School Safety Guide for Natural Hazards

Abstract eng:
Globally, many school buildings are highly vulnerable to significant damage or collapse in earthquakes or other natural disasters. Past events have clearly demonstrated the devastating effects of school damage and destruction. Even the students who survive a school building collapse can suffer long-term negative effects from school closure and other secondary stressors associated with a disaster; their education might be delayed causing their future to be completely derailed. School buildings serve other critical functions within communities and the loss of a school building can disrupt family life and the broader community. Schools often serve as centers for communal activity, and as a focal point for social and cultural life. Schools are also often designated as shelters for displaced families after a severe earthquake or other disaster. Despite the critical role that schools play in people’s lives, many obstacles exist in attempting to improve school safety from natural hazards. These include competing public needs and demands, scarce resources in an increasingly difficult economic and political environment, and lack of understanding of hazards risks, among others. Yet, there is hope. Many successful school safety efforts have been initiated by informed and dedicated advocates. In recognition of this need for action, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funded an effort led by the Applied Technology Council (ATC) in 2015 to develop a guide to serve as a tool for school safety advocates throughout the United States and potentially even abroad. This guide, which will be completed by the end of 2016, offers actionable advice on how to improve the safety of schools in the United States from various natural hazards, including earthquake, tsunami, flood, hurricane, and tornado, and focuses on both operational guidance (i.e., what to do before, during and after an event) and on the physical protection of school facilities (i.e., what can be done to the structure and facility to improve safety). The guide aims to equip school safety advocates and stakeholders, including school administrators, teachers, staff, school emergency managers, and concerned parents, with information and resources to help improve the safety of their schools. It also is designed to provide tools for school safety advocates to communicate clearly with decision makers to ultimately spark action. The guide is being developed by engineers, an architect, social scientists, and risk communication experts with the review and input from representatives of the intended audience. It includes several primary chapters covering general natural hazard safety information, supplements that are hazard-specific, lessons learned from past failures, and case examples of successful mitigation efforts.

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