The role of schools in helping communities copes with earthquake disasters: the case of the 2010–2011 New Zealand earthquakes

ABSTRACT

This article draws from the author’s four-year study of five school communities hit by the 2010–2011 earthquake sequence in the Canterbury region of New Zealand to highlight the roles that schools played in supporting their communities in the aftermath of the disaster. The article begins by synthesising the relevant literature on disasters, schools in earthquake disasters, and the importance of schools to their communities, pre- and post-disaster. The following themes from the data are discussed: (a) the role of schools in their communities prior to the earthquakes; (b) the role of schools in immediate rescue and response; (c) the role of schools in short-term relief; and (d) the role of schools in long-term recovery. The author then argues that as more evidence shows that schools play such crucial roles in post-disaster response and recovery, we need to better prepare and support them to undertake these functions. Further, we need to recognise the wider roles schools play supporting local communities to build and sustain resilience as part of on-going community cohesion and connectedness, so that society is better prepared when major disasters occur.     

Substance use and functional impairment among adolescents directly exposed to the 2001 World Trade Center attacks

The relationship between exposure to the World Trade Center (WTC) attacks, increased substance use, functional impairment and mental health service use, controlling for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, was assessed through an in-school survey of directly exposed students (N = 1040) attending the five middle and five high schools nearest the WTC. The survey was conducted 18 months after the attacks. Students with one WTC exposure risk factor had a five-fold increase in substance use, while those with three or more exposure risks had a nearly 19-fold increase. Increased substance use was associated with impaired school work, school behaviour and grades. Students reporting increased substance use were nearly twice as likely to want help but were no more likely than asymptomatic students to receive services. Adolescents reporting increased substance use, without co-morbidity, were less likely to receive psychological services than others. Attention to the needs of substance-using adolescents exposed to disaster is needed.     

中小学校作为避难疏散场所的规划对策研究

中小学校具有布局有效,设施齐备,广为人知,生活方便,互救互联,便于疏散等多方面的优点,其作为可利用的应急避难场所重要资源,在城市规划中占有重要的位置。城市因为人员密集,中小学校的利用是满足紧急避难要求所必需的,但是在汶川、玉树等特大地震的抗震救灾实施工作中,暴露出很多建设、规划以及配置等多方面的问题。基于此,通过对中小学校作为避难疏散场所的必要性和有效性进行研究,并从不同角度,不同层面的有效避难面积数据进行统计和分析,结合我国的城市规划和避难疏散规划的现状和相关标准进行比对,研究我国中小学校建筑和规划在避震疏散结构体系和避灾要求方面存在的问题,提出适宜于城市规划和建设的中小学校避难疏散利用对策,为今后中小学校的防灾规划提供依据和参考。     

Flooding and schools: experiences in Hull in 2007

Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom, suffered severe flooding in June 2007, affecting some 8,600 households and most schools. Despite the potential for damage in such disasters, no studies of the effects of floods on teachers and schools in the UK appear to have been published previously. This study analysed the impacts of the floods on teachers in Hull in two stages: first through correspondence with Hull City Council and a mailed questionnaire to 91 head teachers of primary, secondary, and special schools; and second, through in‐depth interviews with head teachers from six flooded schools, representing different degrees of flood experience, and a questionnaire completed by eight teachers from the same schools. The findings reveal the importance and the complexity of the role of the school in the wider community in a time of crisis. The study highlights issues concerning preparedness for floods, support for schools, and flood protection for schools.     

School-based disaster risk reduction education in primary schools in Da Nang City,Central Vietnam

The concept of school-based disaster risk reduction (DRR) education has increasingly become popular as greater emphasis is placed on the role of schools in reducing risks and building the resilience of the education system. This paper discusses the variations in the implementation of DRR education among primary schools in different areas including urban, rural, mountainous, plain and coastal areas in Da Nang City, Central Vietnam. For rural schools, similarities in the implementation of DRR education are observed and schools in both rural plain and rural mountainous areas stress the provision of disaster-related training. In addition, improvement of school buildings and external relationship is important for the resilience of urban schools. Specifically, for schools in urban coastal areas, school location and structure are significant, while for schools in the urban plain lands, enhancement of collaboration with their community has the most potential to contribute to the resilience of a school. From that, this research proposes that leadership and prioritization are key factors in helping schools to manage internal and external resources to efficiently overcome challenges and effectively promote DRR education towards the enhancement of schools’ resilience.     

Vulnerability of schools to floods in Nyando River catchment,Kenya

This paper assesses the vulnerability of schools to floods in the Nyando River catchment (3,600 km²) in western Kenya and identifies measures needed to reduce this vulnerability. It surveys 130 schools in the lower reaches, where flooding is a recurrent phenomenon. Of the primary schools assessed, 40% were vulnerable, 48% were marginally vulnerable and 12% were not vulnerable. Of the secondary schools, 8% were vulnerable, 73% were marginally vulnerable and 19% were not vulnerable. Vulnerability to floods is due to a lack of funds, poor building standards, local topography, soil types and inadequate drainage. The Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), established in 2003, provides financial support to cover school construction and reconstruction costs; CDF Committees are expected to adopt school building standards. In an effort to promote safe and resilient construction and retrofitting to withstand floods, this paper presents vulnerability reduction strategies and recommendations for incorporating minimum standards in the on‐going Primary School Infrastructure Programme Design.     

我国部分省市初中生防灾素养调查研究

为了解我国初中生防灾素养水平,找出制约其防灾素养提升的关键因素,总结一般问题,并提出相应策略,分别选取了经济发展程度相对较高的北京、上海、天津、广东、福建及黑龙江6个省市的初中各年级学生作为调查对象,回收有效问卷7 313份(发放10 000份)。调查发现,我国初中生防灾素养总体水平偏低,初中生大多具有正向积极的防灾态度,防灾态度维度得分高于防灾技能,防灾知识维度最低。但这只能看作全国较高水平,而不能看作一般水平,真实情况可能更令人堪忧。针对此情况,提出要针对学生年龄及心理特点开展课程开发相关研究,以期促进灾害教育的开展与学生防灾素养的提升。     

不同抗震设计的砖混结构校舍抗震性能对比

砖混结构在我国中小学校舍中所占的比例较高,在近几年发生的地震中,其震害十分明显。以中原地区某县中小学校舍鉴定汇总结果为基础,取某砖混结构教学楼为例,分未考虑抗震设计、考虑抗震设计和未考虑抗震设计但进行了抗震加固改造三种工况,以PKPM软件对其进行抗震性能对比分析,并以此方法对该县中小学砖混结构校舍进行抗震性能计算及对比分析。结果表明,校舍中考虑抗震设计的工况比其它工况的抗震性能高,该地区2000年前的校舍需改造加固。     

Towards an earthquake-resilient world: from post-disaster reconstruction to pre-disaster prevention

ABSTRACT

Destructive earthquakes in urban or rural areas around the world have caused severe damage to local societies. Pre-disaster prevention and post-disaster reconstruction can significantly reduce the impact of earthquakes on communities. To explore the popular research topics and trends in this area, CiteSpace was used to develop a knowledge map visualization. It was found that the main research into earthquake disaster prevention and reconstruction has been focused on disaster risk reduction planning, disaster mitigation knowledge, participatory disaster governance, and community resilience building. In this Special Issue, there were six distinctive earthquake disaster research papers that covered scientific, social, and institutional aspects. It was concluded that to reduce the effects of earthquake disasters, an interdisciplinary research approach and systems thinking is needed. The investigation also revealed that there has been a paradigm shift from post-disaster reconstruction to pre-disaster prevention to build community and urban resilience.     

Devastating earthquakes facilitating civil societies in developing countries: across-national analysis

ABSTRACT

Developing countries, which often have emerging or fledgling civil societies, are vulnerable to disasters, and especially devastating earthquakes. The long-term influence of devastating earthquakes on civil societies in developing countries is a critical research topic while receives relatively little attention. From a comprehensive literature review, this study identified four key areas of the civil society: civic participation, voluntary organizations, social capital, and democratic governance, and then examined four devastating earthquakes in India, Iran, Pakistan and China in the first decade of the twenty-first century as case studies, to identify the effects these earthquakes had on these four areas. It was found that from a long-term perspective, while the earthquakes strengthened the civil society, they had beneficial but limited effects. We argue that by promoting local community participation, facilitating extensive non-government organization (NGO) cooperation, and streamlining state-civil society relationships, an enabling environment can be developed to further sustain the advances made by a civil society after a disaster.     

Earthquake survivors' quality of life and academic achievement six years after the earthquakes in Marmara, Turkey

This study investigates the quality of life (QOL) and academic achievement of earthquake survivors six years after the earthquakes in Marmara, Turkey. Data were collected from 407 Turkish university students. Of these, 201 were earthquake survivors and 206 had not been exposed to an earthquake. The Turkish adaptation of the brief version of the World Health Organisation's QOL instrument (WHOQOL-BREF, TR) was used to measure QOL. The results reveal that the earthquake survivors' psychological and environmental domains of QOL and academic achievement were significantly lower than those of individuals not exposed to an earthquake. The results also highlight the risk factors that affect the QOL of the earthquake survivors significantly. These are their gender, their age at the time of earthquake and the continued existence of financial difficulties linked to the earthquakes.     

A critical analysis of earthquakes and urban planning in Turkey

The land use plans and policies of developed countries that live with the threat of earthquakes are gaining importance in reducing or eliminating the long‐term threat to people and property. In developing countries, however, these plans and policies seem to increase the level of vulnerability. This paper examines the effects of the earthquakes that have occurred in Turkey since 1992, with a particular focus on urbanisation and planning policies. It is based on extensive surveys carried out on location immediately after the earthquakes in Erzincan and Kocaeli‐Gölcük in 1992 and 1999, respectively. The analysis takes into account several factors, including the height of buildings, geological conditions and the construction period. The authors conclude that land use planning can serve as a very useful instrument for mitigating the extent of disaster damage if it is part of an appropriate planning system. In the case of Turkey, the planning system needs to be reorganised for this purpose.     

地震电磁辐射前兆判据探讨

本文对DPJ和ULF型地震电磁辐射观测仪观测场量的主要特征进行简单的理论分析,并综合国内各地观测资料,初步探讨了电磁辐射方法在短临预报应用中有关时、空、强的前兆判据问题:1.电磁辐射异常信号的弱-强-弱-平静-发震的变化过程中,多点位异常时间趋于集中之后的信号减弱甚至平静,可能是数十小时内发震的一种标志。2.目前所观测到的地震电磁辐射信号主要来自震源(或震中)方向。3.利用lgT-M关系曲线能在一定程度上定量估算未来地震的强度。     

Injuries as a Result of California Earthquakes in the Past Decade

The devastating effects of earthquakes have been demonstrated repeatedly in the past decade, through moderate and major earthquakes such as the October 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake (5.9 on the Richter scale), the October 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1) and the January 1994 Northridge earthquake (6.7). While 'official' tallies of injuries and deaths are reported for each event, the numbers vary from report to report. For Northridge, the number of injuries vary between 8,000 and 12,000; the number of deaths from 33 to 73 (Peek-Asa et al., 1997; Durkin, 1996).While official estimates are commonly reported following disasters, the study of actual numbers, types and causes of casualties has not developed. In this paper, we identify the numbers and risk factors for injuries within community-based samples across three earthquakes in urban California. We first report the numbers and types of injuries in each earthquake and then identify risk factors specifically associated with the Northridge earthquake     

由地震活动参数分析郯城—庐江断裂带中南段现今活动习性及强震、中强震危险性

根据近38年的地震资料,利用地震活动参数值组合、b值空间分布、断裂带分段,结合历史地震及构造背景的综合分析方法,分析了郯城—庐江断裂带中南段现今地震活动习性,判别出潜在的强震、中强震危险段落。研究结果表明:郯城—庐江断裂带中南段存在着6个具有不同现今活动习性的分段落,其中,郯城—泗洪段断层面的现今活动习性处于高应力背景下的相对闭锁状态,是未来最有可能发生强震的段落;九江段于2005年发生了5.7级地震,积累多年的能量已经释放,闭锁状态已被打开,现处于震后震源断层面应力调整阶段,出现了低b值、高应力的状态,因此,短期内不可能再复发中强以上地震;潍坊—莒县段、定远段、合肥—庐江段、宿松段的现今活动则处于低应力水平状态,较短时期内复发中强以上地震的可能性较小。     

高邮地磁台加卸载响应比与江苏及邻近地区的地震预测

研究分析了高邮地磁台1980～2001年观测资料的加卸载响应比异常与江苏及邻近地区ML5.0以上地震之间的关系,提出了适用于高邮地磁台的地震分析预报参数,并对其内检预报效能进行了评价。     

从两次溧阳地震认识地震现象的相似性

根据两次地震的烈度分布,认识到地震的震时效应与地震大小——烈度与震级的相似关系确是肯定的。反之,分析了两次地震前具有震兆意义的地震活动图象:震前的空区、广义前震与震群,注意到现象的重现性是很好的(即两次地震前均出现相同的现象),但与震级大小的相应关系并不存在。作者认为后者可能只是一种构造活动的反映而未必与震源有直接的关系。     

江苏及邻区震群活动成因探讨

系统研究了1985年以来江苏及邻区的36次小震群,结果表明,江苏及邻区的地震具有成丛活动的特点,每一丛地震活动持续时间和平静时间没有明显的周期性,这反映了它是在一定的外部应力环境控制下发生的.江苏及邻区地震的成丛活动与台湾地区7级以上强震有一定的呼应关系,多发生在台湾地区7级以上强震前后.分析表明,台湾地区7级以上强震...     

近年几次大地震震害的若干启示

本文通过分析近年发生的几次著名大地震的震害资料和震时现象，讨论了与其相关的工程地震问题，并对西安市工程地震问题进行了研究。     

Perception of earthquake risk in Agadir,Morocco: A case study from a Muslim community

Earthquakes are separated from other hazards in meaning, significance, and risk perception throughout the Islamic World due to their specific focus in their own chapter or surah “al-Zalzala” (99th) in the Qur'an. Unlike earthquakes that are discussed in terms or the Judgment Day or as divine punishment or retribution against the disbelieving or hypocritical—other natural hazards like floods, tornadoes, and landslides are rarely discussed. An extensive survey of earthquake survivors and longtime residents was undertaken to better understand the perceptions of seismic risk in Agadir, Morocco where two moderate earthquakes razed the city in 1960 leaving 15,000 dead and 25,000 injured. Most of the deaths were attributed to faulty construction (along with standards and enforcement), inaddition to poor evacuation plans.

During the summer of 2002, more than 250 earthquake survivors and residents were surveyed and interviewed for their knowledge and perception of the disaster forty years before. Surveys were conducted in Arabic, French and English and included questions and Likertscaled responses including extensive interviews in the hopes of obtaining ideas of their potential quake recurrence, seismology, current construction standard policies, and local and regional planning strategies. In addition, reviews the Qur'an, Hadith and classical and contemporary tafasir texts were used to investigate the guiding passages used in Islamic discussions of “al-Zalzala”.

It was found that younger persons (<25yo) were more likely to believed that brick, mortar and cement structures were always safer and stronger during and after a tremor, regardless as to whether they are iron-reinforced or sub-standard (and hazardous) stone or brick infilled. After the 1960 disaster, speedy recovery efforts often undermined concrete construction and reinforcement techniques since such ‘rebar’ was relatively unavailable. Even today, inferior and seismically unstable construction practices are widely used.

It was found that television-watchers considered themselves less knowledgeable about earthquakes, when in fact many aspects of the1960 event and earthquakes in general, were more widely understood by this group, supporting the notion that the medium of televisionis the most widely used, efficient, and fastest mass communication and education tool.

Less-educated respondents in general tended to attribute earthquakes to divine action and retribution. All questions, however, concerning the possibility of quake recurrence frequency or magnitude caused an overwhelming refusal to answer, or with the reply of ‘Allahu a'lam’ or “God is wisest”—implying or directly stating that any attempt at earthquake forecasting, quake-related construction, advanced architectural standards for seismic safety, and/or related education was ‘haram’ or prohibited by Islam.

Further discussions with participants in Agadir indicated that any guess, awareness or prediction was in fact, fortune-telling and therefore an act forbidden by the Qur'an and Hadith.

Finally, the less educated were more likely to say that Allah protected those who were devout and considered scientific assessment as futile, forecasting as forbidden, or new construction technologies as a waste since only the ‘kafir’ (non-Muslim) or ‘munafiq’ (hypocrite) were at risk to death or injury from an earthquake. These conclusions are important toward gaining an insight of perception and risky behavior in a questionably constructed city with now more than 600,000 people 40 years later, and in a region laced by active faulting.