Reducing vulnerability of school children to earthquakes / United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) Disaster Management Planning Hyogo Office.

School earthquake safety initiatives -- head of t.p.

Schools have important roles to play in disaster risk reduction and their importance is recognized at all stages of disaster risk reduction cycle: from prevention to response. Communities in seismic region need earthquake resistant schools to protect the lives of children. Strongly built schools are safe haven and can also be used as relief and rehabilitation shelters after earthquakes. Furthermore, strong leadership of teachers has been proven to be very effective in dealing with emergency situations in disaster-prone countries, and by raising awareness among children, the message can reach their families and further, the 'culture of mitigation' can be spread through the communities. This publication is a summary of some of the activities under the ongoing School Earthquake Safety Initiative (SESI), promoted by UNCRD since 1999, and includes introduction and background of the project along with country reports from the four project countries: Fiji, India, Indonesia and Uzbekistan.