The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, as part of its earthquake preparedness campaign, will provide training on first aid to students of 55 schools and eight colleges in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Rangpur in the next six months.
First aid boxes, awareness leaflets and banners with Dos and Don’ts would also be distributed among the students to make them aware of their responsibilities in case of any earthquake.
The society chairman and parliament member, MS Akbor, told a press conference at the National Press Club on Monday that the campaign was taken after the recent tremors that panicked the people.
The society’s secretary general, Abu Bokor, deputy secretary general Khondokar Zakaria Khaled, managing committee members Mohammad Habibe Millat, Mohammad Abul Bashar, Raisul Alam Moina and Kabir Uddin Ahmed were also present at briefing organised to detail the society’s programme in the next six months.
The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society will also arrange street dramas at 18 wards of the cities, will screen awareness documentary on earthquake and first aid in the wards and will distribute awareness calendars and stickers to 36 thousand families of the wards.
Dr Akbor also said they, on an emergency basis, would distribute seven lakh of awareness leaflets containing measures to be taken before, during and after an earthquake at the individual and family level and in workplaces to reduce earthquake losses.
‘We can get forecast of other natural disasters like floods and cyclones but we cannot get forecast of earthquakes, and that is why, the losses due to an earthquake are much higher than other disasters,’ he observed.
He, also emphasising mass awareness to reduce losses due to an earthquake, said that everyone should abide by the government rules and building codes for the construction of any structure.
Responding to the newsmen, the society chairman said as there are a huge number of high rise buildings in the Dhaka city, the intensity of losses and casualties due to an earthquake will be much higher than any other cities and towns of the country.
Following the briefing, the society leaders unveiled an awareness leaflet told the people what they should do and should not do before, during and after an earthquake.
It advised the people to make their family members and colleagues at their workplaces aware of the earthquake risks and losses and to find out the places where they may take shelter during a quake, follow building code and form voluntary teams which will provide primary treatment and trace out the affected people.
It also said during a quake one should take shelter under strong table, desks, cots or benches, not use lifts and elevator, avoid using bridge, culvert, footbridge, flyover and underpass and not run here and there being panicked.
After the quake, one should take shelter in open and safe places away from high-rise buildings, electric wires and poles, rescue the affected ones, provide primary treatment to them and shift them to hospital, keep the panicked children by one’s side and to help the authorities to keep law and order, it suggested.
