Jamats and AKDN institutions around the world to participate in global earthquake preparedness drill
On Thursday, 20 October, more than 100 000 Aga Khan Development Network staff and members of the Jamat in locations around the world will drop to their hands and knees, take cover and hold on. Together with more than 7.9 million other people around the world, they will be taking part in ShakeOut — a drill that teaches people how to protect themselves during an earthquake.
Be prepared to protect yourself during an earthquake: 1. DROP and make yourself small; 2. Take COVER under a shelter; and 3. HOLD ON until the shaking stops. Copyright: AKDN
The ShakeOut drill involves practicing three simple steps that should be performed in an actual earthquake. Rescue teams agree that these steps are the best way to protect against injury or death:
DROP down to your hands and knees and make yourself small — it is a matter of seconds before strong shaking knocks you down or something falls on you.
Take COVER under a shelter — if there is no shelter, such as a table, use a book or your hands and arms.
HOLD ON to the shelter until the shaking stops.
Download a bookmark from the AKDN Disaster Risk Management Initiative [PDF].
According to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, more than a third of all earthquakes that took place between 1991 and 2005 occurred in Central and South Asia. The Aga Khan Development Network’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative (DRMI) was established to strengthen institutional capacity to reduce the risks associated with disaster and increase preparedness in the same region. It aims to promote safety consciousness in those countries where the Jamat is most vulnerable — Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.
ShakeOut is an annual earthquake drill originally developed in California by scientists and emergency response teams in order to enable the public to practice how to protect themselves during a real earthquake. The earthquake readiness campaign proved a great fit with the goals of the DRMI.
“The growth of the ShakeOut from California to other states and now other countries in only a few years has been remarkable,” says Mark Benthien, communications director for the Southern California Earthquake Center and co-founder and leader of the ShakeOut initiative. “ShakeOut is a model for how people and organisations around the world can approach community-wide earthquake preparedness, using a common set of messages.”
AKDN agencies in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan will take part in the drill. They will joined by institutions in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
In addition, special events are being planned to raise awareness: The Aga Khan Lycée in Khorog, Tajikistan, will showcase student knowledge about preparedness through paintings and a puppet show, and the Aga Khan University has scheduled a campus-wide lecture on emergency management by experts from the Justice Institute of British Columbia.
No matter where people live or travel, they should all be prepared to protect themselves during earthquakes.
For more information on ShakeOut, including educational materials on earthquake preparedness, visit the ShakeOut website.
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1273/
AKDN's Disaster Risk Management Initiative (DRMI)
Aga Khan University Conducts Earthquake Drill as Part of Disaster Preparedness
October 20, 2011
More than a third of all earthquakes between 1991 and 2005 around the world occurred in Central and South Asia. The quakes in Sarez, Tajikistan (1911); Gujarat, India (2001); Naryn, Kyrgyzstan (2002); and Azad Kashmir, Pakistan (2005) are the examples of the seismic hazards that exist in the region and their devastating consequences.
‘Drop, Cover and Hold On in case you feel a tremor’ was the message given to participants of an earthquake preparedness drill organised by Aga Khan University (AKU) on October 20 at all its locations in Pakistan.
The drill was part of the Aga Khan Development Network’s ShakeOut Campaign across Central and South Asia, covering Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan. On hearing an alarm, hundreds of AKU faculty, staff, students and volunteers followed a quake preparedness protocol – ducking under tables, desks and other sturdy pieces of furniture and holding on for a minute, practising what to do and where to take shelter in case an earthquake strikes.
“It is crucial to remind ourselves that we live in a seismically-active part of the world, and must regularly practice how to respond during earthquakes. The Drop, Cover and Hold On technique is highly effective in reducing injuries caused by non-structural hazards,” said Dr Firoz Verjee, coordinator of the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative.
“Drills keep people active and build awareness,” says the chair of AKU ShakeOut Campaign Task Force, Nadeem Mustafa Khan, “this was indeed a learning experience for all.”
AKDN’s ShakeOut drill aims to mainstream disaster management, and accelerate emergency preparedness and risk reduction across its institutions in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan. The October event will be held annually to promote seismic safety consciousness and readiness throughout the region.
For more information, visit:
http://www.shakeout.org or http://www.dropcoverholdon.org
http://www.aku.edu/aboutaku/newsandeven ... dness.aspx
October 20, 2011
More than a third of all earthquakes between 1991 and 2005 around the world occurred in Central and South Asia. The quakes in Sarez, Tajikistan (1911); Gujarat, India (2001); Naryn, Kyrgyzstan (2002); and Azad Kashmir, Pakistan (2005) are the examples of the seismic hazards that exist in the region and their devastating consequences.
‘Drop, Cover and Hold On in case you feel a tremor’ was the message given to participants of an earthquake preparedness drill organised by Aga Khan University (AKU) on October 20 at all its locations in Pakistan.
The drill was part of the Aga Khan Development Network’s ShakeOut Campaign across Central and South Asia, covering Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan. On hearing an alarm, hundreds of AKU faculty, staff, students and volunteers followed a quake preparedness protocol – ducking under tables, desks and other sturdy pieces of furniture and holding on for a minute, practising what to do and where to take shelter in case an earthquake strikes.
“It is crucial to remind ourselves that we live in a seismically-active part of the world, and must regularly practice how to respond during earthquakes. The Drop, Cover and Hold On technique is highly effective in reducing injuries caused by non-structural hazards,” said Dr Firoz Verjee, coordinator of the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative.
“Drills keep people active and build awareness,” says the chair of AKU ShakeOut Campaign Task Force, Nadeem Mustafa Khan, “this was indeed a learning experience for all.”
AKDN’s ShakeOut drill aims to mainstream disaster management, and accelerate emergency preparedness and risk reduction across its institutions in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan. The October event will be held annually to promote seismic safety consciousness and readiness throughout the region.
For more information, visit:
http://www.shakeout.org or http://www.dropcoverholdon.org
http://www.aku.edu/aboutaku/newsandeven ... dness.aspx
"Drop, Cover and Hold on": AKDN Takes Part in Global Earthquake Preparedness
http://www.akdn.org/Content/1089/Drop-C ... eparedness
Children in daycare at Aga Khan University in Pakistan practice the Drop, Cover Hold On technique.
Photo: by Zahra IsmailDushanbe, Tajikistan, 28 October 2011 - On October 20, 2011, over 20,000 people affiliated with AKDN institutions joined millions of other participants in the Great ShakeOut campaign, an annual earthquake drill designed to educate people and organizations on how to prepare and protect themselves at work, school and community centres during an earthquake.
The AKDN operates in some of the most seismically active areas of the world, including Central and South Asia. Much of its schools, health clinics, and social services are located in the earthquake- prone Karakorum, Pamir and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.
Children at Aga Khan Lycée in Tajikistan looking at the ShakeOut campaign poster.
Photo: Khanjarbek LochinovAs Mark Benthien, communications director for the Southern California Earthquake Center and leader of the ShakeOut initiative, explains, "ShakeOut is a model for how people and organizations around the world can approach community-wide earthquake preparedness, using a common set of messages, resources, and strategies, which grows as each new region develops new materials and concepts. This also allows ShakeOut drills to be implemented in areas that may otherwise lack necessary resources, and consistency worldwide helps limit confusion that can limit preparedness actions."
The potential of the campaign was demonstrated a few hours after the drill, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck the Indian state of Gujarat. While officials reported that most injuries were caused by people evacuating buildings in a state of panic, students from the Aga Khan School in the village of Chitravad urged their parents to Drop, Cover and Hold On – the strategy recommended in the ShakeOut campaign.
“The Drop, Cover and Hold On technique is highly effective in reducing injuries caused by non-structural hazards,” stresses Dr. Firoz Verjee, Coordinator of the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative. “It is crucial to remind ourselves that we live in a seismically active part of the world, and must regularly practice how to respond during earthquakes.“
For more information about the global ShakeOut campaign, see www.ShakeOut.org or www.dropcoverholdon.org.
For more information about the Disaster Risk Management Initiative, contact [email protected].
http://www.akdn.org/Content/1089/Drop-C ... eparedness
Children in daycare at Aga Khan University in Pakistan practice the Drop, Cover Hold On technique.
Photo: by Zahra IsmailDushanbe, Tajikistan, 28 October 2011 - On October 20, 2011, over 20,000 people affiliated with AKDN institutions joined millions of other participants in the Great ShakeOut campaign, an annual earthquake drill designed to educate people and organizations on how to prepare and protect themselves at work, school and community centres during an earthquake.
The AKDN operates in some of the most seismically active areas of the world, including Central and South Asia. Much of its schools, health clinics, and social services are located in the earthquake- prone Karakorum, Pamir and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.
Children at Aga Khan Lycée in Tajikistan looking at the ShakeOut campaign poster.
Photo: Khanjarbek LochinovAs Mark Benthien, communications director for the Southern California Earthquake Center and leader of the ShakeOut initiative, explains, "ShakeOut is a model for how people and organizations around the world can approach community-wide earthquake preparedness, using a common set of messages, resources, and strategies, which grows as each new region develops new materials and concepts. This also allows ShakeOut drills to be implemented in areas that may otherwise lack necessary resources, and consistency worldwide helps limit confusion that can limit preparedness actions."
The potential of the campaign was demonstrated a few hours after the drill, when an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck the Indian state of Gujarat. While officials reported that most injuries were caused by people evacuating buildings in a state of panic, students from the Aga Khan School in the village of Chitravad urged their parents to Drop, Cover and Hold On – the strategy recommended in the ShakeOut campaign.
“The Drop, Cover and Hold On technique is highly effective in reducing injuries caused by non-structural hazards,” stresses Dr. Firoz Verjee, Coordinator of the AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative. “It is crucial to remind ourselves that we live in a seismically active part of the world, and must regularly practice how to respond during earthquakes.“
For more information about the global ShakeOut campaign, see www.ShakeOut.org or www.dropcoverholdon.org.
For more information about the Disaster Risk Management Initiative, contact [email protected].