Experts tell students how to stay safe during earthquakes

AWARENESS DRIVE After Vashi school, police to hold similar seminars in other institutions in city

NAVI MUMBAI: In view of the devastating earthquake and its aftershock in Nepal which killed thousands, the Navi Mumbai police have started a special drive to create awareness about the natural calamity in city schools.

In a first- of- its- kind seminar organised at St Mary’s Multipurpose High School and Junior College in Vashi on Wednesday, the police guided students and their parents through a powerpoint presentation about what needs to be done during an earthquake.

Inspector Chandrakant Jadhav of the Vashi police station and Karunesh Verma, a social activist, conducted the seminar, which was attended by around 900 students along with their parents and school teachers.

Jadhav, during his United Nation’s deputation, had rescued people in Haiti when an earthquake hit the island in 2010 and claimed the lives of nearly 3.5 lakh people. Verma was part of the operation to rescue people when a tsunami hit Chennai in 2004.

“During an earthquake, people, who stay on the ground floor, should come out to a safe place as soon as possible. Those who stay on the first, second and floors above should use neither the staircase nor the elevator to come out. They can stay near the pillars of the buildings, as the pillars don’t immediately come crashing down,” said Jadhav.

“The balcony of a building is also a safe place, as it has no roof over it. However, the terrace should always be avoided. We suggested people to take shelter near heavy objects such as cupboards or refrigerators. When the roof of a building collapses, it creates a cavity near such things,” he added.

According to Jadhav, people should not go under tables or beds, as they may give way. “While driv- ing, people should park the car on the extreme left of the road, but not under big tree, electric pole or flyover,” he said.

“Those who are safe, should not go to rescue people from collapsed buildings. They may face problems during the aftershocks,” he added.

Verma demonstrated a few postures which could be helpful for anyone during an earthquake. “All the members of one family should know one common number of one of their relatives from another state. If separated by the disaster, they can call that relative, who could help in uniting the family.”

“People should not go to beaches or towards creeks, as a tsunami could follow the earthquake,” he added.

Father Abraham Joseph, the school’s principal, said, “We appreciate the effort of the Navi Mumbai police. All the students, their parents, siblings and teachers have benefitted from the seminar.”

“We are also coordinating with other city schools to conduct similar seminars,” said Jadhav.

BACHCHAN KUMAR Karunesh Verma, a social activist, demonstrates through a exercise how to stay safe during an earthquake at St Mary’s Multipurpose High School and Junior College in Vashi.