Several schools in Shenzhen evacuated their buildings successfully after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit Heyuan City in Guangdong Province on February 22. The municipal education bureau said the earthquake caused no casualties and damaged no buildings.

    In the junior department of Shenzhen Middle School, a trained earthquake guidance group immediately reacted to the earthquake with a broadcasting notice to ask students and teachers to leave their classrooms and line up on the football ground. Searches for students who had not reacted in time were carried out while the evacuation was taking place.

    “The evacuation of more than 2,000 students and teachers took just two and a half minutes,” said a teacher surnamed Zhang. “Every class evacuates according to the appointed route and gathering place so that they can evacuate swiftly.”

    The school’s senior department announced the cancelation of half a day of classes after the earthquake. Some parents have questioned schools’ responses. A teacher of the senior department surnamed Wu explained that classes were suspended out of safety concerns as most school buildings were old and densely built and the evacuation site was far away from the teaching buildings.

    The alarm was alerted in Shenzhen Hongling Primary School in Luohu District shortly after the earthquake. In order to avoid causing a panic, the broadcast claimed it was a routine earthquake drill. All 1,700 students and teachers were lined up on the playground in five minutes. Principal Huang Ming said the school had paid great attention to safety training in emergencies and carried out two drills each semester.

    Other schools in the city, such as Luohu Middle School and Cuibei Primary School, also conducted timely evacuations.

    However, some parents uttered their concerns for schools that took no measure against the earthquake. A parent expressed her worry as the primary school in which her child studied did not organize an evacuation.

    A woman surnamed Hou thought the education authorities should release more information via multiple channels to remind people of dangers they may face.(Zhao Jie)