Disaster Risk Reducation Education

The magnitude 6.8 earthquake in Sichuan Province, China on September 5th and the intense intermittent earthquakes that hit Eastern Taiwan on September 17th and 18th have both triggered massive landslides and caused destruction to buildings and homes. These series of events seem like real-life situational questions, reminding the Taiwanese people of the 921 Earthquake 23 years ago, once again raising public awareness of earthquake preparedness.

The contents of this issue of the newsletter are centered around earthquakes.With a special article from the Seismological Center of the Central Weather Bureau discussing the Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS)The system can relay information of earthquakes in just a few seconds via the internet and mobile applications,which can be implemented in schools to increase the response time of students and teachers.

On September 21st  National Disaster Preparedness Day, schools around Taiwan carried out an earthquake drill simultaneously, after the nationwide earthquake warning simulation was issued by the Central Weather Bureau. Among the thousands of participating schools, students and teachers of Special Education Schools must practice countless times to integrate earthquake preparedness into their lives. From the instant an earthquake warning is issued, students with physical and mental disabilities should be able to take cover and protect themselves, as the teachers offer help and care to emotionally handicapped students. After the quake, students are able to use special evacuation equipment to reach the assembly point to account for all students and faculty. At the Hualien Special School, all students and faculty executed the drill calmly, demonstrating the achievement of regular disaster response training.

Apart from regular drills, it is equally important to cultivate the disaster awareness and attitude of students. The 3rd Youth Camp for Disaster Risk Reduction was hosted in early September, with three full days of training for over 30 high school students with a passion for DRRE. Besides training courses and online international exchange sessions with students from Japan, the trainees designed DRRE action plans in groups, showcasing the core element of DRRE:teamwork. We hope these students will continue to participate in DRRE, bringing youth and liveliness into the field.

The Chiayi City Disaster Prevention Education Guidance Group also hosted a “Neighborhood Disaster Model Competition,” showing that DRRE is not confined to school campuses. Students must do fieldwork to record the environmental dilemmas that neighborhoods face. Later on, the contestants utilize their imaginations to design and create a neighborhood that is resilient and sustainable. This innovative competition of DRRE motivates students to observe and enhance their critical thinking skills with a Disaster Risk Reduction mindset, which can be a reference to schools for future activities about disaster risk reduction.