Activity

Disaster Management

Aim : To ensure that the safety of the students and the staff is maintained during an emergency. The Disaster Management Plan is an instrument for achieving this aim in the school.

Need For Disaster Management Plan : The school is a densely populated place and has small children that are one of the most vulnerable groups in the society. To reduce this vulnerability particularly for schools, it is important to have a School Disaster Management Plan.

Disaster Management Committee : Following are the members of school Disaster Management Committee who shall be taking care of the whole plan & drill.

Mr. Lalit Bora, Mr. Anil Saini, Mr. Jitendra Gupta, Mrs. Shweta Prajapati, Mrs. Nitisha Joshi, Mrs. Indu Mittal. (Studetns – Riya Verma, Deepak Yadav, Parth Sharma)

Preparation of the School Disaster Management Plan Document

The School Disaster Management Plan Document contains information as given below:

a) The physical location and demographic details of the school building and its surrounding environs. This should include number of Classrooms, Laboratories, Activities Rooms, Play Grounds / Open spaces etc.

b) Material resources available in the school such as

  1. Stretchers
  2. Fire extinguishers
  3. Ladders
  4. Thick ropes

Dissemination Of The Information On SDMP To Everybody In The School

It is important that information about preparation of School Disaster Management Plan is disseminated to its participants and school children through innovative and interesting activities like: Art Work, Creative Work, Poetry Writing, Slogan Writing, Drama, Games and Sports, Rescue Drill, Evacuation Drills, Games of Reflex, Memory Games etc.

Mock Drills

Mock drills are conducted to train students and teachers and to test the various elements of your response plan in order to evaluate and revise it. During a disaster, life-protecting actions must be taken immediately. There will not be time to decide what to do next; everyone must already know how to react appropriately. After a disaster, further life-protecting actions such as emergency evacuation or first aid administration may be necessary; well-trained staff and students will guarantee that these crucial steps are taken as quickly as possible. Drills and exercises are an extremely important part of your preparedness plan because they teach students, staff and parents how to respond to the complications of an actual disaster, and help you evaluate how well all parts of your emergency plan work together, and how well your staff and students have been trained. The following drills should be conducted at least twice a year:

Earthquake Drill

  • Practice drop, cover, and hold.
  • Evacuate classroom in less than 1 minute without pushing or falling.
  • Evacuate school in less than 4 minutes using different exits.
  • Look out for friends.
  • Stay away from weak areas.
  • Help those who need assistance.
  • Escort young children, who cannot run fast.

Fire / Chemical Accident / Drill

  • The need to prepare for sudden accidents needs awareness & sufficient knowledge.
  • To know why and how to handle an accidents is important.
  • Write what to do clearly in the Laboratories and Kitchen area in the school.
  • Practice mock drills every month.
  • Quiz the children every week on various aspects of action to be taken in case of fire / chemical hazards such as :
  • Help those who need assistance.
  • The chemical in the test tube catches fire.
  • Someone lights a match when the gas was leaking.
  • The acid splashes on the floor.
  • Accidental breakage of window glass.
  • Some students drink nitric acid by mistake.

Cyclone Drill:

  • Listen to cyclone warning and recognize changes in weather
  • Make announcements in each class about the care they need to take and where to go
  • Explain how to remain safe outdoors.
  • Put off electricity.
  • Remove or close down gas connections.

Safety Precautions During Natural Calamities

Cyclones

Cyclones generally strike an area with prior deterioration weather positions namely squally wings and heavy to very heavy rainfall. In case the cyclonic conditions develop during the school working hours the following precautions should be taken by the school.

  • Listen to radio/TV for the latest weather bulletins & advice warnings. Share the information about approaching cyclones with children & teachers.
  • Do not listen to or spread rumors, Follow information from the official sources.
  • In case the cyclone has not hit the area of location of the school, make arrangements for dispatch of children to the respective homes under the escort of local police/volunteers/school staff.
  • In case the cyclone has already hit the area of location of the school and surrounding area are getting flooded, the following action may be taken by the school:
  • Make an emergency kit which should include; a portable radio/transistor, torch, spare batteries, hurricane lamp, a first aid box along with essential medicines, ORS, dry food items, drinking water, matchboxes, candles and other essential items.
  • Shift costly equipment & important documents to a higher floor or to a safe place as a precautionary measure.
  • Turn off the electric power supply at the ground floor and shift cooking gas and dry food to the higher floor.
  • Keep plastic sheets, plastic rope, rubber tubes, waterproof bags etc. handy in the school. These could be useful.
  • Shift children & staff to the higher floor with emergency kit.
  • In case children need food, ensure that only freshly cooked or dry food is served.

General Precautions during Cyclone

  • Don’t allow children to enter floodwaters, it could be dangerous.
  • Don’t allow children to play in or near floodwaters.
  • Make sure all children stay away from sewerage line, gutters, drains, culverts etc.
  • Warn all children to stay away from electric poles and fallen power-lines to avoid electrocution.
  • Warn children to be careful of snakes. The snakebites are common during floods.
  • Avoid using any electrical appliances.
  • Use boiled and filtered drinking water.
  • The floodwaters can bread vector/water-borne diseases. In case any child walk to the floodwaters and report sickness, seek medical assistance.

Health and safety norms

  • Water safety report-from local governing body to certify water is safe for drinking
  • Electrical maintenance record----check for ear thing
  • Sanitation condition-toilets, water stagnation
  • Illumination
  • Noise disturbance--- (echo, acoustics etc.)
  • Ventilation
  • Protection measures from excessive weather conditions
  • Travel safety norms followed
  • Food safety norms
  • Infra-structure safety-ensure clear of all debris, dead stock
  • First aid kit
  • Emergency kit
  • Sick room/infirmary
  • Contact numbers-doctors, parents, local support etc

Health and Hygiene

Measures to be undertaken by school to take care of Health and hygiene

Hygiene is maintained by adopting the following measures-

  • Daily cleaning schedule and chart of cleaning of all school spaces
  • Regular disinfectant usage schedule; pest control schedule
  • Disposal of material waste from class rooms
  • Waste water disposal (canteen, pantry areas)
  • Check drainage systems
  • Water testing from laboratories (municipal corporations do the needful)
  • Plan cleaning schedule of water tanks
  • Maintenance of wash basins

Guidelines

  • The SDMC to ensure every student’s safety by complying to above stated health and safety norms.
  • Shall maintain a maintenance schedule for water safety, transport, electricity, sanitation, and food safety.
  • The maintenance schedule to provide details about who, how, when.
  • Safety audit to be conducted twice a year and report of the same to be available.
  • First-aid boxes should be available at multiple locations.
  • A regular check of validity period of medicines to be done.
  • Shall assign a designated space for students/staff who have reported sick while on duty.
  • A training program for staff members on first aid and safety to be organized.
  • AA disaster management manual to be prepared. The manual shall contain:-
  • Telephone numbers of persons to be contacted during emergency times.
  • Telephone numbers of local police station, fire station, ambulance.
  • Telephone numbers of local police station, fire station, ambulance.
  • Building plan to support emergency evacuation.
  • Schedule of evacuation and fire safety drills.
  • Location sites of fire extinguishers and first –aid kits.
  • Pictorial representations of first aid procedures.
  • The manual to be readily available.
  • A list of corrective and/or preventive actions taken with regard to safety and security processes to be recorded.
  • All incidents related to potential or actual threat to health and safety to be recorded for analysis.
  • All circulars sent by regulatory authorities with regard to health and safety measures to be followed diligently.
  • Student annual health check up to be done by school OR medical certificates to be procured from parents annually.
  • Staff should undergo medical checks annually or bi-annually.
  • Staff shall inform school authorities of any change in medical condition.
  • Data of students who have a history of medical condition shall be made available to teachers and counselors.

Student safety measures

  • Student’s safe alighting and entering school buses (students in the pre-primary and primary to be escorted by adults.
  • Class rooms and common spaces used by children to be free of sharp objects.
  • No class to be left unattended.
  • During break times students to be monitored.
  • Student’s movement on staircases to be monitored.