Despite being in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, administering annual earthquake drills is undeniably necessary particularly intending to always find new ways of looking out for every Beacon’s safety and preparedness. After all, if there is one thing that is entirely unaffected by the pandemic, it will be the likelihood of a major earthquake.
Batangas Eastern Colleges, pursuant to the DepEd Order No. 48 S. 2012 and to support the government programs, has geared towards the dissemination of information related to prevention and mitigation, preparedness in the sense of disaster consciousness along with providing rehabilitation or recovery tips for all Beacons. Thus, the overall purpose of the virtual event reiterates the importance of understanding disaster risks even during the current pandemic.
As we do every year, BEC hosted and organized a virtual staging for the Earthquake safety training exercises. The orientation is purposely created in honor of Disaster Consciousness Month wherein the school presented a comprehensive Earthquake drill that is delivered per Classroom in every Level of the K-12 Department including the College Department and Technical-Vocational Center.
Teachers spearheaded the in-class earthquake simulation wherein students get to practice the “duck and cover and hold on” while introducing the stages of the Earthquake Drill along with several video clips featuring media files of various news reports related to the aforementioned disaster of earth tremors. This year’s new normal of virtual reality is conceived to increase realism along with the intention to enhance every learner’s knowledge as well as assess their earthquake preparation. After all, the safety and welfare of every Beacon are of paramount importance. The more they get the chance to practice these safety measures, it will be quite natural to perform once the earth suddenly starts to shake.
The simulation even delivered virtually, is a powerful educational tool that may offer learners valuable insights and provide an advantage to educators as well as the entirety of the school to assess earthquake preparedness and disaster plan. Here are the following photos featuring every Beacon student and teacher who participated in the Virtual Earthquake Drill for this academic year of 2021-2022.
