KOCHI: K a marked shift from the usual practice, 100 teachers from 100 schools in Kochi will on Friday perform the earthquake mock drill at schools. They were imparted the necessary training jointly by the District Disaster Management Authority and the State Emergency Operating Centre.
“ As part of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDDR) we are going to stage the mock drill in schools. Besides imparting the necessary skills to the teachers we have given them training in first aid. The guidelines have been issued to the teachers on how to perform the drill,” said Saran, Subject Expert, Disaster Management Authority(DMA), Ernakulam.
According to the department, the drill will benefit over 50,000 students.
“As the mock drill will be staged in all the 100 schools it will definitely benefit the students. The teachers have already briefed the students on the importance and the procedures for the mock drill to be performed on Friday. In order to ensure their quality the Deputy Tahsildars and the Disaster Management Authority will inspect the schools,” Saran said.
Even though the DMA had staged a similar mock drill a few years ago, its flawed execution drew flak from several quarters.
“It was around three years ago that the Authority performed a mock drill in schools. Learning lessons from the previous mock drill we have asked the Head of the Department to form three teams such as Warning team, Evacuation team and Search and Rescue team,” added Anjali, a Disaster Management Authority official.