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The steps youshould takeduring an earthquakedepends on your location

If you are inside➤ Stay inside. Do not get in a door-

way — this does not provide protec-tion from falling or flying objects,and you might not be able to remainstanding.➤ Drop, cover, and hold on. Drop

down to the ground so the earth-quake doesn’t knock you down.➤ Cover your head and neck with

your arms to protect you fromfalling debris. If possible, crawlunder a sturdy desk, table or otherpiece of furniture for additionalprotection. Stay away from glass,windows, outside doors and walls,and other items that could fall.➤ Hold on to any sturdy item you

can until the shaking stops.

If you are outside➤ Move away from buildings,streetlights, and utility wires.

If you are in a vehicle➤ Pull to the side of the road andstay inside until the earthquake isover. Do not stop under overpassesor power lines.

EARTHQUAKE

These tips couldhelp you stay safe whencaught in a flood

Prepare your family well inadvance for severe weatherPut together a disaster supplies kitmade up of basic items that yourhousehold may need in the eventof an emergency. You may need tosurvive on your own after a stormstrikes or flooding happens. Thismeans having your own water, foodand other essentials in sufficientquantity to last for at least 72 hours.Local officials and relief workerswill be on the scene after a disas-ter, but they cannot reach every-one immediately. You could get helpin hours or it might take days.

Find higher groundGetting to higher ground is in-stinctive when there is a flood, but

you also have to be smart about it.Make sure the structure is secureand stable. If you’re going up hillsor mountains, watch out for land-slides and flash floods.

Avoid streams and roadsAttempting to cross rushing wa-ters or driving through floodedroads is extremely dangerous.Avoid doing so at all cost.

Go to the roofGo to the highest part of yourhome or the roof as soon as the wa-ter starts to rise too fast.

Listen for updatesKeep a battery-operated radio inyour preparedness stash. Gettingfresh information about the dis-aster you are in is vital to yoursurvival.

Be careful while walking If you have to walk in water, wher-ever possible, walk where the wateris not moving. Use a stick to checkthe firmness of the ground in frontof you. After a flood, return homeonly when authorities say it is safe.

FLOOD

A protest orriot can breakout anytime andanywhere. You need tohave a plan. Here iswhat to do if you arecaught in the crossfire

Blend in, if you can, untilyou can get outIf you find yourself caught in aprotest or riot keep to the edge ofthe crowd where it is the safest.Try not to be identified as one ofthe demonstrators by keepingwell away from the leaders/agi-tators. Look for an opportunityto break away and seek refuge ina nearby building, or find a suit-able doorway or alley and staythere until the crowd passes.

Don’t run When leaving the fringe of thedemonstration just walk away –don’t run as this will draw atten-tion towards you.

Don’t be a heroTrying to intervene during a fightor looting is just asking for trouble.Also, don’t move towards policelines. You don’t want to be caughtin the middle of the violence.

Avoid heavy-traffic areasTo maximise your chances of safe-ty, you should avoid the areas thatare most likely to be crowded. Stayoff the beaten path so you don’t putyourself in a dangerous situation.Even if the heavy traffic areas are

your quickest path home, they won’tbe safest if they are the targets ofany rioters.

Cover your head if shooting breaks out

If pushed to the ground, try to getagainst a wall, roll yourself into atight ball and cover your head withyour hands until the crowd passes.If a shooting suddenly breaks out,drop to the ground, cover your headand neck, and lie as flat as you can.

Be prepared to improviseAll riots are different, and thereis no “one size fits all” solution toescaping them. Some riots may berelatively less violent and onlytake up a block or two, while oth-ers may be citywide and very vi-olent. The key is to trust your in-stincts and be prepared to impro-vise your actions to fit the situa-tion. Remaining calm, keeping awary eye on your surroundings,and trusting your gut as you makeyour way to safety is the best wayto survive a riot.

RIOT

Follow thesefire safety norms, soyou’re prepared for the worst

Stay low to the groundOften times in fires, smoke andheat are more dangerous thanthe flames themselves. Housefires can cause areas near theground to reach 100 degrees ormore and up to 600 degrees nearceilings. If there’s heavy smoke,drop to the floor where the air iscleaner and crawl to the nearestexit. Keep a piece of clothing ora towel over your nose to filterout the smoke.

Never take the elevatorNever take an elevator during afire. You could become trapped orsuffer a fall if the elevator fails.

Always use the stairs or fireescape instead.

Test doorknobsIn an actual fire, you shouldn’twalk into any room withouttouching the doorknobs first. Ifthere is heat, it’s probably notsafe to enter. Opening doorscan also increase air flow andaccelerate the rate in which

fire spreads.

Stop, drop, and rollYes, firefighters still stand bythis mantra. If your clothesever catch fire, rolling back andforth will smother the flames, soyou can get back on track.

Don’t go back in afteryou have evacuated

Once you or your family havebeen safely evacuated, it’s criticalthat you don’t go back. Even ifyou forgot something valuable.Put your safety first, and leavethe rest to the professionals.

FIRE

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Importance of ECA Marks — is that what schooling is all about?Is that what determines a student’s career?Are grades the only basis for a bright future?My school taught me that extra-curricular ac-tivities (ECA) are equally important. Acade-mics are necessary, but there is a life beyondthem. I love public speaking. I was glosso-phobic (speech anxiety) earlier, but it was myschool which brought out the best in me. If itwasn’t for my school, I would not have foundout that I had this talent. Sometimes, books

and formulas are so boring. We need sometime for ourselves to explore something newwithin ourselves, a hobby that might becomea big career option. If Selena Gomez didn’tknow she could sing, we would have not gota marvellous singer. If Sachin Tendulkar did-n’t know that he could play cricket, we would-n’t have a legend. My English teacher stress-es on how important ECA is. She teaches usgrammar basics through activities. And wewait for her period all day. She brings thesefascinating activities to class which are notonly fun but also educational. ROMA RAMCOUMAR, class IX, Bethel MatricHigher Secondary School, Chennai

Go to school and be cool!Most students are anxious about going to school.School is not a place where you will get pun-ished. Rather, it is where you are going to learnhow to face life. Some students don’t like be-ing woken up very early, but this is a good habit.

Many students are tired of studying, writingand listening in class. But they are very fondof physical activities. Such students shouldthink of studies as physical activities. It is veryimportant to know what your ambitions are.For that you need to be more involved in stud-ies and extra-curricular activities.ABHAYA M, class VI, Sri Kanchi Mahaswami

Vidya Mandir, Chennai

Population explosionPopulation explosion refers to the rapid in-crease in the population of an area wherethe economy is incapable of coping with theincreasing demands of its population. Illit-eracy, reduced mortality, increased birthrate and an increase in life expectancy arebehind this problem. Due to lack of resourcesand opportunities, millions are jobless. ARYADEEP BISWAS, class IX, Sri Aurobindo Institution of Education, Kolkata

Go clean, go green Our school sends all its waste paper for re-cycling to make notebooks. Our principalencourages every child to make our sur-roundings clean and green. Every month, aseco-friendly ministers, we take to the streetsto plant saplings. We also throw dry and wetwaste in their respective bins. A small stepis all that it takes to make sure your sur-roundings stay clean and green. MAITREYI SINGH, class VI, Our Lady ofFatima Convent Secondary School, Gurugram

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The power of believing in yourselfSteve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Michael Jor-dan and Elon Musk are highly successful indi-viduals who benefited greatly from their con-fidence. It’s their willingness to wake up againand again after they failed or experienced asetback, which helped them in realising theirdreams. We don’t know the actual power ofbelieving in ourselves — it helps us get rid offears, self doubts and builds self-confidence.

If you don’t believe in yourself; why do you ex-pect others to believe in you? Rather thanquestioning yourself internally, set positiveideas in your mind. Think you are a fully ca-pable human being with many talents and startyour work. There are millions of things thatcould go wrong around you, but if you losehope then you will lose everything else in yourlife. There are many ways to fail but only oneway to succeed. See your actions from a va-riety of perspectives. Look at things practi-cally. People have their own problems so no-body has the time to judge you when you messup. Have your very own space to trust your-self and work out things. Each time you fallyou will find an improvement that leads youtowards victory.T K VADIVARSHINI, class VIII, The Indian PublicSchool, Erode

Emoji – the global languageHumanity’s desire to create a language thatgoes beyond mere words is not entirely new,but the technology available today has madeit a possibility. Emoji is the world of textingwhich expresses feelings through emotions.Do you think emojis have conquered the world?Yes, because they convey emotions and over-come language barriers. From emoticons to

animojis, we are living in a digital world. Weall like emojis and love reading memes. Emo-jis have now become an evolving language,culturally and visually. They grab headlinesand truly reflect how we react to each otherin contemporary culture. If you are confusedby emojis, then don’t worry as there is an in-teresting Emojipedia where you will find a glos-sary across multiple platforms. Emojis arequickly becoming the first truly global lan-guage to overtake the world.POORVI SANU, class IX, New Horizon PublicSchool, Airoli, Navi Mumbai

No School Bag Day The introduction of ‘No School Bag Day’ by theManipur government is a great step to reducestress among young students. States like Ut-tar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have alreadycome up with such an initiative. It must be in-troduced in all the states. This initiative willgreatly benefit children. It will help them be-come stress-free at least once a week. It willgive them time to play, relax, learn morals andethics, participate in extra-curricular activi-ties, sports and so much more. P PRASANNA LAKSHMI, class IX, Siva SivaniHigh School, Visakhapatnam

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Representational image

“Do not believe what your teacher tells youmerely out of respect for the teacher.”

Gautama Buddha02 i-OPENER

SOURCE: WORLD NOMADS, MASS.GOV, SAFEWISE