Lewisville High Strengthens Earthquake Preparedness

The administration of the Lewisville High School in St. Elizabeth has taken a proactive step in better preparing students and staff to respond to potential earthquakes.

The institution, through its safety and security committee, recently enlisted the aid of several entities in the parish to stage an earthquake and evacuation drill.

Key among the entities are the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation’s Parish Disaster Preparedness Committee, Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), Social Development Commission (SDC), New Market Community Development Committee, and the New Market Community Disaster Risk Management team.

Prior to the drill, the students and members of staff were engaged in sensitisation sessions that outlined the proper procedures that should be followed to protect life in the event of a disaster.

At the sound of an alarm, on the day of the drill, they leapt into action to put what they had learned into practice.

Everyone moved away from windows, glass and hanging objects and took cover under their desks.

When signaled that it was safe to move, students and staff evacuated the school buildings via predetermined safe routes and assembled on the open playfield.

A roll call was then carried out to determine if anyone was absent, following which an evaluation was done to identify gaps in the exercise and to address areas of concern.

Vice Principal of Lewisville High School, Donna Cranston-Brown, tells JIS News that the drill was “seamless” and has strengthened the institution’s responsiveness to any eventualities.

“It was very important for them to know what to do because we know that [an earthquake] can happen but we don’t know when. So, it is always important for them to be prepared just in case we should have an earthquake,” she notes.

“We had different persons, who were responsible for different things here today. We even had community members coming in as observers. We had representatives from the fire department and from the disaster preparedness team coming in to make sure that this was a success,” she points out.

Mrs. Brown says that the earthquake drill is part of the school administration’s longstanding effort to develop best practices among students and staff.

She says that every school should conduct similar exercises when possible.

The Ministry of Education and Youth recommends that schools across Jamaica participate in at least one emergency drill per term.

Parish Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness at the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Ornella Lewis, tells JIS News that Lewisville High School is part of a cohort of institutions in the parish where emergency drills have been carried out over the years.

“We have gone to Sunday Bank Primary over in Treasure Beach, we’ve done a massive simulation exercise at Black River High School where we tested the school’s response and the agency’s response to these eventualities,” she notes.

“One of the areas that we tested too was in terms of mass casualty, so we had the Black River Hospital involved,” she adds.

Ms. Lewis says that more schools in St. Elizabeth are becoming better prepared for earthquakes and other disasters, and some are conducting their own drills without enlisting the aid of the support agencies.

She notes, however, that while it is commendable that schools are taking the initiative, proper monitoring from the support entities is recommended.

Prefect at Lewisville High School, Simone Rowe, tells JIS News that the earthquake drill was a “great experience” for students, who now know “what is likely to take place and what we are supposed to do” in the event of an earthquake.

“I was very frightened, but I was prepared because I did what we were supposed to do and that was to go under the desk and ensure that we were covered. Once the drill stopped, we evacuated outside. So, it was a very good experience for me and everyone,” she says.