TABLE TALK EXERCISE
SITUATION: NATURAL DISASTER (STUDENT VERSION)
Saturday March 12 (2:00 pm – EST)
A very strong earthquake is reported in the capital where you are studying abroad.
Buildings have collapsed, there are no communication networks working, as all cell phone
and internet coverage has been disrupted. Public transportation is at a standstill.
Students are disbursed in a number of different locations. You are with three other students
studying at the program office. You are shaken up but unhurt. You know the program
director was at home preparing food for the group’s weekly dinner. You think some students
are at the multi story dorms or with their host families, others went to the market (about 2.5
miles away) to get more food for tonight, still others are working at their service-learning
placement about 5 miles away and perhaps a few others are playing soccer with some local
friends .
As you get outside you see several building are damaged and a few have completely
collapsed. You hear a number of people yelling for help.
Please discuss the following:
1. Did you know what to do when the earthquake started? Where is the safest places to go
within a house or building? Once the earthquake ends, what do you do first?
2. What emergency preparedness training for natural disaster do you remember from your
orientation? What do you wish you knew?
3. If you were to identify a place to meet as a group in such situations, where would it be?
In what situations should you stay where you are (not move) and in what situation would
you decide to go to the group meeting place? What criteria would you use to make a
decision to stay put or try to move to a pre-determined spot?
4. Would you split up from the others or would you stay together? How might your
decisions change if you had one person who had an injury (non-life threatening) but that
limited mobility?
5. How might you be able to communicate with others? What resources might help you
communicate with people back at Calvin?
6. Does the group have any emergency supplies (food & water)? If so where is this supply?
How long should these supplies last if local supplies are not available?
PLEASE ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS BEFORE
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS
TABLE TALK EXERCISE
SITUATION: NATURAL DISASTER (STUDENT VERSION)
Saturday March 12 (4:00 pm – EST)
In your orientation, you talked about meeting at the director’s house in case of emergency.
So you all head there, as it is less than a mile away. You help everyone you can along the
way. It takes over 2 hours to make it the mile or so to the director’s house. When you arrive,
your small group is reunited with the director and 3 other students (who were playing
soccer). You now have 8 people out of your total group of 18. Phones and internet are still
not working and chaos seems to be everywhere.
You do have a few emergency supplies and you tried to collect other supplies as you made
your way to the meeting place. You now have water but little food.
Please discuss the following:
1. Develop a plan moving forward for the next 24 hours? Would you search for the others
or wait for them to come to you? What ways could you reach out to others around you
impacted by the earthquake?
2. At what point do you try to contact the American embassy to let them know that some of
the group is okay? How could you make this contact? Are there any other organizations
or people you could reach out to for help? Are there any resources at the university
available to help you in any way?
3. How might you be able to organize the eight of you to deal with your situation?
PLEASE ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS BEFORE
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS
TABLE TALK EXERCISE
SITUATION: NATURAL DISASTER (STUDENT VERSION)
Saturday March 12 (11:00 pm – EST)
You are huddled together outside the director’s house and have started a fire for warmth.
Another 6 students have made their way to the meeting place (four students who were in the
dorms and/or with host families) and the two students who were at the market. They all
report that there is chaos everywhere but that people are really working together to do what
they can to help others.
Members of your group help students all over campus and everyone is physically and
emotional drained from the day. You decide to sleep in shifts and tomorrow you will try to
get word to the embassy about the status of your group.
You do have a few emergency supplies and you tried to collect other supplies as you made
your way to the meeting place. You now have water but little food.
Please discuss the following:
1. Why is it so important to try to have the group get some rest? Why is it a good idea to do
things in shifts?
2. In the morning should the group go together to the embassy or just send a small team?
3. What challenges might darkness bring?
4. How might you revise your 24 hour plan moving forward?
5. Was it a mistake not to try to send someone to the embassy to get word to Calvin about
the whereabouts and welfare of the group? What criteria would you use to make
decisions such as these “in the moment”?
PLEASE ANSWER THE ABOVE QUESTIONS BEFORE
MOVING ON TO THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS
TABLE TALK EXERCISE
SITUATION: NATURAL DISASTER (STUDENT VERSION)
Sunday March 13 (6:00 am – EST)
With the dawn, the group receives more good news, two more students arrive and report that
all four students doing their service-learning placements are okay but that one might have a
broken foot, so they left this student with a buddy at the non-profit where they had been
working.
Students report there are some vehicles moving around the city and some rescue efforts are
under way. It is decided that a team of four students will work to get to the U.S. embassy
and try to connect with Calvin. It takes several hours but this group is able to make contact
with the embassy and report the safety of the group. Others head out to help everyone to the
embassy and to await next steps.
Please discuss the following:
1. What longer-term concerns would you have in a natural disaster such as this? What
would you hope to know now to help you in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist
attack at your site?
2. How could you draw on people’s faith during this ordeal?
EARTHQUAKE IN ACCRA GHANA?
Although Ghana with a moderately active seismicity, shares no proximity to the major earthquake
zones, historical records show that Ghana is prone to earthquake calamities. There are historical
records of earthquakes dating back to 1615 with magnitude greater than 6.0 on the Richter Scale.
During the earthquake of 1615, the fortress of Sao Jorge at Elmina was destroyed. According to
historical records, on December 18, 1636, a major earthquake hit the Axim area collapsing buildings
and other infrastructure in gold mining operations to the northeast of Axim.
The last three major earthquakes occurred in Ghana in 1862, 1906 and 1939. The 1862 Accra
earthquake with a magnitude 6.5 on the Richter Scale killed three people and caused considerable
damage. The Osu Castle was destroyed just like the Haiti Presidential Palace. The effects of this
earthquake were felt in Togo and in Benin. Two magnitude 4.6 and 4.9 seismic events occurred in
Accra in 1871 and 1872.
The epicenter of the 1906 earthquake was near Ho collapsing buildings and causing severe
damage.
The intensity of this event was also felt in Togo and Benin. The 1907 aftershocks of the
1906 event were felt in Accra and Lome. The 1939 Accra Earthquake The June 1939 magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the most destructive in Ghana’s history causing $67.3
Million damage in Accra at today’s value. This seismic event lasted about thirty seconds and killed
seventeen people and injured about one hundred and forty. Its intensity centered on James Town. If
the same force quake hits Accra today, the consequences will be unimaginable. Between 1964 and
1997 various minor tremors shook Ghana. In fact, the epicenter of the March 1964 tremor was located
not far from the Akosombo Dam. The effects of two tremors that occurred in 1997 were felt in all the
regions.