GOI-UNDP Disaster Risk Reduction Programme- School safety and Civil

Defence

j.radhakrishnan@undp.org

Contents

India’s vulnerability to disaster

Close to 60% land is vulnerable to earthquake

70% land under cultivation is prone to drought

40 million hectares of land is prone to floods and 8,000 km coastline is vulnerable to cyclones

12% government revenue spent on relief and rehabilitation

2% GDP loss

Major Natural Disasters

Earthquake, Gujarat26th January, 2001

Tsunami, Tamil Nadu26th December, 2004

Kosi floods 2008, Cyclone Aila 2009

Andhra, Karnataka floods 2009

Cloudburst in Leh –August 2010- 200 deaths

Sikkim earthquake 2011-

Changing approach to disaster management

KUMBAKONAM SCHOOL FIRE TRAGEDY- a case study of a real disaster

On July 16th, 2004 one of the worst fires in Indian history broke out in a school building housing three schools at Kumbakonam in Thanajvur district, India. 94 school children perished in the fire while 18 suffered injury.

Thousands of people thronging the fire accident site

VICTIMS

• The students in the front class room escaped • Totally 75 students all belonging to 2nd,3rd and

4th standards were charred in the fire.• 37 students sustained serious burn injuries.• Only the three teachers and some students in

that portion of the school could escape.• Out of the 37 students injured 19 more

children succumbed to the burns at hospital.

Education Department after the fire

• Schools that had thatched roofs have all been changed to pucca roof with nonflammable materials.

• All the noon meal centres have been provided with nonflammable material roof.

• All the schools have been provided with fire extinguishers.

Situation today

• Court case is still pending• Supreme Court has directed all the state

governments to file affidavits on school safety• DM in schools atleast in CBSE has been

introduced• Institutional DM plans still are not a reality• People who lost their children are yet to fully

recover

Lessons learnt from the school fire tragedy

• Many districts do not have an operational live DM plan • The contingency plans also not updated• When approvals were given to the school nobody factored in the

likely disasters• Public places safety act ignored during approval- one exit, noon meal

under thatches• Development an issue• Psycho-social support a necessity• Need to have drills• Need to address all disasters • Need address underlying causes, not focus only on the post disaster

efficiency

Changing role of Civil Defence

UNDP and disaster management- …from relief to managing and reducing disaster –

The GoI-DRM/DRR programme in Education and Schools works towards -

Capacity building of various stakeholders at all administrative level.

Environment building, education, awareness programmes and strengthening the capacity at all levels in natural disaster risk management and sustainable recovery

support and facilitate incorporation of Disaster Management in Education at school and Higher level by creating awareness and enabling environment

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Why mainstream DRM in Education

• Catching them young and building ‘agents of change’

• Reach to a large community of learners in an organized way.

• Instutionalise the message of DRM

• The multiplier effect of education. Eg: child/teacher to family

etc.

• Children more vulnerable as seen from disasters such as Kutch earthquake etc.

• DM teaching is is more than education – it is a survival skill

• It adds value to human consciousness

• It is an exercise in to prepare the community for its own existence

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Initiatives taken to reach the Objective under the DRM programme

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Inclusion of DM in School Curriculum

• Inclusion of DM in Class VIII, IX, X and XI (geography and Sociology) as part of the frontline curriculum by CBSE.

• Disaster Management in all the State Board

PARTNERS IN THE PROCESS?

• CBSE

• Directive of Ministry of Human Resource Development

• Collaboration with UNDP

• The support of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

• State Education Board

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Challenges in including DRM in School Education

The Resistance Syndrome!!

• From academic community

eg: where should it fit in, how much should we cover?

• From school clientele

eg: how to fit this within the growing syllabus, limited knowledge of subject etc.

• From parents

eg: additional load on children etc.

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A safe school is one which is located in a hazard free area and behaves well both structurally and non- structurally safe when a

hazard strikes.

Structural Safety Non Structural Safety

In this chemistry laboratory, unsecured glass containers broke when they fell from the table and through open cabinet doors

Damage to school buildings in KatchalDamage to school buildings in Katchal

Three Possible ways of Intervention in schools

and education

CURRICULAR

• Infusion: Infusion of disaster and its related components in the existing text books with proper relevance.

• Example sighting: Teacher can sight example based upon locale specific disasters so that students can get interest to learn the various concepts related with disasters.

• Training & capacity building: A set of training modules can be devised to equip the teachers, school administration and specifically the students with a view to develop their capacity in relation to disaster.

• Demonstration: Demonstration through visuals, maps in the classroom during teaching.

CO-CURRICULAR• Casual games in the class room related with

lesson learnt in the classroom.• Newspaper clipping collection.• Quiz, drawing, caption competition.• Experience sharing.• Exposure visit.• Live demonstration.• Raising of emergency fund.• Observance of NDRD & other days.• Formation of different TASK FORCES among

teachers & students such as, search & rescue, first aid, etc.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR• Rally.• Awareness campaign.• Sensitization workshop.• Linking up of Eco-Club with disaster management

activities. • Chart, hand-outs, posters preparation &

distribution.• Hoardings, pamphlets.• Taking pledge.• Community mobilization through small.

project/initiatives by the school children.• Meeting with parents/home visits.

Promoting Awareness & Education ActivitiesPromoting Awareness & Education Activities

Hand in Hand - School Children form a human chain around Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati.

In the picture: (left) Sensitization programme on safety aspects for children in the NCC camp; (right) student getting down from the upper floor in an evacuation drill

conducted in Kendriya Vidyalaya Rajkot.

Colouring Activity BookColouring Activity Book

Demonstrating Disaster Risk ManagementDemonstrating Disaster Risk Management

Focus areas:

Acquire skills in many aspects (demonstrate through simulated mock drills)

Hazard hunt activity in schools and other simple exercises

Preparation of a Building Evacuation Plan for various hazards

School Disaster Management Plan / Building Level Emergency Response Plan

Simple structural and non-structural mitigation measures

School Building – Mexico Earthquake

Fire Safety measures demonstrated by the Fire DepartmentBokaro

Dhanbad

Drop Cover Hold in Practice

Training and Capacity BuildingTraining and Capacity Building

Focus areas:

Training workshops for key people in education department, teachers/students

and members of the School Safety Advisory Committee in DM.

Conduct training in First aid, Fire fighting, Search & Rescue, School Plan

making etc followed by Preparedness Emergency Drills.

Training of various teams in the schools.

Training workshop for Teachers - DhanbadRescue operation - from top floor of the

building – Mangalore district

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Preparation of School DM plans

Management Structure for School Awareness and Safety Programme and plans

District - wide School Safety Team

Building- level School Safety Team

School Safety Advisory Committee

School Management Committee

Parents Teachers Association

Suggested members: District Collector, District Education Officer, Project Director DRDA, Coordinator Block Resource Centre,

Coordinator Cluster Resource Centre, representative state education board/CBSE, Principal of Schools (Municipal/Private/Boarding

Schools), Municipal Commissioner, Vice Chairman Development Authority, Municipal Building Inspector, Structural Engineer,

Architect, Town-Planners, Police, Fire Services, Civil Defence, Indian Red Cross, Emergency Officials, Local Youth Clubs,

Institutions, Ward representative, Society clubs etc.

District-wide School Safety Plan

Disaster Clubs

Trained Teachers, Volunteers

School Building-level Emergency

Preparedness and Response Plan

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Guiding Principles for School DM Planning

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Steps for preparation of DM Plans

Deputy Director Education – Inaugural Session

Presentation by DM Faculty ATI (ILM)

Presentation by expert on geology related hazards

Session by Fire and Rescue Services

Annexure - II B U I L D I N G - L E V E L EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

Introduction

Purpose

Principles for the Planning Process

Sequence adopted for Planning ProcessThe Plan need to address a range of events and hazards caused both by both nature and by people, such as:- Natural Disasters (earthquakes, cyclones, floods etc)-Weather related – Fire - Chemical Accident - Stampede/ Crowd incident - Civil Disturbance - Medical Emergencies - Explosive/Bomb Threat- School Bus Accident - Hostage/Kidnapping - Act of terror or war-Others as determined by the District School Safety Team

Section I: General Considerations and Planning GuidelinesSection II: Risk Reduction: Prevention/MitigationSection III: PreparednessSection IV: ResponseSection V: Recovery

Actions that schools should take under each of these areas include:

- Prevention/Mitigation - addresses what can be done to reduce or eliminate risk to life and property

- Preparedness -focuses on the process of planning for the worst-case scenario.

- Response -is devoted to the steps to take during an emergency

- Recovery -deals with how to restore the learning and teaching environment after a crisis

Using this Sample Outline for Building Level Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan

Good plans are never finished. They can always be updated based on experience and changing vulnerabilities and assessment of current

capabilities.

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Evacuation Plan of NC Jindal School

Mainstreaming DRR in CD -What more can Civil Defence do in addition to the current support for Disaster

Management?

• Support in School and Community level Contingency Planning• Help in Recovery Planning to recover and build better

resilient community (build back better)• Become a potent social mobilizer for mainstreaming Disaster

risk reduction in lives and livelihood• Undertake activities to create awareness and sensitize the

masses about hazards and their impact• Initiate or support programs to reduce vulnerabilities and

risks• Facilitate safety and awareness programmes in educational

institutions

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Your possible role

• Facilitating organization of trainings or sensitization of teachers.

• Facilitating the preparation of Disaster Management Plans in schools as local volunteers

• Link stakeholders with information and resources for mainstreaming DRM in Education.

Field level challenges in Disaster ManagementField level challenges in Disaster Management

Field level challenges in Disaster Management-contd..Field level challenges in Disaster Management-contd..

Way Forward

One could go on and on but to end this I would reiterate – “A stitch in time ........”

• “Onus is on us” – let’s assume responsibility• Let us make disaster planning a “state of mind” • Incorporate socio-economic impact of calamities

into the planning process and livelihood patterns from the community levels in a bottom up approach

• Develop risk management model to reduce exposure to disasters at family, community and state levels.

• Let us upport emergency planning as it spells difference between “flourishing” or “perishing”

And Let all of us join together and Strike Before Disaster Does!-

Thank Youkrith_72@yahoo.com

j.radhakrishnan@undp.org