The chaos witnessed in Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked its capital on Jan. 12 made us acutely aware of how vulnerable we are to natural disaster.

Scenes in Port-au-Prince days after the earthquake could happen anywhere in T&T, without a proper crisis-management system in place. It is good to see that Minister of Education Esther Le Gendre has taken note of that fact.

Commenting on the Haitian crisis, Le Gendre said that it has given the ministry an opportunity to "revisit" crisis management plans. We hope these plans will be more than a knee-jerk reaction to the current tragedy and will take us out of the prevailing belief that "God is a Trini."

Predictions by the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Unit that one day a disaster of this nature may visit T&T demands that the ministry and disaster preparedness agencies immediately take stock of what measures are in place at schools.

Schools are among several locations where the largest numbers of citizens assemble on a daily basis. Yet students across the country say there are no fire or emergency drills done at their schools.

Despite the likelihood that an event of this proportion could happen even before this is implemented, students must be assured that they are safe at school during a disaster. Right now, they are among the most vulnerable.

If students were made aware of how to respond in an emergency, they would be sufficiently able to ensure their safety. Similar to the measures used after the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was introduced, clearly-defined muster points should exist at each school.

Times of crisis also call for leadership. If we are to learn from the lessons of Haiti, it should not be assumed that principals or teachers will always be in a position to provide direction for a school of several hundred in the event of a disaster.

If they are ever faced with a similar situation, students and administrators should be able to draw on a consistent awareness campaign and a set procedure, rather than be thrown into panic searching for a school official. It is a further opportunity to empower students with the necessary steps to avert the chaos that often follows a crisis.

While we are touched by the tremendous response by the world to the devastation in Port-au-Prince, we have seen the value of targeted efforts. Our financial resources and other national awareness campaigns should not ignore the thousands of youths who enter their classrooms daily, without so much as a brief on how to respond in a natural disaster.

Our prayers go out to the people of Haiti who have endured much hardship and who have been made homeless or orphans by this recent earthquake.

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