October 20, 2011 – More than a third of all earthquakes between 1991 and 2005 around the world occurred in Central and South Asia. The quakes in Sarez, Tajikistan (1911); Gujarat, India (2001); Naryn, Kyrgyzstan (2002); and Azad Kashmir, Pakistan (2005) are the examples of the seismic hazards that exist in the region and their devastating consequences.
‘Drop, Cover and Hold On in case you feel a tremor’ was the message given to participants of an earthquake preparedness drill organised by Aga Khan University (AKU) on October 20 at all its locations in Pakistan.
The drill was part of the Aga Khan Development Network’s ShakeOut Campaign across Central and South Asia, covering Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Tajikistan. On hearing an alarm, hundreds of AKU faculty, staff, students and volunteers followed a quake preparedness protocol – ducking under tables, desks and other sturdy pieces of furniture and holding on for a minute, practising what to do and where to take shelter in case an earthquake strikes.
via Aga Khan University Conducts Earthquake Drill.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=73601&Cat=4
Ismailimail 
I highly appreciate the efforts of AKU for disaster risk reduction and the preparedness exercises by doing Earthquake Drills using the techniques of Drop, Cover and Hold. I agreed it is really a good exercies for sensitization of the management and staff as well as for visitors. I am sure the visitors are also the part of this exercies. I am really interesed to know, what was the reaction of the patients, visitors and how they become the part of all such drill? Also I wish to share with the AKU management that DROP, COVER and HOLD is good practices for AKH, as the property is seismic resistant construction, if this message is conveyed to public in mountrain region or other places where seismic construction is not there, this exercies is too expensive. A sad story of 2005 earthquake in Balakot is witness to this type of exercies, when a teacher of one school not allowed to students to go out of school in the really situation and there were casualties of 200 children. This tyipe of DROP< COVER and HOLD exercised was done in the school couple of days before the earthquake of 2005 in the school. This is my homble suggestions that awarness and education must be imparted in view of the local situation and condition.
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