The CURE

Preparing For The Worst

Evacuation drills by El Salvador’s young are helping the vulnerable country defend itself against natural disasters.

Ranked by the UN as the most vulnerable country in the world in terms of natural disasters, El Salvador’s communities have battled everything from mudslides, to earthquakes to flooding.

In 2011, torrential rain flooded the country forcing more than 50,000 to flee their homes.

Now, a Plan International project led by the country’s youth is helping prepare these communities for the worst.

‘Civil Protection Committees’ have been established to identify safe areas and run evacuation drills so that residents know what to do in the event of a disaster.

The young people involved – some of whom have lost family members in previous floods and mudslides – are trained in first aid and evacuation procedures.

Dr Louise Pealing joins an evacuation drill in Melara, a community which was hit by devastating by flooding in 2008, to see first-hand how these committees are preparing El Salvadorians.

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