Natural disasters can take away children’s lives and their right to quality education. This article identifies and discusses strategies that schools can employ to prepare for and minimise the effects of natural disasters. Using theoretical propositions and literature on disaster management, the article discusses strategies for the prevention of and preparedness to respond to and recovery from natural disasters within a school setting. Evidence from research indicates that there are basic principles and practices of disaster management that school management and learners may not be aware of. Based on the identified theoretical principles and practices for disaster management, the article concludes that both state and non-state parties have disaster management responsibilities and therefore should formulate and disseminate the basic principles and practices of disaster prevention, preparedness and post-disaster therapy to schools because of the vulnerability of children to disaster. In addition, it also recommends that disaster management should be included in the school curricula through subjects like geography, science, social studies or civic education and life orientation or skills training.
Natural disasters are a worldwide phenomenon that adversely affects many different things in a country and ultimately prevents the smooth running of essential services, particularly those that affect children. According to Wilson et al. (
In most cases, learners are susceptible to natural disasters; hence, it is important that teachers and school managers consider planning for the prevention and management of these disasters that might occur in the area where their schools are located. This is in view of the fact that there are some disasters that are caused by human error such as fire, electrical faults and drowning. In this regard, Pasipamire (
Natural disasters not only physically distract but also traumatise the learners. The effects of disasters such as earthquakes, veld fires and violent floods are petrifying, especially for schoolchildren, because of their vulnerability at times of disaster. The schools’ learning programmes become undesirably affected by natural disasters and at times result in temporary termination of teaching and learning. In this regard, Lazarus et al. (
While a number of countries have taken into consideration the prevention, preparedness and management of natural disasters, there is still a need to provide safety measures upon the occurrence of disasters. In New Zealand, there is a disaster preparedness policy that came into effect after the impacts of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which resulted in 185 deaths and significant damage to property and human life (GNS Science
In the United States of America (USA), the Council on School Health (
In the context of Africa, in recent years, recurrent floods have befallen Mozambique since 2000 and these floods have exposed the sub-Saharan region of its disaster unpreparedness. Persistent rainfall accompanied by tropical cyclone Eline caused excessive flows in rivers, such as the Limpopo, which has catchments in other countries like Zambia and Zimbabwe. These floods affected a total of about 4.5 million people and caused over 700 deaths; losses were estimated to be US$500 million and the Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) growth rate is estimated to have declined from 10% to 2%. Making reference to the effect of these Mozambican disaster situations on schools, Luis (
Disasters have caused a disruption of education in Mozambique for quite some time. In 2012, Cyclone Funso and Tropical Storm Dando damaged 1000 classrooms along the eastern coastline and in 2013 heavy flooding affected 250 classrooms in the Limpopo Basin. (p. 3)
In Africa, consistent floods have initiated convocation in education in Mozambique and neighbouring countries. Floods have been continuously damaging the schools and the surrounding environment and communities, leaving schoolchildren without schools and some even without homes (Luis
In Ethiopia, the most serious floods reoccurred in May 1968, August 1994 and May 2005, causing significant damage estimated to be US$93 512m, and affecting the lives of about 3.5 million people (OFDA/CRED Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Emergency Events Database
The International Centre of Technology (
Despite the massive damage that natural and man-made disasters have on Africa’s development, minute efforts are given to prevent them. The Council on School Health (
Natural disasters also have economic and social bearings on learners, their families and communities. In South Africa, after a severe storm in the Northern Cape province, a report by the Northern Cape Office of the Premier (
Schools provide a second home to the children and should therefore be hospitable, habitable and provide security to children. A culture based on safety should be promoted and practiced in schools so as to provide an assurance of disaster security (NDMC S.A.
Generally, the greatest socialising institution for learners after the family is the school. This calls for schools to demonstrate the need to be prepared for all hazardous possibilities in the event of natural disasters, acts of terrorism and the threat of pandemic diseases ((Murray & Choo
Given the large economic and social costs involved as consequence of the occurrence of cyclones, floods, windstorms and other adverse climate phenomena, recently aggravated by the effect of global climate change, we have to take more appropriate measures so that our schools are safer. (p. 3)
An important step in planning is to conduct situational needs identification and analysis of every school based on the geographical setup, community trends and previous accident and disaster data. To address environmental disasters such as toxic spills, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes, schools should have infrastructure suitable for natural disasters that are likely to occur (Murray
Education is vital in preparing and managing disasters. Most developed countries, such as Japan and USA, use education to prepare children and their families for natural disasters. Disaster preparedness is meant to achieve a satisfactory level of readiness to respond to any emergency situation. In preparing for a disaster, there is a need to ensure that strategic reserves of food, equipment, water, medicines and other essentials are in place. Disaster preparedness goes a long way in reducing the impact of natural predicaments on education (Greubel, Ackerman & Winthrop
Preparing for a disaster entails that governmental and non-state parties develop plan procedures to save lives, minimise disaster damages and enhance disaster response operations. Preparedness plans for schools should include emergency exercises or training, warning systems, emergency communications systems, evacuation plans, resource inventories, emergency personnel contact lists, mutual aid agreements and public information systems (Warfield
The level of disaster preparedness varies according to the socio-economic status of a continent or nation. For example, in Japan, despite the fact that the great 8.9 magnitude earthquake destroyed lives of teachers and children, classes commenced in a week after the disaster because of the post-disaster mechanisms that were in place. Disaster-proof and multi-hazard resilient buildings had been erected as an infrastructure coping strategy for disasters (Greubel et al.
In preparing for a disaster, there should be broad participatory involvement in order to save lives as well as infrastructure. Each school should have a crisis management team that works with the community members involved in crisis planning and management to assess the medical equipment, mental health and other resources available in the school. Schools should also identify children with special healthcare needs and put in place practical emergency care plans. There should be evacuation chairs that can glide down stairwells for children in wheelchairs and visually and hearing impaired children should be assigned to members of cluster crisis team. Staff and schoolchildren need to be educated on the multiple evacuation routes so that they can use those in the occurrence of a disaster, and such escape ways should be plotted on a diagram displayed on every school building (ICSU
School disaster planning is a facet of larger community planning and, therefore, requires coordinated planning and allocation of community resources. Promptly responding to a disaster provides immediate assistance to preserve life, improve health and support those affected by the disaster. According to Warfield (
There are departments in some countries that are entrusted with the responsibility to provide services like counselling for the family members who have lost their loved ones as a direct consequence of disasters and community members affected by the disaster, supply of food parcels, home-cooked meals that can be accessed through the soup kitchens, tents for temporary shelter, blankets, mattresses and clothing. Therefore, there is a need for funding to be set aside at school level so that it could be made available during disasters to avoid crisis management or being reactionary to disaster situations. In the case of South Africa, the South African Social Security Agency has made funding available from their Social Relief of Distress Fund whenever disasters occur, and this has helped to overcome catastrophes (Social Assistance Act 13 2004).
In countries where floods cause inaccessibility via roads, community members may be air-lifted from the disaster damaged areas. There is also a need that after a disaster, emergency teams are put on high alert at schools for cases of diarrhoea, cholera, malaria or any other medical crisis that can occur as a result of floods. For example, in South Africa, after a flood occurred in the Northern Cape province in 2011, a mobile clinic was set up at Blaauwskop in the Upington region to assist in case there was an outbreak of diseases as a result of the floods (Northern Cape Office of the Premier
According to Lazarus et al. (
Regular monitoring and testing of water after a disaster is important to ensure that children are safe from water-borne diseases. Schoolchildren and the community have to be educated on water purification, good sanitation, hygienic food preparation, treatment formula, diarrhoea and handwashing and be warned against drinking water from rivers or any flooded pools. Medical conditions of people evacuated from a disaster may include asthmatic cases, diarrhoea, diabetes, trauma, allergic reactions, hypertension, stroke, fever, epilepsy and respiratory problems, as experienced in one South African region (Northern Cape Office of the Premier
From the school perspective, disaster recovery means restoring the infrastructure in the school and ensuring that teaching and learning resume in the shortest possible time. Learners recover rapidly after a disaster when concrete explanations of what happened and how it could or will affect them are provided and dealt with (Council on School Health
After a disaster, returning to the classroom does not always ascertain that children are ready to engage with their learning tasks. Warfield (
There are a number of ways which could be implemented to assist schools that have been psychologically and emotionally affected by natural disasters. These include supporting teachers and other school staff, healing activities, disaster-related discussions, problem-solving skills, children’s friendship and peer support, children’s resiliency, crisis response team and mental health support systems (Lazarus et al.
There should be provision to teaching and non-teaching school staff members with information on the symptoms of children’s stress reactions and guidance on how to handle class discussions and answer children’s questions. Teachers should pay attention to their own needs and should not feel compelled to do anything they are not comfortable with. Time for staff members to share their feelings and reactions should be on a voluntary basis. In addition, staff members who suffered property damage or personal injuries may need leave from work to attend to such needs after a natural disaster. This means that management should be flexible in monitoring school routines and programmes after a disaster.
There is also a need to engage in post-disaster activities that facilitate healing. The healing activities include exposure to discussion of disaster-related events, promotion of positive coping and problem-solving skills and strengthening of children’s friendship and peer support.
Children should be encouraged to talk about disaster-related events so as to steam off. They need an opportunity to discuss their experiences in a safe and supportive environment. In addition, children may be assigned activities that enable them to discuss their experiences. These may include a range of methods, both verbal and non-verbal, and incorporate varying projects, for example, drawing, stories, and audio- and video recording.
Promotion of problem-solving skills helps children cope with the aftermath of a disaster. Children should be engaged in activities that assist them to solve disaster-related stressors such as family walks and group games. They should be encouraged to develop realistic and positive methods for coping with stress that increase their ability to manage their anxiety and to identify those mechanisms that fit in each situation.
Children with strong emotional support from others are better able to cope with this adversity. Relationships with peers can provide suggestions for how to cope with difficulties and can help decrease isolation. In many disaster situations, friendships may be disrupted because of family relocations. In some cases, parents may be less available to provide support to their children because of their own distress and their feelings of being overwhelmed. It is important for children to develop supportive relationships with their teachers and classmates. Activities may include asking children to work cooperatively in small groups in order to enhance peer support.
There is a need to emphasise on children’s resilience so as to come to terms with the negative impacts of natural disasters. Focus should be on their competencies in terms of their daily life and in other difficult times. They should be helped to identify what they have done in the past that helped them cope when they were frightened or upset.
All crisis response team members need an opportunity to process the crisis response. Providing crisis intervention is emotionally draining because a lot has to be considered, like tone of voice, pitch and facial expressions. This is likely to include teachers and other school staff if they have been serving as crisis caregivers for students.
Although more than enough caregivers are often willing to provide support during the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, long-term services may be lacking. School psychologists and other school mental health professionals can help provide and coordinate mental health services, but it is important to connect with community resources in order to provide long-term assistance. Ideally, these relationships should be established in advance for disaster preparedness.
Data used in this study was collected from literature and all ideas taken from literature we acknowledged. No direct harm to people can therefore be influenced by the paper.
Evidence from the literature indicates that to some extent there could be prevention of, preparedness for, responses to and recovery from disasters within a school setting. The study also reveals that there are basic principles and practices of disaster management that school management and learners may not be aware of and that there is a need to educate learners, teachers and school administrators as well as communities on possible disasters that may affect their community.
Based on observations from the literature on how some disasters have been responded to by different nations, this article concludes that the socio-economic development of a country or a community determines the level of success in disaster preparedness, interventions and post-disaster therapy. The article concludes from available literature on natural disasters, especially in Africa, that schoolchildren are more vulnerable to psychological and emotional trauma during a natural disaster. Therefore, the article argues that effective disaster preparedness and management require collaboration between all stakeholders in order to contribute to the welfare and safety of schoolchildren. This calls for the establishment of school-based disaster management structures with adequate knowledge base on principles and practices of disaster management within a school setting.
This article recommends that there is a need to include disaster management as a substantive subject in the school curriculum which should empower learners with knowledge regarding safety in schools. Furthermore, subjects like geography, physical science, life skills and social studies should incorporate key topics on disasters prevention, interventions and post-recovery. Schools, particularly in Africa, should establish disaster management teams, be supplied with effective equipment and knowledge to react to disasters and there should be thorough environmental analysis on where schools should be located. School billboards should be erected in every building. Finally, refresher courses and mock disaster reaction rehearsals should be periodically conducted in schools.
This paper was presented at the first National Conference on Disaster Risk Science and Management in ‘South Africa’s Response in a Changing Global Environment’, 02–04 March 2015, at the Ranch Resort, Polokwane, South Africa. The conference was jointly hosted by the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Venda, South Africa and the National Disaster Management Centre (representing the Department of Cooperative Governance), South Africa. Mr. Tendayi Gondo, Prof. Agnes Musyoki and Mr. Edmore Kori were the faculty collaborators.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
All authors contributed to all the sections of the article, either by research or by proofreading.
The University of Venda Directorate of Research and Innovation funded the conference attendance and publication costs for this paper.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.