Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
9745
Risk Understanding and Education
Given the infrequent nature of the extreme natural events that cause loss of life and
property, many in the general public are often unaware of the risks posed by these
hazards, and have little experience in coping with them. This can create a dangerous
passivity, which adds to the potential damages caused by such events. This lack of
comprehension, or inability to act to reduce risk, is often higher among people who
have only recently moved into urban areas—a growing problem given the increas-
ing migration and mobility rates in most countries. So there is often a pressing need
to inform the public, and especially children in schools, about the local environ-
mental risks—not only from examples drawn from similar events in other areas,
but from case studies drawn from local historical events. These often make a bigger
impact on urban residents who learn to understand that their local area has suffered
major damage from some natural hazard in the past. In many cases the required in-
formation is in handbooks provided by local governments to residents, or by lessons
in schools about the problems posed by local hazards. More active preparation can
come from organizing risk-reduction events in existing local organizations, or more
specifically through the local Disaster Preparation Committees described above. In
some countries there are national programmes that provide information about spe-
cific risks, and alerts, such as what to do when early warning sirens erected to warn
of an impending extreme event are heard.
People may also be encouraged to take part in disaster drills. One of the oldest
of these is in Japan. Since the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, which directly or
indirectly through fires killed 140,000 people in the Tokyo-Yokohama area, the gov-
ernment has encouraged schools and workplaces to run annual disaster drills on its
Sept. 1st anniversary, providing advice about what to do when an earthquake strikes.
The devastating Honshu earthquake and tsunami on March 11th 2011 revived inter-
est in the need to practice for such possible disasters. In addition Japanese teachers,
even in elementary schools, describe precautions that are needed in case of environ-
mental emergencies and practice following escape routes. Local geography lessons
also teach students about their local human and physical environment to ensure that
students are aware of the local hazards and what to do if they strike, while cities
such as Cairns in Australia have an annual cyclone awareness week. More recently,
the unexpected and catastrophic earthquake in Canterbury, New Zealand, that de-
stroyed much of the downtown area in September 2010, gave rise to a national
campaign organized by the national Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Office. It encouraged people to participate in an emergency drill at 9.26 am on Sept.
26 2012. After warning sirens sounded, people were told to practice their basic re-
sponse under the aphorism 'Drop, Shelter and Hold-on'. This provided a short-hand
reminder of key responses when an earthquake occurs, namely: to stay low so as not
to be hit by flying debris; shelter under a table or heavy object that can offer protec-
tion against falling objects, ceilings or walls; and to hold on to the object, to avoid
being thrown across a room by the shaking, and being exposed to objects that often
fall from walls or ceilings. They were also encouraged to stay where they were until
the quake stopped. An estimated 1.3 million people (over a quarter of the country's
