Building

Emergency
Evacuation
Plan

Objectives
To ensure the safety of the occupants during
and after a damaging earthquake;
To help administrators and their disaster
action groups to design a specific response
plan for the office like earthquake;
To train occupants and staffs on how to
practice proper action and response during
an earthquake; and
To test various elements of the response plan
designed by the Disaster Management
Committee ( DMC )

Fire Drill vs. Earthquake Drill

FIRE DRILL

Siren/Bell Alarm
( Fire )

Evacuate the building

while the siren/bell is
ongoing

EARTHQUAKE DRILL

Siren/Bell Alarm
( Earthquake )

While the siren/bell is

Ongoing
Execute Proper Response

Evacuate after the

siren/bell

When to evacuate ?
* After a very strong earthquake.
* If the building was damaged.

BASIC
BASIC ASSUMPTION
ASSUMPTION !!
The
The building
building will
will not
not collapse
collapse

4 Stages of Earthquake Drill

Stage 1Planning/Organizing the
Earthquake Drill
Stage 2Developing the
Earthquake Evacuation
Plan
Stage 3Orientation prior to the
conduct of Earthquake Drill
Stage 4Actual Conduct of
Earthquake Drill

Stage 1
Planning/Organizing the Earthquake Drill

A. Form a Disaster Management

Committee ( DMC ) composed of
several teams with specific tasks.
B. Members of the DMC should conduct
building watching exercise and
identify safe & unsafe spots inside the
grounds. This is necessary for
stressing the dos and donts.

Building Watching Exercise

SOME OBSERVED
UNSAFE PRACTICES
Not properly secured cabinets.

Cabinets beside EXITS.

Lockers along evacuation routes.

Stage 1-A
Have the following information available yearly: total
no. of occupants occupying each rooms, floors and
buildings. Identify occupants with special needs.
Acquire the most recent layout/map. Use this to
identify open spaces & determine the total area that
can be utilized as temporary refuge
Obtain a building lay-out/floor plan for each building
that shows the rooms, corridors, staircases and exit
points. ( Is the width of the corridor wide enough to
accommodate the flow of traffic? )

Is the width of the corridor wide enough

to accommodate the flow of traffic?
Before the evacuation.

During the evacuation with 1.0

meter stairwell width, results will
be BOTTLE NECK.

Plan Required 1.50 meters stairwell width

Stage 1- A
( Teams with specific task )
Over-All
Coordinator

Search and Rescue Team

Security Team

Fire Safety Team

First Aid Team

Evacuation Team
Maintenance Team
Communication Team

Overview
( Evacuation Plan )

Building Plan
Vicinity Map
Population
Evacuation routes
Marked routes/exits
Computation of no. of people that can be
accommodated by the routes/stairs/hallways
Computation of no. people that can be
accommodated in the pre-designed evacuation
area

Stage 1-B
Observe hazardous areas/practices within the
building premises and dangerous conditions
that may exist which people have not noticed
before. This should be plotted on the lay-out.
Suggest corrections or improvements of
current set-up. ( e.g. exit points must remain
unlocked during office & school hours. )
Assess the structural integrity of the school
buildings by a qualified civil/structural
engineer. ( City Engineers Office )

Things to remember in your work area

when EVALUATING!

-Stay away from things that may

fall.

-Stay away from furniture that may topple.

EMERGENCY

-Glass Panes/Window Glass.

-Know the nearest Emergency Exit.

Hazardous Practices
SOME OBSERVED
UNSAFE PRACTICES
Appliances not properly secured

NO Emergency Exit Signage

Hazardous Practices
SOME OBSERVED
UNSAFE PRACTICES
No Emergency exit signage.

Locked exit doors

Blocked hallway/corridor

Hazardous Practices
SOME OBSERVED
UNSAFE PRACTICES
Cabinets not properly secured
against toppling and sliding.

Unfastened LPG tanks

Inside laboratory rooms

How safe is my building ?

Christian Colleges of the Philippines

Baguio Colleges Foundation

St. Marys Academy

Central Luzon State University

Safe & Unsafe spots

Safe Areas
Under sturdy tables
Strong supported doorway
Open/clear area

Unsafe Areas

Glass Windows and Glass Panes

Book shelves
Cabinets & furnitures that may topple or slide
Hanging objects
Elevators
Power lines/poles
Bridges & flyovers

Stage 2
Developing the Earthquake Evacuation Plan
After identifying the safe and unsafe spots, the next step
is to develop the Earthquake Evacuation Plan.
1. The EEP should a have provision to utilize all available space nearest
to the building that are evaluated as safe from falling debris and other
materials that may cause injuries to the occupants.
2. Determine if there is sufficient open space for all. Areas to be
occupied should be computed assuming that 3 persons would occupy
a 1 square meter area.
3. Consider the no. of occupants in each building ( morning & afternoon
session ). Designate a specific open area for each division as their
area of temporary refuge.

Determine if there is sufficient

open space for all.

Assuming 3 occupants / 1 sq m
Given : 100 occupants
Solution:
100 occupants /3 occupants/ 1 sq m =

33 s

Stage 2
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

Each room should come up with their specific evacuation

procedure.
Determine the flow of traffic from each room.
Indicate by arrows, the flow of occupants evacuating coming from
each room up to their designated evacuation site and serve as the
earthquake evacuation route for the occupants.
Prepare the final evacuation route and orient all heads, staffs and
all concerned.
Prepare an Earthquake Survival Kit
Prepare First Aid Kit.

( e.g. Room Lay-out )

Emergency Exit

Evacuation Route

Board
chairs
chairs

Lockers or
Book Shelves

chairs
chairs
chairs

Evacuation Route

chairs

Safe Spot

Cabinet

Why do we still need to prepare an

Earthquake Evacuation Plan ?

Earthquake can strike quickly and without

warning. It can force you to evacuate your place
of work or home or confine you to your home.
Local officials and relief workers will be on the
scene after the earthquake, but they cannot reach
everyone right away.

Why do we still need to prepare an

Earthquake Evacuation Plan ?
Fire:

Earthquake:

Concentrated in one area of the

building.

Affects the whole building and nearby

areas.

Immediate response is to evacuate

people and put out fire.

Immediate response is to Duck, Cover

and Hold during an earthquake, and
to evacuate if necessary.

Immediate outside help will arrive

definitely at the soonest time.
Building occupants can be evacuated
in any place outside the building away
from fire.
No aftershock to deal with.

Immediate outside help is not a

guarantee.
Area for evacuation after the event is
limited only to an open area which is
safe from falling debris and other
earthquake related hazard.
Aftershocks will be another concern.

Lets Compare

What to expect during the

shaking?
1. Wide range and style of ground
shaking
2. Rumbling Sound
3. Various effects to people and
objects (cracking masonry walls,
breaking glass snares, falling
ceiling/concrete slabs, walls and
plasters)
4. Failure of utilities (alarms to go
off)
5. Building collapse (Fire,
explosions and pollutions)
6. Duration of shaking and
Aftershocks!

Orientation prior to the conduct of Earthquake Drill

1.

Prepare the occupants a week before the scheduled Earthquake

Drill For each division .
Allot a specific lecture on Awareness and Preparedness
Conduct a building watching exercise
Draw floor plan of the building
Identify the safe & unsafe spots
Ask occupants to correct these matters
Encourage
to take the
action
.

Introduce
to thethem
occupants
suggested
evacuation
route
prepared by the DMC or Disaster
Control Group

introduce to them the assigned open area where they

will evacuate after the earthquake ( drill )

assign somebody who will be in-charge of making sure

the door is open during the shaking.

During the Shaking

How to protect oneself ( during the shaking )

After the shaking ;

Open the door

Turn-off anything that might cause fire
DUCK, COVER and HOLD ( protect your head under a sturdy table )
Look out for falling debris
Safe spot
Danger spot

Be alert & Dont panic

Listen for instruction
Walk out from the rooms in an orderly manner and watch out for falling debris
DONT RUN, DONT PUSH
Dont bring your things
Proceed to the designated evacuation area & wait for further instruction
NEVER go back to the building

Head count for all occupants once in the evacuation area

During the 1 minute siren, Duck,

cover & hold

After the siren/alarm , proceed to the

Evacuation area.
Assigned somebody to open
Door .

Actual conduct of Earthquake Drill

1.
2.
3.

Prior to the scheduled drill, inform the neighborhood regarding the

drill
Identify and assign observers for each exit points of the building &
evacuation areas for comments & observations during the drill.
For the Actual drill
1.

4.
5.
6.

Assumptions:
1. 1.0 min strong shaking signified by 1.0 min siren/bell
2. Person can not stand during the shaking
3. Buildings may have been damaged but no collapse
4. Possible falling objects including glass windows
5. NO immediate assistance for several hours
6. Possible injuries, fear, panic among the occupants

Observers should take note on how occupants performed while the

drill is ongoing.
Comments & suggestion will be given by the observers for
corrections and improvements
To be effective, drills must be done regularly

Is 60 seconds too long ?

PHASES OF AN
EARTHQUAKE DRILL
Phase 1.

Alarm

a pre-arranged signal such as siren/bell should be

known to all. During the drill , the siren/bell
indicates earthquake/shaking. Occupants will be
alerted by this signal.

Phase 2.

Response

while the siren/bell is ongoing, everyone should

move away from windows, glass or light fixtures. In this
phase, everyone should perform DUCK, COVER and
HOLD under desks, tables or chairs. Remain in this
position until the shaking/earthquake stops.

PHASES OF AN EARTHQUAKE DRILL

Phase 3.

Evacuation

once the shaking/earthquake stops, occupants should

evacuate the
building and proceed using a predetermined routes
to go to identified
evacuation areas.

Phase 4.

Assembly

at the designated evacuation area,

occupants must be grouped together
according to the divisions where they belong

Evacuation Plan

Legend :
Route
Evacuation Area

PHASES OF AN EARTHQUAKE DRILL

Phase 5.

Head Count

Assigned team leaders should check and make sure

all the occupants are accounted for.

Phase 6.

Evaluation

an evaluation of the drill must be conducted

to identify problems encountered during and
how this can be corrected in future
earthquake drills.

Important!
1.

Knowing information on earthquake preparedness

and proper conduct of earthquake drills are very
important for earthquake-disaster risk mitigation;
these can save lives.

2.

Unnecessary panic can be avoided if we understand

earthquake effects and know the proper response.

3.

Regular practice and review of drills makes perfect;

share safety information with your family, friends,
relatives and neighbors.

Know ..

What to do DURING
EARTHQUAKE DRILLS

THANKS!