THE Department of Education (Deped) has issued guidelines on the conduct of earthquake and fire drills in schools.
Under Department Order 53, the DepEd said schools are required to conduct “unannounced earthquake and fire drill every first and third week of every month.”
The school heads with the assistance of School Disaster and Risk Reduction Management coordinators are tasked to spearhead the planning, implementation and regular monitoring of such activities.
“These drills are to ensure that all learners are properly guided on what should be done during and after an earthquake or occurrences of fire in schools,” the order read.
The agency also ordered schools in the National Capital Region, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan to create a separate and specific disaster plan that specifically lays down the response should there be a scenario of magnitude 7 or higher earthquake that may involve mass casualties of learners and personnel.
“Emergencies and calamities may strike anywhere and anytime. Thus, having an effective preparedness plan is the key in preventing disasters and saving lives,” the order stated.
“Accordingly, local drills and simulation exercises are preventive measures that familiarize escape routes and reinforce proper actions in the occurrence of a calamity. Frequent practice of these drills and exercises would eventually turn these actions into automatic reflexes that would manifest during an actual calamity,” it added. (SunStar Philippines)