Community Service Activity "Earthquake Mitigation Simulation at SDN 02 Bengkulu City"

Bengkulu City lies in an active tectonic plate zone which makes Bengkulu City vulnerable to earthquakes, both small and large scale. The lack of technology that can predict the time and strength of earthquakes means that earthquake preparedness must be developed from an earlier. This condition aims to reduce the risks that earthquakes can cause. In the development of earthquake preparedness, DRTPM DIKTI community service activities in 2022 were carried out by a team of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Bengkulu consisting of Dr. Elfi Yuliza (Physics Study Program), Dyah Setyo Rini, M.Sc. and Herlin Fransika, M.Sc. (Statistics) together with students from Bengkulu University such as Physics Study Program, Geophysics Study Program and Statistics Study Program conducted earthquake disaster simulation on students from SDN 02 Bengkulu City. In this simulation, students are trained on actions to take when an earthquake occurs in the school.

The simulation activity was attended by nearly 400 students from SDN 02 Bengkulu City. Before the simulation is carried out, instructions are given regarding the step to be taken in the event of an earthquake. In the simulation, students practice the steps that should be taken when an earthquake occurs, such as taking cover under a table. Once the earthquake subsides, immediately proceed to the predetermined assembly point, then follow the teacher’s instructions. This simulation is carried out in 4 stages. It is due to the number of pupils and the distribution of the existing classes. To help students remember what to do in an earthquake, the community service team also provided each student with earthquake disaster mitigation pocketbooks and posted posters in each class. The school is very grateful for organizing this activity, considering that the teaching and learning activities took place face-to-face. Also, the frequency of earthquakes is high, so students need to be prepared for seismic events. A short video of this simulation activity can also be viewed here.