Earthquake Drill in Education: Get your school ready for August 29

On August 29 this year, educational institutions at every level (preschool, primary, secondary and higher education) in the Santiago Metropolitan Region are invited by SENAPRED to take part in an important “earthquake drill”, which you can learn more about by clicking this link. 

This exercise is essential for training and evaluating evacuation processes and the ability to respond to an earthquake, as set out in the Comprehensive School Safety Plan (PISE) or each institution’s evacuation protocol.

The main goal of the drill is to train schools’ evacuation processes, making sure the whole school community is prepared to act effectively and safely during an earthquake. This makes it possible to identify areas for improvement in emergency plans and ensure that students, teachers and staff know and follow the correct procedures.

The Importance of a Mass Notification and Communication System in Education

As defined for this drill, the exercise will be triggered through each school’s own alert system, not through the national Emergency Alert System (SAE), which highlights how important it is to have a mass notification and communication system for this type of incident.

According to the Comprehensive School Safety Plan (PISE), this system must include:

1.    Alert and Alarm:

○    Alert: a state of watchfulness and attention that can be triggered by smoke detection or monitoring systems.
○    Alarm: a signal or warning of an imminent or ongoing event that immediately activates response instructions.

2.    Information Chain:

○    Setting up a clear communication network to deal with accidents or emergencies, including the school principal, the School Safety Committee, ambulance services, the fire department and the police (Carabineros).
○    Defining how and who will communicate, both internally (principal, coordinator) and externally (response agencies).

3.    Information Management:

○    Managing information properly to handle emergencies well, gathering the school’s resources, attendance lists, phone numbers, plans and information about the school’s surroundings.

4.    Roles and Coordination:

○    Defining clear roles during emergencies, planning the response and including all coordination mechanisms, both internal and with external response agencies.

5.    Community Participation:

○    Including the whole school community in mass communication and notification, with special attention to parents and guardians, who must be informed as soon as possible through the means available in each situation.

6.    Means of Communication:

○    Using different means of communication to make sure the whole school community understands alerts and alarms (audio, visual, printed and audiovisual), including Chilean Sign Language, to ensure accessibility.

VIPER MASS: Your Ally in School Safety

Many of the points mentioned in the PISE are part of our mass notification system, VIPER MASS, so it becomes not only a crucial component in preparing and running drills, but also a key element in a real emergency.

Benefits of VIPER MASS:

●    Fast Implementation: our system can be easily integrated with your institution’s existing emergency protocols.
●    Proven Efficiency: VIPER MASS has proven to be an invaluable tool in many drills and real emergencies, helping institutions keep their school communities safe.
●    Full Support: we offer ongoing advice and support to make sure your institution is always prepared.

Get Ready with VIPER MASS

Our mass notification system is already part of the emergency plans of several schools and universities, giving them an advantage for the upcoming earthquake drill. 

If your school does not yet have the support of our system, now is the perfect time to add it to your safety protocols. Contact us for more information and to make sure your school community is fully prepared at all times.

At VIPER, we are committed to the safety and well-being of all educational institutions. Together, we can build a safer, more caring environment for students and the entire school community.