To know what to do after an earthquake is very important and it could save many lives. Some experts consider 'after an earthquake' is more dangerous than the 'during'. Please read the following carefully, especially teachers, to help the many students of UNIS to survive.
After the Earthquake
- Check yourself for any possible injuries that may have happened during the earthquake. Use the emergency kits which will be present every classroom or kept with the teachers.
- Help any other students or teachers that might have been injured or trapped.
- If you are inside the building then leave it by using the escape route. The designated area to meet with each other is at the soccer fields, so make your way to there.
- Teachers will be required to take a roll check to see whether each child is present and unharmed.
- Be sure to listen for any more announcements through the loudspeakers.
- Avoid using any flames due to the risk of leaking gas - use a flashlight!
- If there happen to be any fires (science laboratories or canteen) extinguish them as taught to you.
- Even after the shaking has stopped, don’t be off guard as there is a high chance of aftershocks. Remember the DROP, COVER, HOLD ON. Since you will be present at the soccer fields after the earthquake, you should just crouch down and cover our head and neck.
- Open windows in case there is a fire or gas leak.
- School administrators need to inform parents that the children are safe or are being taken care of.
- Be careful while walking around the building to evacuate as there may be debris and pieces of glass. DO NOT take off shoes.
- Smell for gas fumes and listen for the blowing or hissing noise that might signal a gas leak.
- If by chance you were not able to switch off the gas, go do that.
- Be careful of any broken wires while inside the building as they might cause electrical sparks.
- The chemicals and other liquids in a science laboratory need to be cleaned up. If the liquids mixed together because of the shaking caused in the earthquake, there may be harmful reactions.
- DO NOT go around inspecting the destruction caused by the earthquake, or worry about your possessions (bags).
- After the earthquake occurs there may be structural instability. Loose plaster, ceilings, beams, and wooden staircases might fall. Even the bridges that connect the different buildings together could be damaged.
If Trapped Under Debris
- Cover your mouth with a cloth so that you don’t breathe in the dust.
- You should not scream for help, but use the whistle from the emergency kit to inform others that you are injured. If you are unable to find a whistle tap on an object (pipe or wall).
Long Term Effects
- A lot of foundations and buildings would be broken because these buildings weren't built for earthquake prevention like the Japanese. A lot of activities would be canceled for example the science labs might be out for a while because the school needs to make sure the pipes and chemicals are in place to ensure safety. Students will have to deal with less freedom in the investigating areas.
- A lot of foundations and buildings will have to be rebuilt so there will be a lot of restriction areas and noise around the school.
- Classes might be cramped together for a while until the people get some form of shelter to continue the studies.
- For a while, parents would have to pay some extra money for rebuilding the school
Activities
There are some activities that help students to reflect back to the earthquake that would help them in the future. It is best to do them a week or so after the event happened for them to write down their fresh memories. These are some examples of some projects the students could be assigned.
PK- Grade 2
Children should do a fun activity with safety equipment in case the aftershocks of the earthquake happens too strong so they remember some key points of safety. (Please save this picture and print it out).
Grade 3-5
Make a poster. Choose a topic of 'Earthquake Safety' and do a step by step for it with pictures. The topics are:
- How to pack an emergency kit
- Where to hide if you are in a bathroom
- Where to hide of you are in a class
- What to secure for preparation for an earthquake
Grade 6-8
Make a photo story of UNIS. It should include before and after, give strategies of why debris looked like that. There should be 8 or more comparisons and pictures of UNIS should be taken by the students themselves.
Eg. "The basketball court had many cracks in it. my theories are that the ground was shaking too much and the material of the court was too rigid and not flexible enough to withstand the shaking while not cracking."
You will be assessed on Criteria D (Communication).
Eg. "The basketball court had many cracks in it. my theories are that the ground was shaking too much and the material of the court was too rigid and not flexible enough to withstand the shaking while not cracking."
You will be assessed on Criteria D (Communication).
Grade 9-10
Creative writing. You may choose the following.
Diary:
Write a 3 part diary for this project. They should be about UNIS before, during and after the earthquake. You must make this as realistic as possible describing your feelings and what you did. Each entry should be between 300-500 words.
Story:
You can write a story for your teachers to read. It is something similar to a diary entry and could be written in your perspective or the third perspective. It should be realistic of what you felt and what actions you took, but you can add extra details if desired.
You will be assessed in the B (Organization) and C (Style and Lang.) criteria for English.
Diary:
Write a 3 part diary for this project. They should be about UNIS before, during and after the earthquake. You must make this as realistic as possible describing your feelings and what you did. Each entry should be between 300-500 words.
Story:
You can write a story for your teachers to read. It is something similar to a diary entry and could be written in your perspective or the third perspective. It should be realistic of what you felt and what actions you took, but you can add extra details if desired.
You will be assessed in the B (Organization) and C (Style and Lang.) criteria for English.