Youthspeak Insertion on Disaster Risk Reduction

Be alert, not alarmed

youthspeak

!

What is disaster?

A disaster occurs when a natural or man-made hazard event seriously threatens or disrupts the functioning of a community resulting in significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, financial or environmental loss, and/or has psychological impact. A disaster occurs when a hazard affects people and/or property to a severity that they are not prepared for. The combination of hazards, vulnerability and inability to reduce the potential negative consequences of risk results in disaster.

A community is vulnerable to disaster if it has a low level of disaster or hazard preparedness. Mitigation is an effort to reduce disaster impact by decreasing vulnerability and/or increasing capacity of the community to cope with disaster.

Risk is the likelihood of suffering loss due to a disaster; risk is highest where large vulnerable population live in areas of high hazard. Risk can be reduced by mitigation i.e. reducing vulnerability (for example building earthquake resistant house) or increase community capacity (for example early warning systems).

We may not be able to deal with disasters using the resources that we have, but we can minimize the risk or impact of a disaster. School capacity is the power and resources that every individual (students and teachers) posses that may help in preventing, mitigating, preparing for and recovering from disasters.

What if an earthquake strikes when we are in school? Don’t panic! Let’s identify all the elements of the equation that our school environment has.

Who and what is at risk?

Students and teachers School buildings and infrastructure

What can hurt you?

Heavy objects falling from above Collapsing buildings

Who is the most vulnerable?

Young and disabled students Students and teachers not educated in earthquake preparedness

What can you do to prepare?

Earthquake resistant building, away from known hazards i.e. rivers and cliff faces Students and teachers are trained in disaster preparedness Well stocked and complete first aid kit Available budgeting for disaster

What do we do when there is an earthquake?

Protect your head with a pillow or bag Avoid glass, windows outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.

Run outside to an open field when the quake has ceased.

Just remember that the higher the school capacity, the lesser disaster risk you will have to face.

In order to increase our capacity, we should learn the map of our neighborhood and identify the areas that are prone to disasters and the types of disaster that may occur in those areas. The next step is to recognize the signs of a disaster and its process. Let’s get to know some of those signs!

Earthquake

Indonesia, a Disaster Prone Archipelago National Earthquake Hazard Map 2010

This is one of the types of disaster that often happens in Indonesia since the country lies at the spot where the Indo-Australia and Eurasia tectonic plates are converging.

This unique location, nevertheless, has its upside: Indonesia is a country rich with minerals and other resources such as gold, copper, nickel, lead, coal, oil and natural gas.

An earthquake is the shaking at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane or from volcanic activity.

Signs of an earthquake: Earth shaking Swaying buildings, and shaking sounds Change in animal behavior

Tsunami

A Tsunami is a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance, generally occurring in the ocean. However inlands tsunami’s may occur after levees break or another major displacement of water.

Signs of a tsunami: May preceded by an earthquake Rumbling sound A noticeable rapid rise or fall in coastal waters Changing animal behavior

Landslide

Landslides occur on almost a daily basis and can cause enormous loss-of-life and property. It involves the movement of mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope, primarily triggered by earthquakes and/or intense and prolonged rainfall.

Landslides are aggravated by human activities, including deforestation, cultivation and construction, which destabilize the already fragile slopes.

Signs of a landslide: A horseshoe-shaped crack on your landscape Sudden collapse of mud on slopes Springs become muddy or stop flowing A faint rumbling sound that increases in volume is noticeable as the landslide nears.

Changing animal behavior

Volcanic eruption There are approximately 1,500 active volcanoes in the world today and 75% of them are located in the "Pacific Ring of Fire”, an arc stretching from New Zealand, along the eastern edge of Asia – including Indonesia, Philippines, Japan— north across the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, and south along the coast of North and South America.

A volcano is a landform (usually a mountain) where molten rock erupts though the surface of the planet. As pressure builds up under the earth curst a volcano may erupt allowing hot magma, ash and gases to escape.

Signs of volcanic eruption: Increase of small earthquakes or tremors Gas emission from cracks on soil Landslides from the mountain slopes Changing animal behavior

Provincial Capital Subduction Zone Country Border Provincial Border Coast Line

Flood

Flood is considered the most common, widespread, deadly, destructive natural hazard in the world.

However it is also easiest one to implement mitigation strategies. A flood is an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal confines, especially over what is normally dry land.

A flood can be caused by a natural event that takes place in rivers, estuaries, or beaches. A flood may also occur as a result of dam failures, damage in water pipes or a series of storms and heavy rainfall.

Natural signs of a flood: Heavy prolonged rain Storms Tsunami Changing animal behavior

Disaster trivia

!

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in May 2011 received a UN award for his outstanding works in disaster management and risk reduction. The ‘Global Champion on Disaster Risk Reduction’ award is honored to the Indonesian government for its commitment in managing, among others, the impact of the 2004 tsunami that hit Aceh.

An earthquake is a natural event that cannot be prevented. An earthquake does not kill, but the collapsing buildings and structures do. It is advised to make sure that the buildings around us, including our houses, are earthquake resistant. Find more information on quake proof houses at www.rumahamangempa.net Many still think it is a taboo to talk about disasters or plan disaster preparedness and that doing so would trigger one to happen. This is a fallacy. Preparedness is the mindset, knowledge, attitude and skills that everyone must posses in order to face possible disasters. To learn more about disaster preparedness, visit the BNPB website www.bnpb.go.id.

Starting 2011, every second Wednesday of October is commemorated worldwide as International Day for Disaster Reduction.

Disaster preparedness tips Here are some practical steps that can be practiced by any member of a school community:

Together

we are safe

Recognize hazards that may cause a disaster within the school environment Learn the process of disaster occurrence, starting from its causes to what to do to survive from it.

Motivate all members of the school community to be prepared in facing disasters.

Put all the heavy stuff on the floor. Do not put things that are heavy or easily broken on shelves or in the cupboard.

Pick a location that can be used as an evacuation spot. Choose an evacuation route that is nearest to the school and away from the majority of any danger.

Agree on a meeting point for all members of the school community when evacuating.

Prepare a special bag for disaster Routinely practice evacuation to a safe location in order to be safe during a disaster.

er Prepare your disast! p re p a re d n e s s b a g

Choose a bag that is sturdy and large enough to bring these items: • A small box containing necessary medicine • Ready-to-eat snacks such as crackers • Drinking water • Candles and matches • A flashlight and battery • One or two pairs of clothing • Sarong • Copies of identification cards and important phone numbers. Put them in a sealed plastic bag.

• Personal bathing kit

Remember to place your disaster preparedness bag somewhere easily accessible for when a disaster hits.

It takes team work to minimalize disaster risk. You’re sure to hit a rough patch if you act selfishly and ignore a shared set of ground rules. A community, therefore, must agree on a certain standard of operation at times of a disaster.

There are nine steps that we must take as an effort of disaster preparedness. They are very easy to practice.

Identify and make a list of vulnerability in your neighborhood. For example, vulnerability in your school may be the school building that is not quake proof.

Come up with a solution for the problem. To deal with a building that is not quake proof, you must remember to be extra cautious when you are in or near the building. It is best if the building is replaced with one that is quake resistant.

Make a division of tasks for people in your neighborhood. Assign someone to, for example, assist those who are vulnerable during a disaster or prepare for an evacuation route, etc.

Make sure that any information regarding disasters can be quickly disseminated throughout your neighborhood. For school environments, you can make use of bulletin boards, posters or the school radio.

Also make a list of the strengths and capacities that your neighborhood posseses. For example, your school may be located near a designated evacuation route.

Think of a fast way to warn your neighborhood of an impending disaster, whether by using a school bell, slit drum, siren, whistle, or through mosque sound systems.

You must know for sure who will give a warning in case a disaster occurs. The local government is the one that is responsible to give an early warning. Your headmaster or teacher may be the one appointed to extend the warning to your neighborhood.

Learn everything about the hazards that threaten your neighborhood, including their causes, the losses they may result in and what you must do when a disaster hits.

The last step is to do a disaster simulation. You might want to join a drill in which people simulate the circumstances of an earthquake or a tsunami. There are also disaster simulation games available that will prepare you to take the right actions during a disaster. Check www.unisdr.org and www. stopdisastersgame.org

Membangun Sekolah Siaga Bencana, Program Pendidikan Publik dan Kesiapsiagaan Masyarakat, LIPI, 2008 Modul Pengurangan Risiko Bencana Berbasis Komunitas (PRB-BK), ©Training and Media Unit IOM Yogyakarta, 2011 Merintis Masyarakat Siaga Bencana (Gempa Bumi & Tsunami), LIPI, 2008 Sekolah Siaga Bencana: Pembelajaran dari Kota Bengkulu, Deny Hidayati, Widayatun, Triyono, Pusat Penelitian Oseanografi-LIPI, 2010 Buku Panduan Pengenalan Karakteristik Bencana Dan Upaya Mitigasinya di Indonesia Set BAKORNAS PBP Various news articles