Ontario Students “Survive” Mock Emergency
Emergency Management Ontario (EMO), in partnership with local schools and communities, co-ordinated three Emergency Preparedness (EP) Survivor events during May 2010.
Thirty-five students at Westmount Secondary School (Hamilton), 30 students at West Humber Collegiate Institute (Toronto) and 25 students at Centre professional et technique Minto (Ottawa) participated in a mock-emergency situation and tested their basic survival skills.
Transforming the schools into an evacuation centre for the night, students were asked to survive solely off of the contents found in their 72-hour survival kits.
Throughout the evening, students engaged in a variety of emergency preparedness activities and exercises. Guest speakers made informative presentations educating students on local risks and hazards, search and rescue techniques and working with people with disabilities/special needs in an emergency.
EMO created EP Survivor in 2009 in an effort to encourage youth to prepare themselves and their families prior to an emergency, and to teach students practical survival skills.
