The Evacuation Drill

2024. 9. 17

News

The Evacuation Drill is part of school and work life in Japan, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. The breakdown is about 60% typhoons, 20% earthquakes, and 15% flooding, followed by landslides and volcanic eruptions. Therefore, we must be prepared to move swiftly when such natural disasters happen.

JGDA staff wearing a white collapsible helmet is heading somewhere with a fire extinguisher in her hand.


Here at JGDA Kanagawa Training Centre, we just had our semi-annual evacuation drill. Each of us, as part of the six groups: reporting and communication, initial fire brigade, first aid, emergency valuable carrier, and evacuation team, plays a crucial role in making headcounts and prioritizing our duties during an evacuation.
 
We have staff members who are guide dog users and cane users, so we also need to ensure they are evacuated safely. They can evacuate independently, but if other sighted staff are around, they are guided for safe and efficient evacuation.  

JGDA guide dog user staff wearing a white collapsible helmet and her yellow lab guide dog is guided by a another staff wearing a yellow hard helmet towards the emergency exit.



About 40 full-time staff members work at Kanagawa Training Centre, and we all have a white collapsible helmet at our desks. Regular yellow hard helmets are also equipped in every shared and residential room.
 
Despite the challenging hot weather, we successfully evacuated the kennel ward, medical ward, and main building and gathered by the front entrance to line up. 

JGDA staff wearing white and yellow helmets are gathering at a safe place outside the building.




Each staff member took their role seriously, and the drill proceeded smoothly, instilling a sense of confidence and reassurance in our preparedness.

More than 20 JGDA staff sitting in a room with a screen in the front is receiving advice from a local fire fighter.


 


At the end of the evacuation drill, we received valuable feedback from the local firefighters on our performance and areas for improvement. We also watched a short video on emergency self-protection, reinforcing that safety is a continuous process and must remain vigilant as natural disasters can strike anytime, anywhere.


As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed.