Unit-5

Multi-Sectional Issues Education and Community Preparedness

Education for disaster preparedness can provide life-saving and life-sustaining information and skills
that protect in particular children and young people during and after emergencies.
Disasters are not natural, they only occur when people lack preparedness or the ability to cope with
hazards: it is the combination of an exposed and ill-prepared population or community with a hazard
event that results in a disaster. Education therefore has a vital role to play in preparing communities
and building disaster resilient societies and safe lives.
UNESCO provides tools for integrating Disaster Risk Reduction into schools and provides training
for teachers and educators on how to educate children and youth to prepare for disasters.

Impact of disaster on poverty and deprivation

Disaster is an extreme weather event recorded around the globe. It is increasing in frequency, and in
the magnitude of overall economic losses they cause. Many countries in the world, especially the
middle and low-income countries, suffer badly during and after postdisaster, also, recovery becomes
difficult. However, the statistics on casualties and economic losses reported in the media fail to give
us the full picture of a much more complex, extensive, and prolonged tragedy which is mainly
experienced by the poorest.

 Disasters often cause the poor to lose most of the assets they depend on for their survival. In addition,
the lack of education and a lack of access to health care causes them to be more vulnerable to risks.
The poverty of much of the world’s poor is due to the lack of food availability. However, droughts
and floods can destroy a year’s income in a flash. This forces many into poverty.
 The poor are the most affected by disasters due to poverty, and the risk of disasters is inextricably
linked. The increase in disaster risk and exposure is caused by the compulsion of the poor to extract
resources from the environment for their survival.
 As a result of poverty, the poor migrate and live in physically more vulnerable areas, often on
dangerous land and in unsafe shelters. As a result of disasters, ongoing activities aimed at reducing
poverty are disrupted, and financial resources may be diverted to relief and rehabilitation efforts.
 It is also possible that poorer households make ex-ante, deliberate risk-averting livelihood choices,
which can further compound poverty. As it may be more costeffective for poorer households to opt
for crops more tolerant to natural disasters rather than crops that yield higher yields or are more
profitable.
 Without clean water and limited toilets after a disaster, the disease can spread quickly. Limited health
care resources in poor countries (the number of doctors, hospitals, etc.) can be inadequate for dealing
with the health emergencies that result from disasters. Children orphaned by disasters in poor
countries are vulnerable to exploitation of various sorts, including sex trafficking.
 Orphans’ and children’s trauma are dealt with by fewer skilled social service workers. The costs of
rebuilding after a disaster are higher in richer countries, although money and technology are usually
available for reconstruction. The costs may be lower in developing countries, but obtaining funding is
more challenging.
 Poor countries have few or no resources to cope with the long-term effects of posttraumatic stress on
survivors, especially parents who feel responsible for their children’s deaths.
 There will be little or no money available for post-disaster development if governments have
development obligations to pay. They are completely reliant on wealthy countries for debt forgiveness
and substantial long term assistance.
 There are no safety nets for those who are poor. Those in poverty, for example, have little or no
resources to buy food if their crops are lost due to drought. Developing people in poor nations are
unable to restore their homes following natural catastrophes due to a lack of insurance. Their
governments lack the financial means to respond to disasters.

Reason Behind Disaster-led Poverty:

 Geography: Flood plains, volcano bases, seismically active areas, and tornado alleys are all places
where the poor often live due to less expensive real estate and greater environmental vulnerability.
Natural disasters like landslides increase vulnerability due to environmental exploitation (for example,
deforestation of hillsides).
 Personal resources: The poor are well known to suffer from poor physical health because poverty is a
determinant of poor physical health, and disasters may make them even more vulnerable. Physical
stress from a disaster may be especially difficult for malnourished, non-immunised, and chronically ill
people. In addition, poor individuals who are focused on daily survival are less likely to possess
additional resources – such as food, fuel, or money – that they could use in case of disaster. The
body’s response to a prolonged period of hunger and insufficient food can lead to physical changes
and symptoms as it moves from famine to adequate nutrition.
 Infrastructure: In poor areas, housing often falls below minimum standards, making it far more
vulnerable to collapse during an earthquake or other disaster. Building codes are rarely enforced or
followed. Transportation and communication infrastructure are often lacking in poor communities,
making disaster response more difficult. Many poor countries lack adequate funding for their health
systems, which are then overstretched when faced with increased injury and illness when a disaster
hits.
 Political instability: A lack of resources as well as intra-community schisms – sometimes with racial,
ethnic, or religious overtones — can make it difficult to coordinate a community response. This
complicates efforts to coordinate disaster response efforts. Following a disaster, those who can afford
to leave disaster areas can do so with a dramatic degree of ease. Economic privilege, race and religion
are fault lines that are opened by disasters. When this happens, the difference in economic status is
further exacerbated because the rich are able to leave while the poor are not. For themselves and their
families, the poor may also use illegal and risky immigration routes (e.g., “boat people”) in order to
find safety, food, health, and work.
 Vulnerable populations: Especially vulnerable to neglect and exploitation are the elderly, women,
children, and children with mental and physical disabilities in a lack of resources. Poverty-stricken
children and women are especially vulnerable to exploitation as they seek food and shelter in a
disaster-stricken neighbourhood that lacks both.
 Recovery from disaster: The resources brought by other countries to disasteraffected nations can also
create expectations that cannot be maintained after the responders have left. Reducing the likelihood
of reoccurrence of disasters is made possible by working with disaster affected populations and
recognizing the need for sustainable recovery.

What are the 7 effects of disaster?

Impacts. A natural disaster may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property
damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental
damage.

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

Climate change is a broad term used to refer to changes in the Earth’s climates, at local, regional, or
global scales, and can also refer to the effects of these changes. In recent decades, the term ‘climate
change’ is most often used to describe changes in the Earth’s climate driven primarily by human
activity since the pre-Industrial period (c. 1850 onwards), particularly the burning of fossil fuels and
removal of forests, resulting in a relatively rapid increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the
Earth’s atmosphere.

Global warming is a term often used interchangeably with climate change, as it is one of the most
important measures of global changes. Global warming refers to the rise in average global
temperatures, which is linked to significant impacts on humans, wildlife, and ecosystems around the
world. Because there are more factors and impacts than only rising surface temperatures, the term
climate change is used to include these additional impacts. There is strong consensus among
scientists, representing 97% of actively publishing climate scientists, that human influence has been
the dominant cause of observed warming trends since the 20th century.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen from hovering around 280 parts per
million (ppm) in pre-Industrial time, to 413 ppm as of early 2020. 4 5 This concentration of carbon
dioxide is unprecedented in recorded history. Scientists have reported that we need to return to a
‘safe’ concentration of 350 ppm by 2100 in order to stabilize global warming.

What are 5 common health risk factors?

● Chronic Disease Risk Factors

● Tobacco use.

● The harmful use of alcohol.

● raised blood pressure (or hypertension)

● Physical inactivity.

● Raised cholesterol.

● Overweight/obesity.

● Unhealthy diet.

● Raised blood glucose.

Concepts important to understanding human health risk assessment
There are a number of concepts and definitions used in human health risk assessment. Key definitions
include ‘health hazard’, ‘health risk’ and ‘exposure’.

Health hazard
A hazard is something that has the potential to cause harm – it could be a biological substance, or a
chemical, or something with a particular physical property, or an activity.

A hazard cannot potentially cause harm unless people or a section of the environment is exposed to
that hazard.

A health hazard is therefore something that has the potential to cause harm to the health of
individuals, groups of people or the broader community.

Health risk
A risk is the probability (or likelihood) that a hazard will cause harm.

A health risk is therefore the probability (or likelihood) that exposure to a health hazard will cause
harm.

Exposure
Exposure is the amount (sometimes referred to as ‘the dose’) or concentration (ie amount of a health
hazard in air, soil or water etc) in contact with or taken up into the body over a known length of time.

Human health risk assessment

Human health risk assessment is a way of assessing the potential impact of a hazard on the health of a
person, group of people or a community. Factual, technical information is used to understand the
potential health effects.

Each human health risk assessment is unique to the situation and population being assessed. The
population in focus may be a community or specific groups within a community such as workers,
children, older people or those with particular health conditions such as asthma.

The five general steps in the human health risk assessment process are:
1. Issue identification: what is the identified problem or situation?
2. Hazard assessment: what are the possible adverse health effects associated with the identified
hazards of potential health concern?
3. Understand the dose-response relationship(s): what is the dose response relationship for each
identified adverse health effect? What studies are used to provide this information?
4. Exposure assessment: develop a site or situation model including pathways connecting
sources of each hazard to people; collect and analyse data about each hazard, e.g.
assess/sample the amount in air, water or soil; identify populations that may be affected and
how they may be exposed to each hazard.
5. Characterise the risk: this step analyses the above information to estimate the size and nature
of either past, current or future health risks for people, including communities.
Community and stakeholder consultation occur as part of the human
health risk assessment process.
The human health risk assessment is important as it informs the risk management stage. This includes
recommended advice or actions (if required) to ensure that human health is protected. Risk
communication occurs in the risk management stage.

Human health risk assessment for environmental exposures

Environmental Health is defined as those aspects of human health determined by physical, chemical,
biological and social factors in the environment. Environmental health practice covers the assessment,
correction, control and prevention of environmental factors that can adversely affect health, as well as
the enhancement of those aspects of the environment that can improve human health.

An environmental health risk assessment is a type of human health risk assessment that looks at
the potential impacts of hazards in the environment on the health of people: - usually in defined
groups or the broader community.

The Australian approach for environmental health risk assessment is described in the enHealth
publication, Environmental Health Risk Assessment: - Guidelines for assessing human health risks
from environmental hazards 2012, available from the Australian Department of Health website.

Who does human health risk assessments?

People who do human health risk assessments generally have science, engineering or medical
qualifications and usually experience relevant to the issue or situation being investigated.

Human health risk assessors work with experts in toxicology, epidemiology and chemistry,
particularly when the assessment involves hazardous materials, including chemicals.

Human health risk assessors are trained to understand each step of the risk assessment process and to
analyse a problem rationally. They break the assessment into smaller parts and solve each part of the
issue with reason and logic, like solving a puzzle. The puzzle is then reassembled into the overall
understanding of the size and nature of either past, current or future risks to human health.

Depending on the issue, government departments and agencies may undertake a human health risk
assessment or engage an independent expert to do this work.

In some cases, a government department or agency may direct a person or business owner to conduct
a human health risk assessment at their own cost. This may include an additional peer review process
to ensure that the findings are independent and accurate.

When is a human health risk assessment required?

The decision to do a human health risk assessment is made on a case by case basis, and generally
when an activity or major project has the potential to affect people’s health, and to inform risk
management advice and actions.

Human health risk assessment helps experts in assessing the overall situation, and in determining what
advice or actions, if any, should be taken to ensure that human health is protected.
Past, current or future exposures to chemicals in air, soil, water, food, consumer products or other
materials may be assessed.

Limitations of human health risk assessments

Human health risk assessment is just one tool that can be used in assessing and managing
environmental health risks.

In some cases, not all information is available therefore the risk assessor may need to make calculated
estimates and assumptions that are conservative. This means that to ensure public health is protected,
human health risk assessments usually over-estimate the theoretical risk when there are gaps in
knowledge. Environmental health risk assessments are also based on the most sensitive (or
vulnerable) people in the community. This provides a ‘worst case scenario’ to inform the best possible
decisions to manage human health risks.

It is important for the community to understand that human health risk assessment looks at
communities or populations as a whole. A human health risk assessment highlights the nature and size
of past, current or future health risks but usually does not:

identify specific individuals who are exposed to a chemical

compare chemical levels measured in individuals or groups of people to health outcomes

diagnose disease – so should not replace consultation with a medical or health practitioner.

Community members who are concerned about their health or the health of someone in their care
should always contact a health professional in the first instance.

More information

For more information about the Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth) and the
Australian approach to environmental health risk assessment, visit the Australian Department of
Health website.

For more information about managing the impacts of pollution or waste on the environment and
human health in Victoria, visit the Environment Protection Authority Victoria website.

Environmental Risk Forest Management and Disaster Risk Reduction

The effective management of the environment can lead to securing of ecosystem services such as
clean water from watersheds and fisheries from the oceans and wetlands which will increase the
resilience of the community to withstand the impacts of disasters and reduce their vulnerability.

Environmental risk is the probability and consequence of an unwanted accident. Because of

deficiencies in waste management, waste transport, and waste treatment and disposal, several
pollutants are released into the environment, which cause serious threats to human health along their
way.

Emergency managers think of disasters as recurring events with four phases: Mitigation,
Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
What is environmental risk reduction?
Managing environmental risk involves understanding the environment related risks relating to a
property, or across a portfolio, and implementing a rigorous control strategy. It is important that clear
responsibilities are identified for managing environmental risk, and that appropriate training is
provided.
Why is Disaster Risk Management (DRM) important when it comes to sustainable
development?
We know from previous experiences that natural disasters can wipe out a huge part of countries’
development gains. It makes sense to invest not only in the development of economies, but to also be
prepared to prevent or reduce the impact of future disasters, to make communities more resilient.
How can forests help reduce the impacts of natural disasters?
Over the last decade, lots of research has been done on the use of nature-based solutions for disaster
risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Evidence shows that nature-based solutions or
ecosystem approaches can be effective in reducing the impact of natural disasters, while they often
provide co-benefits for the environment and communities, which conventional solutions like gray
infrastructure don’t provide. Building a dam or levy, for example, will only create a limited amount of
additional employment in the construction, maintenance and operation of the dam – a forest, however,
can provide other long-term additional benefits such as livelihood services in the form of food and
building materials provision to communities.
Mangroves are a good example of how forests can contribute to DRM. When properly located and
maintained, mangrove forests can reduce storm surge, by lessening the energy of waves, and reduce
the damage caused by potential coastal flooding. In some cases, gray infrastructure may be cheaper or
more appropriate because forests need a lot of physical area in order to be effective in flood reduction.
However, if enough space is available, mangroves may well be cheaper than sea walls, which are
expensive in construction and maintenance. Also, sea walls won’t keep up with sea level rise, whereas
mangroves do due to sedimentation.
Another example is deforestation, which plays a big role in landslides: hills can become unstable,
especially with heavy rains or when earthquakes occur. Forests also play a big role in containing
water, which may reduce the impact of heavy rains downstream.
Very often we see that the best solution is a combination of nature-based solutions and conventional
approaches, such as mangroves with an embankment behind, where the embankment doesn’t need to
be as high as it would be without the mangroves. Hybrid solutions can be very effective.
Given these links between the DRM and Environment and Natural Resources (ENR)
sectors, how often do they collaborate?
At the moment, there is limited to no collaboration between the two sectors. While developing the
PROFOR-activity on Forests and DRM, we discovered that very often the DRM and ENR Global
Practices at the World Bank don’t even speak the same language. We in DRM often approach the
issues from a more technical and engineering point of view with limited focus on nature based
solutions, whereas the ENR Global Practice has an in-depth knowledge of ecosystems, but limited
experience on disaster risk management. We are aiming to improve this by working together and
sharing our knowledge.
DRM is by definition a very multi-sectoral approach. For instance, in Serbia we are setting up a
national DRM program that cuts across areas like education, energy, infrastructure and health, to
avoid incidents like a major flood in 2014 that inundated an open pit mine. But until now we have not
included forestry structurally in our work.
What value-added will the new PROFOR-activity on Forests and DRM provide?
Currently, we don’t use forest management as a tool for risk reduction. With this new activity, we are
aiming to change that. This activity is still a work in progress, but will first involve reviewing existing
knowledge on the role of forests in identifying and reducing risk. For example, can we use
information on forest cover to quickly identify landslide-prone areas, instead of conducting full risk
assessments, which are expensive and time consuming? At the same time, it makes sense, from a
DRM perspective, to protect forests from for example wild fires if these forests can help reduce the
very costly impacts of disasters. Next, we will build a knowledge management system to disseminate
information on this topic, and conduct pilots to fill in any gaps. Pilot countries could be coastal, where
storm surge is an issue, or in mountainous regions, where there is the threat of torrential flooding and
landslides.
Both the ENR and DRM Global Practices are working together on this, and there is scope for more
collaboration. With PROFOR’s help, we can continue to bridge the distance between these sectors.

What is the movement of the Red Cross?

What is the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement? The Movement is a global
humanitarian network comprising the ICRC, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

Humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality:

these seven Fundamental Principles sum up the Movement's ethics and are at the core of its approach
to helping people in need during armed conflict, natural disasters and other emergencies.

The 5 Lines of Service

Red Cross volunteers work to deliver vital services – from providing relief and support to those in
crisis, to helping families and communities prepare for emergencies. You can learn more about
everything the American Red Cross does by visiting the About Us section of redcross.org, or scroll
down for information and links related to the specific services we provide.

Disaster Relief

From large-scale disasters such as hurricanes and floods, to local home fires, the Red Cross has
always been there to help individuals and families cope in times of need. Disaster relief focuses not
only on the most urgent disaster response efforts, but prevention and preparedness as well. On any
given day, when a disaster strikes, Disaster Action Teams and local caseworkers are deployed on-site,
stationed at shelters, and on standby at local Red Cross chapters to help those affected receive the
food, care, and basic resources they need to recover. Other volunteers may be involved with
promoting awareness efforts and educating local communities on how they can be prepared for
emergency, including through national events like Sound the Alarm.

The 5 Lines of Service

Red Cross volunteers work to deliver vital services – from providing relief and support to those in
crisis, to helping families and communities prepare for emergencies. You can learn more about
everything the American Red Cross does by visiting the About Us section of redcross.org, or scroll
down for information and links related to the specific services we provide.
1.Blood Services

One of the most well-known of the five lines of services, the American Red Cross Blood
Services branch provides a life-saving supply of blood to 3,000 different hospitals,
transfusion centers, and medical facilities every single day. We are the United States’ largest
single supplier of blood and blood products, collecting 6.5 million units of blood annually! In
order to maintain a supply that meets the demands of patients in need, the Red Cross relies on
blood donation centers at individual chapter locations in addition to blood drives held on a
regular basis at local high schools, college campuses, and community centers. The National
Testing Laboratories of the American Red Cross and U.S. Food and Drug Administration
work hand-in-hand to maintain Quality Assurance and Good Manufacturing Practices across
the country.

2. Training & Certification

Trainings and preparedness education are key facets to the Training Services branch. In an effort to
help save lives and strengthen communities, the American Red Cross has a history of providing
opportunities to be trained in many of the most useful life skills; from first aid and adult/child
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), to automated external defibrillation (AED), to swimming, to
lifeguarding, to babysitting, and more, these trainings hope to enable those certified to prevent,
prepare for, and respond in a number of life-threatening scenarios. Be Red Cross Ready is a program
that teaches people the basics of emergency preparedness using three simple steps: Get a Kit, Make a
Plan, and Be Informed. It combines elements from both Training Services in addition to Disaster
Services!

3.Service to the Armed Forces

This branch of the American Red Cross focuses on active service members, veterans, and their
families. The Red Cross is responsible for providing various humanitarian services and resources to
over 1 million active-duty personnel and over 1 million members of the National Guard/Reserves.
These services are available across the United States, and in military installations around the world.
Emergency communications services play a central role—uniting families with the armed forces,
connecting military hospitals and wounded warrior units, providing assistance in health care facilities,
and more. The Red Cross also plays an active role in advocating for veterans’ benefits through
community-based programs and representation before the Board of Veterans Appeals.
4.International Services

By partnering with the over 180 other national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies through
emergency health services and external disaster response, we strengthen leadership, financial
management, volunteer networks, and support the global movement. When disasters arise, American
Red Cross volunteers are deployed to these locations in order to provide the most direct assistance to
affected homes and families. Community-based programs are at the heart of the American Red Cross’
relief work. International Humanitarian Law education continues to allow youth volunteers here in
the US a place to explore the Geneva Conventions and human rights through the lens of limits on
warfare.

5.Community based disaster recovery

Community-based disaster management has emerged as a primary priority area in disaster risk
management. Communities are the first responders during the disaster, thus communities become
significant in disaster response, mitigation, and management interventions.

What are the types of community based disaster management?

The concept of Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) brings together the community and
involves them in the various phases of disaster risk reduction activities, viz., prevention, preparedness,
mitigation, response, recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Rationale

In Community based Disaster Risk Management , the participation of community is essential in

order to make disaster risk reduction efforts successful and sustainable at the local level.This concept
led to the development of community based disaster risk management (CBDRM), which aims to
encourage community involvement (in the forms of participation, partnership, empowerment and
ownership) for disaster risk reduction. The module discuss in details about different aspects of
CBDRM. In the first section, the basic idea of CBDRM is explained. In the second section the
procedures, components and tools utilised in CBDRM are discussed. In the third section the
approaches to CBDRM in India is elaborated

Community Based Disaster Risk Management

Definition–The process of actively involving community in all phases of disaster risk

management is termed as Community Based Disaster Risk Management. Involvement of
communitiesmay be in the form of participation, partnership, empowerment and ownership through
various activities. Community based disaster risk management is often loosely termed as community
based disaster management.

Description– The term ‘Community’ is defined as “a social group of any size whose members
reside in a specific locality, share government and often have a common cultural and historical
heritage.” (Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, 2005) They can also share a common criterion like
social/political identity, professional group, age group etc. Communities often lie within a defined
boundary and has authority to adopt and enforce laws and provides services and leadership to its
residents. (Jones, Critical Incident Protocol, 2000). Community members are united by a sense of
belonging. It is noteworthy that the behaviour of the members of a community are often regulated by
customs and traditions and not by force. In the context of disaster management, a community can be
interpreted as a group of people inhabited in a particular location and are exposed to and /or affected
by disaster/disasters.

CBDRM aims to put communities at the centre of disaster risk reduction. The approach focuses on
the process to make communities “fully aware, trained, and practiced on how to prevent,
protect/mitigate, prepare for, and respond to all threats and hazards.” (DHS, TCL, 2007) This requires
building on “personal preparedness, conducting exercises and volunteer programs, surge capacity
response” etc. It requires knowledge of all probable hazards (technological, natural, and terrorist
incidents) and related protective measures, skills, and supplies. It is determined through a
collaborative process between the community and the facilitating agency.

Why CBDRM is required?

Effective response –In most of the disaster situations, communities are not only affected primarily
but they are automatically geared up as the first responders. The capability of the community in
delivering prompt response post disasters can be developed through planned and coordinated
CBDRM. Thus, when disaster strikes, a prepared community can deliver efficient response in the
golden hour which will help in saving lives and minimizing impacts on human and livestock. Also,
during the first few hours or days after a disaster strikes, the essential services are unavailable. A
community must be able to act on its own and have the ability to quickly return to work, reopen
business, restore essential services and assist intervening agencies. Such communities are in a position
to witness swift economic recovery and minimal losses.

Local knowledge –Community has the inherent traditional knowledge of common hazards,
potentially affected areas and vulnerability and are often having rich indigenous knowledge of the
coping mechanism. The implications disasters are shaped by the socio economic conditions and
cultural tradition of a community which can be understood only through community interaction. The
community perception and assessment of risks can be analysed through the process and
methodologies of CBDRM .The community is also the best assessor of disaster

impacts and recovery processes. These data can be easily gathered using CBDRM process. Also it
reduces the chance of missing out on essential information which might happen in analysis by
external agencies(that might be unaware of the contextual setting).

Development of acceptable plans –In many cases, state and local emergency community
management plans are developed without direct community involvement. As a result, community
people tend to have little faith in these plans. “On the other hand, disaster planning that includes input
from the community produces not only higher quality outputs/strategies, but also far higher levels of
community approval and confidence in the plans.” (Carafano, Grassroots Disaster Response-
Harnessing Capacities of Communities, 2007) It also helps in imbibing a sense of individual
responsibility for community safety, not only post disaster but in all phases of disaster.

Awareness –Often the community itself unknowingly generates risk or exposed to the prevailing
risks. CBDRM involves members of the community in the risk identification and assessment. It
makes the community aware and also makes DRR solutions easily acceptable and thus sustainable.

Process of Community Based Disaster Risk Management

There are several guiding principles of CBDRM, which are directly or indirectly linked with each
other.
 Guiding Principles

1. Multi stakeholder participation

2. Participatory approach with community leading the process

3. Involvement of informed facilitators

4. Time and Resource budgeting

5. Forum for convergence – of governmental schemes and programs with CBDRM processes

6. Inclusive Approach

7. Implementation of CBDRM requires a decentralised bottom up approach with active

participation of local Panchayats/ Municipal Bodies and non-governmental bodies.

Components of CBDRM

The objectives of CBDRM are to make each and everyindividual of the community to get
awareness of the risks they are facing, provide basic knowledge on how to prepare for or mitigate the
risks and identify the capacities existing within the community. The following components form the
backbone to attain the aforesaid objectives of CBDRM.

Development of plans – This refers to the development of community based disaster

management plans (CBDMP). A CBDMP generally includes:

1. Area profile, which contains

a. the geographic, socio-economic, environmental and institutional profile of the area

b. Village maps with critical information about the community. These maps are rough and not to
scale but serve as a good tool to represent geographical data

2. Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment, which is conducted with the help of the
community. It is based on the community perception and assessment of risks.

a. For each hazard the location, spatial dispersion, intensity, duration, frequency and probability of
occurrence is analysed with the help of community participation especially the elderly or
knowledgeable people. It is done using

Seasonal calendars – used to identify time of occurrence of hazards

Hazards maps – these are not to scale but helps identifying the area which might get affected in
a disaster or has been affected in disasters

Historical profile – used to understand the past hazards that the region has witnessed and their
nature and characteristics. It enables community youngsters to understand the evolution of risks and
the emerging risks

Event tree – helps identifying secondary hazards

 Hazard matrix – used to prioritize the hazards based on their probability and extent of impact

b. The process of vulnerability assessment sensitizes a community about the vulnerable individuals
and helps in generating public awareness. The tools to carry out vulnerability assessment are:

Transect walk – Involves systematic walk through the community area identifying the
characteristics and building rapport with the community. It enables future discussions and better
participation

Seasonal mapping – Food and resource availability variation etc. across seasons in a year

Vulnerability mapping – the vulnerable infrastructure and population

Livelihood analysis – It is used to identify the livelihood pattern and strategies of the
community; the livelihood vulnerability due to impact of hazards across the year and mechanisms
utilised by the community to deal with these.

Problem tree – helps identify the issues in the community and map the effects of these issues. It
is used to identify the relationship between the various aspects of vulnerability, where the root
represents the issue and the leaves represent the effects.

Vulnerability Assessment –based on the above tools, the composite vulnerability index can be
developed

c. The process of capacity assessment involves identifying the available assets, resources and
strengths of the community that can be utilised before during and after disasters. Social,
infrastructural and institutional analysis can be utilised in this.

d. Based on the hazard vulnerability and capacity analysis the risk profile of the region can be
developed and risk priorities are identified.

The area profile and risk assessment helps in developing the response, preparedness and mitigation
plans

3. Response plan contains

a. Standard Operating Procedures for efficient utilization of resources in the aftermath of disasters

b. Mapping of material resources which can be utilized when disaster strikes.

c. Mapping ofavailable human resources, their skills and contact details to enable quick
communication and minimising response delays

d. Formationof Village Level Disaster Management Committees (VDMCs), teams and task forces

o The VDMCs are groups of 3 to 5 members, with the village head or village level representative
of the revenue department leading the team

o The VDMC is assisted by teams and task forces of various kinds

o The teams generally perform back office work viz. administrative support, resource management
etc.
 o Enthusiastic individuals are chosen to form task forces, generally of 3 to 10 members o These
groups are assigned tasks related to specific sectors based on their skillset, e.g.

§ Early Warning Team – inform the community about the impending threat through local means
like “drum beat”, “conch” sounds; utilise the vulnerability analysis to convey warning messages to the
most vulnerable etc. When the hazard threat weakens, the team conveys the same to the community
after verification from competent authorities.

§ Evacuation Team – Evacuates vulnerable areas after receiving message from early warning team,
Arranges for vehicles/boats to take the victim to nearest hospitals etc.

§ Search and Rescue team – Searches for missing people, rescues people in dangerous locationsetc.

§ Shelter Management – Guides the evacuees moving to the relief shelters (e.g. tocarry food stuff
and water, location of relief shelters), Registers them, Conveys missing information to the Search and
Rescue Team, Provides support to people residing in relief centres, Co-ordinates with other teams etc.

§ First Aid and Medical support Team – Provides first aid and medical support till specialized help
arrives, Assists specialized medical team

§ Food, Water and Sanitation Team – Stores and maintains required relief, Arrangesfor food and
other assistance, Manages the distribution of food and
water, Assists damage assessment teams, Ensures proper sanitation and solid waste disposal near
shelters etc.

§ Damage Assessment Team– Prepares authentic list (of people affected and the magnitude of
impact on individuals), Ensures hassle free compensation process for affected families

§ Dead Body Management and Carcass DisposalTeam– Collects bodies,

o A definite hierarchy is mentioned in each of the teams and there is a group head and assistant
group heads

e. Guidelines related to the roles and responsibilities of different members

f. Contact details of administrative officials, members of the village disaster management

committees, teams, task forces and any other key resource.

4. Mitigation and Preparedness Plan which contains

a. Detailing of community roles and responsibilities to minimize risk exposure, vulnerability and
creation of further risks

b. Guidelines for risk conscious developmental and natural resource management at the community
level

c. Guidelines for the village disaster management committees, teams and task forces to conduct
and support disaster mitigation and preparedness activities

B. Capacity Building – It helps in enhancing the in-built capacities of the community. It

includes the following,

1. Trainings – to impart knowledge and build

 a) functional capacities like assessment, planning, implementation capacities, capacity for multi
stakeholder engagement, capacity to mobilize resources etc. within the community.

b) technical capacities like linking DRR with developmental programs, addressing underlying
risks, develop social safety and protection network, risk transfer etc. Specialized training can be
provided to help develop disaster response skills as also daily life skills which can help in mitigation
and prevention of disasters.

2. Mock drills – to be arranged to test the efficiency of the community response, rehearse the
roles and responsibilities of each member and test the practicality of the village disaster management
plan

3. Documentation – involves development of illustrative manuals and guidelines for the

community to carry out CBDRM activities both in pre and post disaster scenarios.

4. Community Contingency Fund – involves development of an emergency outflow fund. The

purpose is to maintain a dedicated fund to carry out disaster management activities in different phases
of disaster management life cycle and also to have a readily available lump sum amount in case of
emergency. It can be generated by token contribution from each member of the community and
maintained by the village administrator or self-help groups. Based on discussions in the community
annual meeting, the fund can be utilised.

5. Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation – Follow up of planned works is one of the key
activities of the VDMCs.

C. Awareness Generation – aims to promote public awareness about risks and create a
community understanding of disaster risk reduction. The awareness generation campaigns should be
oriented towards the community, designed to strike a chord with every section within the community
(e.g. both literate and illiterate people) and conducted through both formal and informal channels.
Local language and culturally appropriate methods can be utilised in awareness generation campaigns.
Print and audio visual media along with community based art forms, rallies, street plays etc. can be
used to generate awareness.

Community Based Disaster Risk Management in India

Community based traditional practices, for safeguarding environment have been prevalent in the
indigenous societies since time immemorial . For instance, in India the first major case of community
involvement in disaster risk management can be traced back to 1977 when a cyclone struck Andhra
Pradesh and community was mobilised to develop CBDRM capabilities. But it was functioning
primarily in silos till the importance of community involvement was recognized formally in the
Hyogo framework of Action. It specifically mentions the necessity to strengthen local DRR
capabilities. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction emphasizes the need for CBDRM in
some components of all fourpriorities of action. For instance under Priority 1, it mentions the need to
ensure use of “traditional, indigenous and local knowledge and practices, as appropriate, to
complement scientific knowledge in disaster risk assessment”, “promotion of national strategies to
strengthen public education and awareness” through community mobilization and enhancement of
“collaboration among people at the local level to disseminate disaster risk information through the
involvement of community-based organizations”.

National Guidelines

At national level, the following three policies / guidelines can be referred:

 a) The National Disaster Management Act 2005 mentions the requirement for association with the
community and the civil society. It calls for the establishment of local authorities at village or
municipality level. But it does not lay down guidelines for CBDRM as a process.

b) The National Policy on Disaster Management 2009 take it forward and lays down the following
guidelines:

Conceptualization of community based DM systems at national level through consultative

processes

States and UTs should put efforts to encourage community participation where vulnerable
communities are to be given special attention

Community based plans to be dovetailed in the Panchayat, District or Block level .

Regional diversities and multi hazard vulnerabilities to be considered while developing community
based disaster management systems

Responsibility of the community to manage relief camps and drive reconstruction; community
effort in animal care post disasters

Training of communities in various aspects of response like first aid, search and rescue, community
shelter management etc. as well as skill development

Civil Defence, NCC, NSS and local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to be encouraged to
generate awareness within the community and empower them

To provide weightage to the indigenous knowledge on disaster management and coping

mechanisms adopted by different states; and putting in a concentrated effort to catalogue this rich
legacy of indigenous technical knowledge

Building a well informed and prepared community which can mitigate the disaster impacts
c) NDMA guidelines for ‘Community Based Disaster Management’ released in 2014 serve as a
comprehensive guidebook for CBDRM in India.The guidelines introduce the below-mentioned
framework for CBDRM:

The framework aims at creating a resilient community through the process of CBDRM. A resilient
community is a community which can “absorb, respond, adapt, and transform if necessary” to resist
being impacted by a disaster.

To develop a resilient community the four key stakeholders are:

a) People at- risk of disasters – These are the people who are directly exposed to the risks of
disasters. In CBDRM these people drive the transition towards resilience thereby minimizing their
vulnerability.

b) Existing Institutions – are basically governmentresources that provide developmental

support to the community who are at risk. If these governmental resources have to be pooled in and
integration of DRR and CCA in the developmental work needs to be carried out to prevent and
mitigate disasters.

c) Facilitators – Grass root level non-governmental organizations and agencies that help bind the
above two stakeholders. The facilitators help in participatory planning, learning and action.
 d) Local actors – These are the village level institutions like ward committees, village
committees, SHG members etc. Engaging the local actors, the effectiveness sustainability of CBDRM
processes can be enhanced.

When interactions of People at- risk of disasters and existing institutions are facilitated by Local
Actors and Facilitators, resilient communities are formed.

Based on the framework the guidelines provides detailed methodology to conduct each of the
CBDRM processes. It contains dedicated sections on

i) institutional framework
ii) process of capacity development and

iii) community based urban disaster management

Status of CBDRM in India

In India, the CBDRM activities are led by actors like the concerned communities , NGO’s and
CBOs or governmental bodies.

1. Community driven initiatives – In this type of initiatives, communityis involved in every

stage.The strengths of this approach are

§ Strong local ownership

§ Local resources and locally applicable financial strategies

§ Sustainability

§ Community led and community driven

2. NGO/INGO driven initiatives – In NGO driven initiatives, the NGOs function as an

interface between the community and the government to push DRR agenda and aid in CBDRM
processes. The strengths are

§ Considerable time spent to understand the community processes

§ Wide variety of participatory risk assessment tools and techniques utilised

§ Rapport development with community before the agendas are pushed

§ Well-structured and flexible approach

§ Technically sound

§ Focus on vulnerable communities

§ High community mobilization skills

§ Awareness generation and capacity building using folk media and innovative methods

§ Function as a very effective interface between the community and the government
 3. Government driven initiatives – The government led CBDRM processes focus on
minimizing social and economic development loss from hazards by reducing vulnerability and
exposure and thus minimize developmental losses due todisasters. The UNDP and Government of
India partnership in 2002 demonstrated a suitable model for mainstreaming disaster risk management
with emphasis on the community level activities. The strengths of such initiatives are

§ Support from institutional mechanisms

§ Capability to undertake macro projects and enable multi stakeholder approach

§ Less issues of resource constraint

Challengesof CBDRM in India

1. Community driven processes are

a) influenced by culture

b) the inequalities and power structures existing within a community often get re enforced

c) these are often not structured very well

d) socio economic issues inherent in the community hinder the development of the community led
initiatives

e) When the magnitude of disaster is very large, the community based initiatives fail to perform
significantly.

2. NGO/INGO driven processes –

a) Are dependent on donor response

b) Are specific to project deliverable specific

c) Often the phasing out is not proper and the projects become unsustainable

d) CBDRM is among the many agendas of NGOs working in developmental sector and it often
loses focus

3. Government driven processes –

a) Are having centralized and a top-down approach

b) Often lacks drive and enthusiasm

c) Lacks convergence at the grass-root level

Thus disaster risk cannot be reduced through government initiative alone. Rather all sectors of
society – service providers, business communities, civic and volunteer groups, industry associations
and neighbourhood associations, and specially every individual citizen need to contribute towards
disaster risk reduction. (FEMA).Thus CBDRM plays a significant role in these context.
 ESSENTIALS OF SCHOOL DISASTER EDUCATION
It requires that the disaster risk reduction knowledge should be as a built-in component of
knowledge block. Disaster awareness needs to be part of every individual's cultural heritage and the
development of such attitudes should be encouraged in early childhood.
School disaster management comprises of the following steps: assess hazards, vulnerabilities,
capacities and resources; understand, plan and implement actions for physical risk reduction,
maintenance of facilities and services, Develop SoPs and training for disaster response; test DM plans
and skills.
School Safety and Disaster Resilience

Objectives

 To understand the concept of school safety

 To understand the linkages between school safety and disaster resilience
 To acquaint different components of school safety
 To gain a detailed understanding of the national school safety programme

Rationale

To build a resilient society, community preparedness is an important pre-requisite.

Educational institutions are the place where future citizens of the country are moulded
and guided to become a better human being. Apart from home, children spend most of
their time in schools. Thus, it is necessary that a school must be safe and resilient to
hazard. A safe school can go on to become foundation block for a disaster resilient
society.

Module 25. School Safety and Disaster Resilience

Learning Objective

School Safety

In the current socio economic and environmental scenario, children face different risks
ranging from death, injuries and diseases due to hazard vulnerability. Around 2.3 billion
children currently live throughout the world, amongst them half a billion live in extremely
high flood vulnerable zones and nearly 160 million in drought or extremely high drought
severity zones.(Child-centred Disaster Risk Reduction, 2016) Developmental issues such
as poor access to water and sanitation, poverty, nutritional deficiencies etc. exacerbate the
risks. Long-term effects of disasters such as psychological trauma, displacement,
disruption of education during the developmental years greatly increasethe vulnerability
of children. Thus, in developing countries where government is functional and working
towards welfare of the society,various measures are being implemented to minimise the
risk of children.

Providing safe schooling facilities is one of the principal components to minimize risks
for children. “School Safety has been defined as the creation of safe environments for
children starting from their homes to their schools and back. This includes safety from
large-scale ‘natural’ hazards of geological/climatic origin, human-made risks, pandemics,
violence, as well as more frequent and smaller-scale risks like fires, road accidents and
other emergencies, and environmental threats that can adversely affect the lives of
children.” (Ahmedabad Action Agenda for School Safety, 2007)

Schools help children in their critical years of development. They create a safe space
and creative environment to nurture the talent of children . It is indispensable for effective
teaching and learning. It adds human capital in the country’s economy. Hence, schools
are considered as critical infrastructures and , therefore, safety of critical infrastructures is
an essential component. In recent past tragedies like Mandi Dabwali (1995) and
Kumbhkonam (2004) fire incident, Bhuj Earthquake (2001) etc. resulted in death of many
school children. The Fire in Dabwali Haryana during the prize distribution ceremony led
to the death of about 200 children.In Bhuj earthquake, 2001, 31 teachers and 971 students
were reported dead while 95 teachers and 1051 students were injured. Formal education
was disrupted for longer period as several buildings were damaged and declared unfit for
use. Post 2004 tsunami, a similar scenario was reported where many of the school
children were deprived of education for a long duration after the tsunami due to the lack
of schooling infrastructure. Thus school safety is a crucial component in developing
disaster resilience. Programme strategies should inform, pursue and integrate the issue of
safety in order to create safer schools.

School Safety and Disaster resilience

Resilience as concept has different understanding in different disciplines; it is a

complex and multi-faceted concept. IFRC in their World Disaster Report of 2004, define
resilience as “The capacity to survive, adapt and recover from a natural disaster.
Resilience relies on understanding the nature of possible disasters and taking to steps
reduce risk before an event as well as providing for a quick recovery when a natural
disaster occurs. These activities necessitate institutionalized planning and response
networks to minimize diminished productivity, devastating losses and decreased quality
of life in the event of a disaster”. Resilience also comprise behavioural level factors
concerned with encouraging the sustained adoption of preparatory adjustments and the
ability to respond and adapt to adverse hazard effects. (Paton, 2006) Thus, the idea of
resilience offers a strategy for promoting effective disaster readiness and response. Some
of the common elements identified in the concept of resilience include Communication,
Learning and Adaptation, Risk Awareness, Trust and Social cohesion (capital), good
governance, adequate planning and preparation, redundancy of critical systems, regional
economic capacity and economic diversification and lastly, state of the population’s
underlying physical and mental health(Castleden, Mckee, Murray, & Leonardi, 2011).

Resilience strategies put “greater emphasis on what communities can do for themselves
and how strengthen their capacities”. (Twigg, 2009)It facilitates community members’
commitment to reduction and readiness activities which benefits community in terms of
hazard reduction and readiness activities.

Sendai Framework (SFDRR) and School Safety

School safety as resilience strategy helps in sustained adoption to respond and adapt to
hazard through different sets of activities. Recognizing the critical role that schools play,
the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) identifies as priority
“Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience”. It states that, “To strengthen, as
appropriate, disaster-resilient public and private investment, particularly through
structural, non-structural and functional disaster risk prevention and reduction measures
in critical facilities, in particular schools and hospitals and physical infrastructures;
building better from the start to withstand hazards to proper design constructions,
including the use of principles of universal design and the standardization of building
materials; retrofitting and rebuilding; nurturing a cultural of maintenance; and taking into
account economic, social, structural, technological and environmental impact
assessments”(Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, 2015).

Disaster Education for Strengthening Resilience

“Disaster Awareness through Education” is the best way for making a safe and disaster
resilient society. School is considered as an important instrument to provide knowledge
and reduce disaster risk though awareness, innovation and education. Teachers and
students play crucial roles in the development of a culture of prevention and
preparedness, because knowledge and skill seeps to family and community through them.
Thus, school safety programmes play a pivotal role in providing risk knowledge,
generating awareness and developing capacity.

A child is influenced indirectly by connections such as family members, teachers and

others. Developmental resilience theory emphasizes that adaptive human development
within and across the system is characterized by both community and change. Schools are
assigned the specific task to develop human capital, particularly in terms of knowledge,
cognition and self-regulation function in the society (Masten & Obradovic, 2008). Thus,
school is an ideal place to impart the knowledge of disaster preparedness and to inculcate
disaster resilience in the society.
 Figure 1 Interaction of child with outside world
Source: (Etkin, 2016)

As illustrated in figure 1, a child interacts with school, family and peer group and
learns many things from them. To start disaster preparedness from grassroots or from
bottom to top approach, there is no better place than school.

School Safety Programme plays crucial part in ensuring continuity by imparting

disaster preparedness through non-structural measures. This includes providing regular
mock drills, simulation of disasters and awareness generation among students.When
equipped with actionable knowledge, children can take care of their well-being in time of
crisis and assist others, which in turn will reduce the vulnerability of children to a certain
extent. Knowledge provided to teachers and non-teaching staff will help them better assist
students in times of crisis. Being the first responders, they can significantly reduce the
extent of loss post disasters when imparted with adequate and practical knowledge.

School Safety in Safeguarding Child Rights

A disaster strikes the community or society thereby collapsing the entire educational
system for indefinite time period. Due to further threats of disaster occurrence with
associated vulnerabilities, most of the children prefer to stay back in their homes or
shelters and gradually they lose showing interest in going to schools. Even after disasters,
damaged and collapsed school building are deemed unfit for use and resuming education
gets delayed indefinitely. This indirectly violates the Right to education of children.
Providing a safe schooling environment, faster resuming of classes and easy access even
in hazard months will ensure greater success of education missions. School safety
programmes implement this vision effectively.
 School Safety is also a very practical way to achieve resilience, as schools or
educational institutions play an important role in a child’s life and influences it in a way
that no other can do. In broader terms school safety is linked to protection of human
rights. No society should tolerate the necessity to choose between safety of the lives of
children and their education. The right to life and right to education are both recognized
human right and both should be complied and protected at the same time. Structural
measures such as retrofitting school building, sends safety message to significant
proportion of the community whether they have school going children or not. Through
this individuals are encouraged to act upon their physical vulnerabilities. School serves as
a community centre to propagate safety message. Thus school safety not only protects
children from different hazards but also educate a community to protect themselves
(Wiser, et al., 2004).

Multidimensional impact of School Safety Programme

In the aftermath of any disaster, many children go through a phase of psychological

trauma and stress. In such a scenario, schools can provide children a safe heaven and help
them recover faster. In the school premises, adequate nutrition and WASH facilities can
be arranged for the sheltered children while providing them adequate psycho-social
support. Schools also offer a neutral location for relief distribution, providing first aid,
setting up makeshift vaccination centers and temporary shelters etc. This was observed
during Bhuj earthquake when the district administration functioned in school campus for
several weeks after the disaster. Thus, school safety is an essential component in not only
mitigating and preparing for hazards but also in delivering response functions.

Thus, School Safety essentially aims to promote a culture of safety not only in school ,
but also in the society. Sensitization of children and school communities towards disaster
preparedness and safety measures eventually lead to building disaster resilience in a
larger scale. Active participation of stakeholders in school safety activities will nurture
the resilience in all strata of the community. Schools being an agency which foster
children and prepares them for the challenges of outside world, disaster resilience need to
go hand in hand with regular schooling.

Developing a School Safety Programme

The basic goal of school safety programme is to promote a culture of disaster safety
and contribute in the development of a disaster resilient society. A comprehensive school
safety programme includes structural as well as non-structural measures. Structural
measures refer to the safety of the building, construction of the building according to
building codes, incorporating designs to safeguard hazard present in the concerned area.
Non-structural measures refer to awareness generation, developing school disaster
management plan, capacity building of students and teachers, regular rehearsals and mock
drills etc. The key components of developing a school safety programme are as under:

a. Identification of Hazards
 Some hazards may follow temporal pattern occurring at regular intervals like Cyclones,
Floods etc. while some may be very infrequent such as Earthquakes, Tsunami, whereas at
certain places, multiple hazards may co-exist. Thus, it is important for schools to identify
and understand the probable hazards through systematic hazard assessment.

A historical profile of hazards in the school environment may be identified to obtain

information about the prevailing hazards, their frequency and seasonality. Data sources to
obtain such information can include interview of elders in the community, newspaper
records, etc. Seasonal Mapping of hazards can be done as showed in the table-1. The list
is of indicative nature only and not exhaustive.

Based on scientific data, like earthquake risk maps, landslide zonation maps etc., the
expected probability of different hazards can be identified which might never have
occurred but have a probability to occur.

Once hazards assessment is done, such information must be displayed at a designated

location in the school premises, so that it can be visible to everyone. Necessary structural
mitigation measures must be taken by School management to ensure the safety of
buildings after hazard assessment.

b. Safety of the School building

School buildings are often vulnerable to various types of hazards due to multiple
reasons like old constructions, poor hazard knowledge while construction, poor
maintenance and so on. In the aftermath of the Bhuj Earthquake, more than 1000, school
buildings collapsed resulting in deaths of approx. 1000 people and 1000 more injuries of
children and teachers. (A.S.Surya, Padmnabhan, & Karanth)During the 2008 Kosi floods,
159 primary and middle schools were destroyed across five districts of Bihar. Due to
widespread devastation, the start of the school term was delayed by more than a month
across the region. Another 716 government schools suffered extensive damage, while
1624 faced noticeable damage. Overall 2399 schools out of the total 7480 schools in the
five districts were damaged by floodwaters (SEEDS, 2012). Therefore, in order to ensure
safety of children as well as teachers and to minimize the impact on education of children,
it is extremely necessary to ensure the structural safety of school buildings.

There are spatial and temporal dimensions of hazard risks. India is having a multi-
hazard profile which ranges from earthquakes, floods, cyclones to routine hazards such as
fire, road accidents. The structure of the school building should be suited to the hazard
profile of the region where it is being constructed. And by safety of school buildings,
safety of both school building and the school premises is considered.

Let us illustrate this further with the example of the areas affected by earthquake
hazard. Figure 2 above shows earthquake risk in India. A significant part of India lies in
Zone V and Zone IV which are considered very high and high damage risk zone
respectively. This implies the risk of the large number of students from building
collapse/damage triggered by earthquakes etc.

Effective implementation of building codes in conjecture with hazard profiling can

reduce the risk to a considerable extent and can help in developing safer school buildings.
Figure-3 below illustrates the importance of safe buildings. If a school building stands tall
in an event of earthquake, it adds not only to the safety of all students, teachers and non-
teaching staff but provides lead time for evacuation as well.
 Figure 3: How an earthquake-resilient building works,
Source:(Making School Safer from Natural Disaster, 2004)

Similarly measures for developing safer structures to prevent other hazards like fire,
cyclone etc. can be adopted suited to the regional specificity.

c. School Disaster Management Plan

School disaster management plan is a very useful and beneficial non-structural

mitigation component in School Safety Programmes. The process of making Disaster
management plan involves following steps:

Developing Incident Emergency Operation Plan Developing inventory of Capacities

available

Evacuation Planning

Setting up a body/institution to implement the disaster management plan

After hazards assessment and identification, next step is to develop Incident Response
System or in other words, Emergency Operation Plan (EOP). Such incident response plan
identifies persons and establishes procedures to follow during an emergency event. It
includes guidelines for school administration, teachers, non-teaching staff and students.
Involvement of students in the Emergency Operation planning is particularly important as
it encourages student leadership, engages youth in school emergency management
planning and contributes to student preparedness.

An EOP should consist of the following-

Process/circumstances for activation of plan, assigning emergency responsibilities,

defining chain of commands and overall procedure of maintaining the plan.

Communication process in case of an emergency should be laid out in the plan. This
includes guidance on warning and alert systems and operating procedures for all
stakeholders involved.

An inventory should be included in the list consisting of medical supplies and their
location, other equipments and necessary phone numbers.

A section on hazard or threat specific to school should be included in Emergency

Operation Plan.

For the implementation of emergency operation plan, an incident response committee

should be established as illustrated in figure 4. This needs to be based on principles of
Incident Response System. It should consist of incident manager and different sections
such as Operation, Logistics, Planning and other as required.
 Figure -4. Example of Incident Response System chart for School

(Source: Safer,Stronger,Smarter: A Guide to Improving School Natural Hazard

Safety, 2017)

Evacuation is an integral part of disaster response system. Previously, limited to

wartime evacuation, today this concept is embodied in Disaster Management in response
to Earthquake, Flood, Fire, Tropical Cyclone etc. However, one needs to think evacuation
in the local context and the nature of hazards and vulnerability identified in a locality. It
needs to be planned at the micro level and macro level for schools.

Evacuation plan must be simplified and illustrative

It should be in local language with which children can relate easily and act accordingly
This Plan should have multi hazard approach such as Earthquake, Fire, etc.

Instead of separate document, evacuation plan can be a part of Emergency Operation

Plan. Evacuation plan needs to lay out the Floor plan, Exit points and Assembly points.

Floor plan should include locations where equipment (Fire extinguishers, first aid kit)
are located that may be needed during emergency. A sample floor plan is illustrated in the
figure below.

EDUCATION IN DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

This education must incorporate assessment and planning, physical and environmental
protection (ie the measures that mitigate risk), as well as response capacity development,
with all stakeholders recognizing themselves as part of the whole.

What is Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)?

Disaster risk is the potential loss expressed in lives, health status, livelihoods, assets
and services, which could occur to a particular community or a society due to the impact
of a natural hazard. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to
identifying, assessing and reducing that risk. Specifically, the purpose of DRR is to
minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a society to avoid (prevent) or limit
(mitigate and prepare for) the adverse impacts of natural hazards, as well as to facilitate
sustainable development. DRR is also recognized as a key climate change adaptation
strategy.
DRR and UNICEF UNICEF
recognizes its crucial responsibility to integrate DRR into its development programmes.
In 2005, UNICEF committed to the Hyogo Framework for Action (adopted by 168
countries) and, in 2006, it played a role not only in strengthening the UN International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction system but by actively began participating in a number of
global, regional and national networks and coalitions, such as Children in a Changing
Climate (together with the Institute of Development Studies, Plan, Save the Children and
World Vision) and the Inter-Agency Committee on the Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development. UNICEF’s updated Core Commitments for Children in
Humanitarian Action (CCCs) include DRR and represent a set of principles, approaches
and specific interventions that cover preparedness, response and early recovery, in efforts
to bridge the gap between development and humanitarian programming.

DRR in Schools
There is increasing evidence that students of all ages can actively study and participate in
school safety measures, and also work with teachers and other adults in the community
towards minimising risk before, during and after disaster events. UNICEF’s added value is its
capacity to link work at the school and community levels with the education sector and
system planning and policies. Working in partnerships, UNICEF is in a unique position to
empower the most vulnerable by not only promoting safe schools but by teaching life skills to
children who, as agents for change, in turn teach their communities. Through the child-
friendly schools initiative, relevant and quality education reaches the most threatened and
marginalized communities with knowledge, skills and attitudes on the local environment and
on how to reduce risks. Children are prepared and empowered to cope with and find solutions
to the effects of climate change in their own lives and in their communities.
DRR, Education
and Equity UNICEF advocates for the protection of the rights of all children, particularly
the most deprived and vulnerable, to help meet basic needs and to expand opportunities to
reach their full potential. Disasters – including situations of chronic disaster caused by
environmental degradation – exacerbate the conditions of the most vulnerable, negatively
impacting on children’s rights and aggravating exclusion of some 68 million children out of
school worldwide. As a consequence, disasters are rolling back years of progress towards
attaining the Millennium Development Goals for education, and will affect the achievement
of UNICEF’s equity agenda. Moreover, the frequency and severity of natural disasters is on
the rise due to climate change. In the late 1990s, the numbers of children affected by disasters
was estimated at 66.5 million a year;
climate change impacts are projected to increase this to as many as 175 million per year in
the coming decade (2010–2020). Evidence proves that investing in DRR strategies improves
the resilience of populations to cope with recurring disasters and keep children in school.
DRR and climate change adaption measures at the school level ensure that the poor are
particularly included in Back-to-School initiatives and that their vulnerability is reduced
before, during and after emergencies.
DRR and Children’s Rights
Disasters disrupt education and can also cause psychological trauma. Under the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have inalienable rights in all circumstances –
including disasters, when they are at their most vulnerable – and the right to participate in
decisions that ultimately affect them. The Convention and DRR are mutually reinforcing.
Restoring or maintaining schooling in emergencies upholds Article 28 (right to education).
Educating children about disaster risk and empowering them to use that knowledge supports
Article 6 (life, survival and development), while ensuring the participation and voice of
children in DRR efforts upholds Article 12 (respect for children’s views). UNICEF also
recognizes the importance of gender in DRR – and that ignoring the different capacities of
girls and boys means undermining communities as a whole to address disaster risk and cope
with disasters.
Country initiatives from the Education in Emergencies and Post-Crisis Transition
programme
● China engaged in building the capacity of education officials, school principals and
teachers to prevent and prepare for emergencies due to natural disasters and accidents.
Activities included a national workshop on guidelines on the management of building safe
schools and the development of multimedia education programmes on disaster prediction,
prevention, readiness and response to integrate safety education into the national curriculum
and raise the awareness of schoolchildren.
● Following Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, more than 60 per cent of the affected schools
were supported as part of the emergency response, with schooling re-established in 2,300
affected primary schools and 343 early childhood development centres, as well as access
facilitated for more than 400,000 primary schoolchildren with minimum disruption. UNICEF
supported the restoration of learning spaces to provided them with 1,000 sets of tables and
stools.
● Bangladesh strengthened national emergency preparedness and DRR programmes in
the education system, and contributed to education reconstruction (‘building back better’)
after the most recent typhoon/floods disaster affecting the country. Efforts included pre-
positioning of teaching and learning materials in areas with a high risk of cyclones and
flooding. Transitional schools were built to enable children to continue their education and
withstood the impact of Cyclone Aila in 2009. Children also participated in activities to
identify school vulnerabilities and, with the involvement of school management committees,
developed DRR strategies and contingency plans, which have benefitted more than 83,000
children thus far.
● Bolivia was hit repeatedly and heavily in the past two years by natural disasters,
including floods due to El Niño and hailstorms, freezing conditions and landslides as a result
of the La Niña phenomenon. The impact of natural disasters has also been compounded by
social conflicts and armed confrontations. The New Sun for Community Well-Being
initiative was designed as a response to natural disasters and subsequently extended to focus
on mitigating the impact of conflict on the rights of children and young people, particularly
their access to education
●UNICEF supported education provision in Ecuador for poor and indigenous population
groups that are adversely affected by natural disasters and climate change, as well as a
comprehensive risk and knowledge management programme that aims to prevent, prepare for
and respond to emergencies that impact the education sector. Peace-building was initiated in
the country’s northern border areas, where there is a large refugee population.
● The Child-Led Environmental Education Initiative (CLEEN) in Albania is an inter-
agency initiative being carried out in cooperation with government ministries. It aims to
introduce environmental education into classrooms through participatory teaching methods to
support child-led actions at the community level. A 2009 evaluation shows increased
environmental awareness in children attending experimental schools compared with control
schools, as well as that 44 per cent of those children have adopted at least one
environmentally friendly action at home.
● In Zimbabwe, the Enhancing Food Security through the Empowerment of Schools
project was initiated by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, UNICEF and the
Food and Agriculture Organization in 2006 and was a component of the broader child-
friendly schools initiative. The project has been successful in mainstreaming sustainable
practices through the establishment of school gardens, boreholes and sanitation facilities, as
well as the training of teachers in participatory, child-centred methodologies. An assessment
of the project in 2010 indicated that children looked healthier and less malnourished, school
environments were cleaner and greener and community-school relationships were
strengthened.