The annual Tibetan schools shake-out drill

The annual Tibetan schools shake-out drill has been initiated to commemorate the Kangra Earthquake of 1905 which killed over 19,000 people on April 4th 1905. GeoHazards Society believes that it is important to keep the memories of past disasters alive so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The drill is a way of marking the anniversary of the Kangra earthquake and to get these schools started on their path to preparedness.

With the recent reminders of our exposure to hazards coming in from such prepared nations as New Zealand and Japan, it is imperative that we in India start taking swift steps towards preparedness. Even though a night-time event affects the community more by reducing the response capabilities of the administration, it has been seen that in day-time disastrous events the percentage of children dying/injured is much higher due to unsafe, unprepared schools.

The Tibetan School ShakeOut is an effort to bring back the focus on School Safety and to ensure that the right to education that we have now crystallizes into a right to a safe education. We are hopeful that this example is replicated for other events in other parts of the country as well. Already, the Tibetan school shake-out has inspired all schools in Bhutan to mark the anniversary of the 2009 September earthquake with a preparedness drill on September 21.

The shake-out is an earthquake drill based on a scenario earthquake happening near enough to affect the school. At 11:00 am on the 4th of April every year, all the students and staff of Tibetan schools in hazard prone areas in India will practice Drop, Cover and Hold and then evacuate to a pre-decided safe location.

In 2009, over 10,000 students in Tibetan Schools in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Meghalaya took part in the drill (A report). With the addition of students from Tibetan schools in Jammu & Kashmir, and West Bengal, the number of students participating in the drill rose up to 16,000 in 2010. This year we hope to bring in Tibetan schools from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh as well.