Students at St. Mary Technical High School are showing greater awareness on what to do in the event of an earthquake, thanks to the frequency with which they participate in drills.
On Thursday (January 22), Parish Disaster Coordinator at the St. Mary Municipal Corporation, Adrian Tate, and members of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) led drills at both campuses at the school.
“We have greater participation and greater awareness now… . The response time today was better and we are grateful for that.” said Principal, Orville Richards.
He pointed out that the drills are important “because we want to establish a culture and sensitise the students as to how they should respond in the event of an emergency”.
The Principal pointed out the number of earthquakes in Jamaica over the past couple of years, stating, “I can pinpoint back in 2020 I was sitting in my office and we had an actual earthquake and the fact that these drills are done, it really allowed us to be aware of how to respond in such an emergency to safeguard the well-being of all stakeholders who are present on the school compound at that point.”
Vice Principal, Tanshea Williams-Johnson, said that with more than750 students on campus one, organising drills was not an easy task.
“Initially, we had a challenge but after we increased the frequency of the drills, we had the children moving faster. The teachers are on board, and most of them respond accordingly,” Ms. Bell said.
She outlined that the sequence of events begins with a special bell.
“[This] indicates whether we have a fire or earthquake [and] the students are aware. They also know that they should respond in 30 seconds to take cover and hold and then, immediately after, the teacher directs them in a line to the assembly area. They all know the assembly area,” she said.
There are also Wardens strategically placed on each block and persons who are responsible for documentation, the Vice Principal explained.
Once at the assembly area, a tally of the students is taken and matched against the morning attendance record.
Addressing the students after the drill, Officer in charge of the Fire Safety, Prevention and Investigation Division, District Officer Richard Guscott, pointed out the importance of earthquake drills, while encouraging the students to take them seriously.
“This is very important. What it does is it builds muscle memory, so in the event of a real-life situation, you will know exactly what to do and your body will take you there. So, if you feel the earth starting to shake and you don’t remember the steps to take, the fact that you practise it means that your body will do it automatically,” the District Officer said.
The month of January is observed as Earthquake Awareness Month. This year’s theme is ‘Resilient Jamaica: We weather the storm and brace for the shake’.
