Drill Skillws

THE Acehnese elementary school students took cover under their desks, bracing for an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale. The older students helped the younger ones, and as the siren wailed they rushed to the second floor in search of higher ground. Of course, no one was hurt in the commotion. It was only a drill.

That same day another elementary school in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, also held disaster-preparedness training. Others were conducted the next day. Faisal Ilyas, coordinator for Aceh Disaster-Alerted Schools, said the simulations were plans for schools that had been hit by the 2004 tsunami. "This is to teach the students about what to do during a disaster," he said.

December 23, 2014