In order to make sure that disaster prevention education takes root at a young age, on February 24 at 8:00 in the morning, Anding District Office sent employees over to Nan An Elementary School to teach disaster prevention during chao hui (which is a time when all the teachers and students gather together for morning exercises, activities, and rituals). The teaching team talked about important disaster prevention information, such as Anding District Evacuation Shelters, Disaster Prevention Maps, and what one should do when an earthquake hits. The purpose of this educational event is make sure schoolchildren have a solid foundation for disaster prevention methods.
The locations and functions of Anding District Evacuation Shelters as well as how one should use Disaster Prevention Maps were explained during this educational event. Even more weight was given to discussion about disaster prevention measures for when an earthquake happens, as the three-step jingle “lie down, protect yourself, and stay calm” as well as the concept of “the heavens help, people help, and help yourself” were both taught. The children were also instructed to go home and tell their parents to always have two to five days of food in the house along with an emergency evacuation bag. Small yet well-made gifts were given out during a question and answer contest, and seeing the students so eager to be the first person to answer questions showed just how successful this educational event was.
Director of Anding District Chu Tung expressed that the district office is giving its absolute best effort in promoting disaster prevention, and that this educational event, which was carried out during the elementary school’s chao hui so as to instruct as many people as possible, is the most effective way for spreading knowledge about disaster prevention. Chu said that the February 6 earthquake toppled and damaged buildings as well as injured and killed people in many different parts of Tainan City, and that Anding District was very fortunate to have only a few scattered areas that were seriously affected by the earthquake. In saying that, he also noted that we cannot predict when the next major earthquake is going to strike, and so improving disaster prevention readiness is all that can be done beforehand. Disaster prevention education will teach district residents how to prepare and react, and this will ensure that when a disaster comes in the future that everybody will be able to remain calm when they respond to a disaster situation.
Contact: Social Affairs Section, Li Jia-lun, phone: 06-5921116-128