TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, March 9 (PIA) –I am happy, excited and at the same time a little bit nervous, kay ang among mga bata, muag first time gyud nila nakakita nga tinuod nga nay ambulance, nay casualty, something nga murag tinuod na gyud.
This is how teacher Lorna Remolador, City East Elementary School Disaster and Risk Reduction Management focal person shared, when asked about her comment on how her school fared in its first official participation in the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) for the first Quarter of 2023.
Remolador has been coordinating with the class advisers who would eventually take the role of team leaders during evacuation in the event of a big shake in the school, as a risk reduction measure in cases of an earthquake.
At the strike of two PM, the school emergency alert system blared and the siren took on a few seconds before it stopped. A few moments later, it sounded again and the pupils, some as young as Grade 1 to Grade 6 trooped from their class rooms and headed to the open ground where the muster station was designated.
Each class went without a hitch to their designated spots in the open ground, crouching and briskly walking away from potential falling debris.
“We were told that as soon as the ground shakes and the first alarm blasts, we have to find immediate protection by ducking, holding on to the shelter in case it moves, and covering our heads, in case the shelter gives way,” shares a young kid in a girl scout uniform, who eventually has to break off from her station to slip into an emergency responder when her classmates were fully accounted.
She was also helping other girls lift a folding bed and makeshift gurney with a fractured victim, grimacing in pain, a few seconds thereafter.
At the team leaders’ command post, class advisers report their evacuation statuses, and from there, the DRM coordinator sent out medical teams: volunteer students and two Muslim teachers, to fetch the victims and bring them to the makeshift emergency post for first aid and way station for the medical evacuation for victims needing hospitalization.
All happened within 20 minutes and the ground slowly cleared for the kids to take shelter at the covered court and eagerly await for the Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management audit team’s assessment of the earthquake drill.
“It was almost perfect, except for a few minor reminders, PDRRMO Emergency Operations Chief Jose Aleto Requeron announced as his assessment to the drill.
He also pointed out how covering the head can be better if one uses an object that can protect the head from potential injuries from a falling debris.
He also picked on the children’s orderliness in exiting their classrooms, although warned some others not to run, but walk briskly instead to avoid any more accidents in the hallways and the staircases.
I was afraid but I did not panic, confessed another kid, who unconsciously still covers his head with his palms, when others were already breaking their groups and heading to the sheltered assessment area.
On the entire proceedings, Remolador said she is now happy to see that the kids now know what to do, tey are ready and not anymore anxious if ever something happens.
Naturally we are happy that the kids now know what to do, where to go and what to expect when such a disaster happens, volunteered a female teacher who kept a tight watch over her kids now getting a little bit restless even in the shelter of an indian tree in the searing afternoon heat.
City East Elementary School Clement A Gamil, who also hosted observers of the drill, said she was extremely proud of her school for getting a high rating during the drill that also had volunteers from the Philippine Air Force Squadrons and well-meaning parents who helped for the success of the drill. (PIA-7/Bohol)
