🎒 Getting Ready for Natural Disasters

Hello! Today we will learn something together: how to get ready for natural disasters. Being prepared doesn’t make us scared. It makes us feel safe. Let’s look at ways to stay calm and sure.

Earthquakes, floods and landslides are natural events. When they harm people and homes, they become a disaster. Earthquakes are very common in Türkiye. If we prepare ahead of time, we can reduce the harm.

If the shaking starts, we do three things: Drop, Cover, Hold On. In Türkiye it is taught as “Çök, Kapan, Tutun”. First drop to the floor. Cover your head and neck with your arms. Hold on to the leg of a strong table, and wait until the shaking stops.

When the shaking stops, we go outside calmly. We don’t use the lift, we take the stairs. Then we go to the assembly point that our family chose beforehand. It is an open, safe place.

We can make our home safer too. We put heavy things on the low shelves so they can’t fall on us. We fix big cupboards to the wall. We keep the way to the doors clear. Do these with a grown-up.

A ready-packed emergency bag is very useful. We put in water, food, a torch, first aid supplies, medicine, copies of important documents, spare batteries and a whistle. Shouting is tiring, but a whistle can be heard from far away. Keep the bag light, and keep it by the door.

Let’s make a family meeting plan. We draw the route from our home to the assembly point on a sketch map. If everyone knows the way, we can meet in the same place even if we are apart.

When it rains very heavily, there can be a flood. We never go into moving water, and we go to higher ground. On steep slopes the soil can slip: this is called a landslide. We stay away from slopes and stream banks, and we listen to the warnings from grown-ups and the authorities.

If we need help, we call 112. That is the emergency number in Türkiye. Other countries have their own emergency number, and the idea is the same everywhere: one number for help. We speak calmly and slowly: what happened, where we are, and our name. We only call in a real emergency, never as a joke.

Summary: when the ground shakes, Drop, Cover, Hold On. Keep an emergency bag ready, and know your family’s assembly point. In an emergency, we call 112, the emergency number in Türkiye. Now try it in Birlikte Dünya!