Campus groups offer disaster preparation classes
HOW TO RESPOND IN A DISASTER
Earthquake
- Shelter under heavy furniture during the shaking so that you'll be beneath something sturdy, in case objects in the room fall and break.
- Don't run.
- Don't stand in a doorway.
- If driving, pull over to the side of the road and stay in the car.
- If outdoors, make sure there is nothing around you that could fall on you, or get to an open area and lie flat.
Tsunami
- If at the beach, get to higher ground if you feel an earthquake that lasts more than 20 seconds.
SOURCE: Jim Goltz, the California Emergency Management Agency
Compiled by Molly Montgomery, Bruin contributor.
By molly montgomery
March 31, 2011 1:52 a.m.
Disaster preparedness organizations in Los Angeles and at UCLA have seen increased interest following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
The Community Emergency Response Team, which educates citizens in disaster preparedness, has responded by promoting free training classes in several locations around Los Angeles, said Stacy Gerlich, the commander of the Los Angeles chapter of the organization.
UCLA has its own chapter of CERT, coordinated by Mike Stajura, a doctoral student in public health. The chapter holds disaster awareness training classes on the Hill three times a year, Stajura said. The next program consists of seven summer classes.
The program, taught by the Los Angeles Fire Department, teaches people how to immediately respond to disasters. Students learn to conduct search and rescue, first aid and emergency triage, which involves identifying how severe people’s injuries are, Stajura said.
He said when a disaster occurs, official rescuers and relief workers may be overwhelmed, so it is important to have ordinary citizens who are prepared to help.
More than 1,000 people on campus have taken CERT’s training, Stajura said.
After members have completed training, they can remain involved with CERT through monthly meetings and more training opportunities.
Stajura said he has not needed to use the skills he learned from CERT so far, but CERT members have contributed to disaster relief in Southern California in the past. They helped relief efforts following the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
In addition to CERT, the American Red Cross Club at UCLA holds workshops off campus and in dorm buildings that tell people what to do in the event of a disaster, such as a large earthquake, and how to prepare for them.
The club is also expecting more requests for workshops in the coming weeks, said co-president Jeff Chuang, a fourth-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student.
At the workshop, people learn how to make disaster kits that can sustain a family for three to five days. Facilitators train people to duck and cover under a desk or large piece of furniture during an earthquake rather than standing in a doorway.
The idea that standing in a doorway will protect you during an earthquake is a myth, he added.
The American Red Cross Club plans to join other organizations on April 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. in De Neve Auditorium for a gala event to raise funds for disaster relief in Japan while celebrating Japanese culture, said Brandon Wilkinson, club treasurer and a second-year biology student.
