Schools to hold mock drills for combating natural disasters

Marking the first anniversary of the massive earthquake tragedy in Nepal, Delhi government has asked schools in the national Capital to conduct mock drills for students on April 25 for enhancing their preparedness to handle the fallout of natural disasters.

“It has been decided to conduct mock drills to mark the first anniversary of Nepal earthquake on April 25 to enhance preparedness to overcome natural disasters and fire incidents,” Directorate of Education said in a communication to all government-run and private schools. 

“The mock drills in schools shall be monitored by school heads. On April 25 last year, a powerful 7.9 magnitude earthquake had rocked Nepal, leaving a trail of death and destruction.

Efforts should be made to take corrective action with regard to deficiencies observed during last such exercises and in no case the evacuation time should be more than 5 minutes,” the letter added. 

While the schools running in the morning or general shifts, will conduct the mock drill at 11 am, those operating in evening shifts will hold the exercise at 3 pm.

The department has issued an eight-point guideline to be followed by schools while conducting the drill. The schools have been asked to appoint nodal officers who will be responsible for regular upkeep and maintenance of fire safety equipment installed in the premises and also for conduct of mock drills. 

DoE has asked schools to submit an online compliance report on the mock drill. Over 9,000 people were killed and more than 22,000 others wounded as aftershocks continued to rattle the Himalayan nation for months thereafter.