injured.

Hand Tools.png

If it is safe to do search and rescue, the following tools and materials can be used:

Personal protective equipment: helmets, gloves, masks, goggles and non-latex exam gloves;

Basic hand tools - for light search and rescue.

Rescue.png

It often happens that an entire class is unable to leave their classroom because a doorframe became
tweaked in the shaking. These are the first cases that should be attended to. Send one of your search
and rescue teams directly to those classrooms and have them use a prybar to pop the door open, then
send those students and teacher out to the assembly area with everyone else.

When a team goes in to do a search, they should use the "go right, stay right" strategy. It can be dark in
an earthquake, even if it's daylight, because of the smoke, power outage, etc. With the contents shifted,
it can be easy to get lost, even in a small room. As your team members enter, they should keep their
right shoulder against the wall on their right and follow all the way around back to the door they started
from.
CHIRSTIAN PALIWANAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REGION III, OF CAGAYAN.