BY LORETTA BRIGIDIA MANELE
SCHOOLS should have natural disaster plans to help them prepare for natural hazards in the future.
Jonathan Tafiariki, Deputy Director of the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), says it is important schools have disaster plans.
He said his office has carried out a program called the “safe school program”. In this program, they have worked with schools and help guide the development of their natural disaster plans.
He said Florence Young Christian School is one school which has been fully participating in developing their own plan.
Tafiariki mentioned that they are also aware that other schools are also working on theirs.
He says it is highly important that schools have measures to ensure that they are prepared so that families whose children are at school when a natural disaster takes place do not panic.
Tafiariki said this is concerning especially when most of our schools are located along the coast.
With this being the case, he says in time of tsunami warning, roads will be flooded with vehicles because parents will be searching for their children knowing that schools do not have natural disaster plans.
Tafiariki furthers that if schools have natural disaster plans, they would have the trust of parents and the situation would be much different.
