It becomes very crucial that people are very vigilant during times of a natural disaster.
Keeping this in mind The University of the South Pacific Lautoka Campus held its first ever Tsunami drill on February 20, 2020 where all its student and staff members were trained to take immediate action when such a natural disaster strikes.
Natural occurrence such as tsunami is highly destructive disasters which could claim hundreds of lives within minutes. Immediate evacuation from low lying coastal areas to a higher ground becomes the first safety measure to be taken.
USP Lautoka Campus Director Dr Pramila Devi revealed that as per the tsunami drill, everyone at the campus immediately vacated the premises upon receiving the warning and rushed uphill towards the Simla Park taking a 2 kilometre walk.
Dr Devi stressed that the Drills are very important since it provides knowledge and experience to be applied in actual case scenario.
“Students acted very promptly with the warning siren and according to the debriefing session, evacuation was conducted in a timely manner and all staff and students had reached the safe site before the expected arrival time of the first wave.”
“I am glad the students took the drill very seriously and are well prepared to take immediate action if such a disaster actually strikes.”
“This drill has to be conducted to keep us up dated with the university’s OHS regulations which is in line with USP’s Strategic Plan 2019 – 2021,” she revealed.
The Campus Director thanked the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), Mineral Resources Department, National Fire Authority, Fiji Police Force, Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Lautoka City Council and the Commissioner Western’s office for coming together to organise the drill at USP Lautoka Campus.
