Earthquake threat: How secure and prepared are children at school

• Main Authors: Bernhardsdottir, A.E., Musacchio, G., Ferreira, M., Falsaperla, S., UPStrat-MAFA Outreach Working Group
• Other Authors: Bernhardsdottir, A.E.; EERC, University of Iceland, Selfoss, Iceland, Musacchio, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Milano-Pavia, Milano, Italia, Ferreira, M.; IST, Lisbon, Portugal, Falsaperla, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia, UPStrat-MAFA Outreach Working Group; Various institutions, EERC, University of Iceland, Selfoss, Iceland, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione Milano, Milano, Italia, IST, Lisbon, Portugal, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione OE, Catania, Italia, Various institutions
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Earthquake threat; survey online; 04. Solid Earth::04.06. Seismology::04.06.99. General or miscellaneous; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2122/9400

The result of preventive measures within school buildings not only lies in safer environment for school children, but also raises awareness among them. One of the tasks of the UPStrat-MAFA members was to evaluate the informal education by measuring the information on risk reduction (both preventive measures and preparedness) provided by local responsible authorities, used and elaborated in schools. A questionnaire was developed by task members and then tested in Hveragerdi, an Icelandic town included in the UPStrat-MAFA study area. After finalizing the questions, the survey was run online. School directors were contacted by email; they were asked to participate and to click a link at the end of the message to open up the questionnaire. Each participant country ran the survey in its native language. In total, the questions were ten, four of which were the so called filter questions, i.e. dichotomous questions asked to determine if it is relevant for responders to answer the subsequent question. The analysis of the survey data provides valuable information about the state of informal education on risk reduction and awareness programs in schools and health institutions.In particular, the paper illustrates the results collected in Iceland, Italy and Portugal and discusses them taking into account some of the basic questions. The survey covered both pre- and elementary school. The responders were e.g. asked whether: i) local authorities had provided them information on seismic risk prevention and how such information was processed; ii) loose objects were securely attached to walls in order to prevent them from falling, giving insights into how risk averse the institutions are. Results show that the local authorities in Iceland had disseminated information on preventive measures to 43% of the institutions.The test survey in Hveragerdi displayed that it more often depends on the institutions' management than the local authorities whether or not such information is accessible within the institutions. Printed material is ...