Emergency Shelter Needs

Shelter assembly should be planned, practiced and stored with clear directions and expectations. The crash zone of a building is between 1 times to twice the height of the building.

 It is estimated that in a regional disaster, only half of the student population will go home the first day. Half of the remaining students will go home the second day. Half of those students will go home the next, and so on.
 During a disaster from an earthquake, students and staff may be outside for hours or days while a building's structural safety is being determined, awaiting a professional opinion, or there is too much broken glass/debris to allow students to return to the building.
 Custodians and grounds persons should have taken a class in recognizing structural damage called ATC-20 and have a book which will help them through the process. A copy of it can be stored in the container. Check with your city or county emergency management office for ATC-20 class offerings.
 A fire inspector from your local fire department will walk around the building with staff to educate them on recognizing hazards after an earthquake.
 Each school is required to have two alternative evacuation sites. A hand truck or two can assist with the transport of supplies to a distant site.
 Tarps can be used as overhead shelter, walls for privacy or windbreaks and can augment pavilion tent shelter. Small tarps are often preferable to large ones because they are easier to manage.
 Tents
  o Principals generally do not want students in tents because they cannot be easily seen and since an entire class cannot fit inside at once, it doubles/triples the amount of adults needed to supervise students.
  o Tents are often desired for special needs students who require minimum disturbance, require complete supervision, or may have compromised immune systems or other special needs where a sheltered quiet space is needed.
  o Tents make a good private place for staff breaks or for grieving parents.
 Accordion-style pop-up pavilion tents provide quick shelter for responders and can be used in conjunction with tarps to provide more coverage.
 10 ft x 20 ft carport size pavilion tents are somewhat easy to assemble with many generic pieces and can often be purchased for less than $200.
 Tents should be assembled for practice and to make sure all pieces are there. Color coding the ends that fit together and laminating assembly instructions is a good idea.
 Heat sources outside can have dangers from fumes or fire. Even chemical hand warmers can burn bare skin.
 Eating and sleeping areas should be separate.
 A separate area should be given to staff/volunteers to get outside information. News from the outside may distress students.