When Schools Are used as an Evacuation Center

Evacuation is the process of moving or

transferring people from hazard threated
or stricken areas to a safe place or places.
There are two types of evacuation:

1. Precautionary, that is done prior to

impact; and
2. Post impact which involves the
movement of victims from hazard-
stricken areas into safer surroundings
conditions.
What is a School Evacuation Center?
It is a temporary shelter where survivors in emergencies
can take refuge. It is a venue where evacues can be
helped in coordination with concerned government and
non-government agencies in their basic needs.
 School officials may allow the use of the school as an evacuation
center when there is no other safer place where the students/
pupils can be accommodated.
 People from the community may be allowed to use the school as
a temporary holding center.
 Incase the school is used as an evacuation center. School
officials and personnel shall be responsible for the
preservation of the school facilities and properties for the
duration the school is being occupied by evacuees, so that
after the emergency period the school can resume
operation as soon as possible.
Objectives of Evacuation

General:
To save lives and properties, minimize suffering and deal
with the immediate damage caused by an emergency.
Specific:
 To handle effectively evacuation before, during and after an
emergency.
 To assist the displaced survivors for immediate attention by
the concerned agencies.
Evacuation of School Personnel and
Students.
In case an imminent danger of a hazard threatens the school
during classes with an immediate need to evacuate school
personnel and pupils/ students out of the school to a safer area,
the following provisions shall be strictly observed:
A.Officials responsible for the orderly and safe evacuation
movement of personnel and pupils/students are:
 The Team Leader and members of the School Evacuation
Team shall initiate the immediate actions.
 School Evacuation Team shall consult and coordinate with
other government agencies in the locality as to where the safe
area to evacuate out of the school the personnel and pupils/
students.
 All classroom teachers at the time the hazard is expected to occur,
shall be responsible as Classroom Evacuation Leader of his/ her
classroom pupils/ students in their evacuation movement out of
the school into the School Evacuation Team or DRRMO and LDCC
designated safe area.

 During such evacuation of pupils/ students out of the school,

Classroom Evacuation Leader shall coordinate with the School
Evacuation Team and the DRRMO on the Evacuation movement.
 Classroom Evacuation Leader of adjacent classroom with
pupils/ students whose teacher is not present, shall be
responsible in joining them to his/ her pupils/ students
in the evacuation movement out of the school.

 During evacuation movement out of the school and even

in the safe area where pupils/ students have been
evacuated, the Classroom Evacuation Leader(classroom
teacher) and School Evacuation Team shall continue to be
responsible for the care and safety of the pupils/students
until their custody have been taken over by parents of
guardians or relatives.
Prioritized Evacuation Management of Personnel, Pupils/
Students, and properties out of the school and into safe
area shall be in accordance with the following provisions:
 Grade 1 and 11 pupils, First Year Students, disabled and sickly
of injured pupils/ students/ personnel shall be first priority in
evacuation movement out of the school into designated safe
area.
 Grade III and IV, Second Year Students shall be Second priority
in evacuation movement out of the school into designated safe
area;
 Grade V and VI pupils, Third Year and Fourth Year students,
and aged teaching and non-teaching personnel shall be third
priority in evacuation movement out of the school into
designated safe area.
Listed below are priority actions that School
authorities shall take into consideration during
evacuation:
 Inventory of available facilities and amenities;
 Activation of Disaster Operations Center (DOC)
 Activation of disaster welfare inquiry desk and NGO
desk;
 Identification and visibility of the DRRMO;
 Registration of evacuees;
 Provisions of basic requirements (nonfood/food);
 Conduct masterlisting of occupants in their rooms;
 Assist evacuee identification by room leaders.