The Role of Schools in Disaster Management

Is it that only adults can play the role of a hero at the time of a crisis? In every situation the answer is not the same. Hats off to the students who used their presence of minds when its needed most- during a crisis. Well, it was an unforgettable day for the entire school when a class seven student met with an accident in the school. The twelve year old boy couldn’t make out what had happened to him when he touched the switch on board to switch off the fan. When he opened his eyes, he found himself on a hospital bed, surrounded by his family members and many schoolmates. Later, when he came back to the school after about a week he got to know that he got electrocuted the moment he touched the switch of the fan because the earthing laid by the school electrician was faulty.

His classmates played a strong role in saving his life. A few of them displayed the presence of mind when they gave him a thick wooden stick to hold on to. Much later along with the school faculty, it was his friends that took him to the hospital. This was an example of how even children can help in disaster management. Now, let us discuss what disaster management is.

Disaster Management is a plan that has been done strategically and the process is administered and employed to protect critical assets from natural or human made calamities and destruction take place. In the United States, a policy was established to have a reliable, flexible, effective, comprehensive and integrated system to make the general public aware which is also called "Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. After Europe was hit by many natural calamities, it also developed a strategic National Disaster Management in the year 2010.

Education promotes and enables Disaster Risk Reduction and it has already been made out by policy makers and researchers. In fact, the numbers of evidences are increasing that students of different age groups actively participate in safety measures of their schools and also help their teachers and other adults in their communities towards reducing the risks during or after disastrous events.

A few of the roles that are being played by the schools in the Disaster Management are as follows:

• They plan for the safety measures that need to be taken during the time of various kinds of disasters, internal and external
• They stay in touch various local agencies such fire department, sheriff, ambulance, police, etc. for crisis management
• They train both their staffs and personnel
• They evaluate and improve the plans
• They circulate disaster plans in each classroom
• They make contacts with outside agencies such as they call sheriff departments, central office, etc.
• When the disaster occurs they determine which kind of disaster has taken place and take appropriate action for it, though this work is mainly done by the principal
• They ensure that the doors are locked and locate whether the students are in safe places or not

When we say a school is involved in Disaster Management, we often think that it is only the school faculty who are involved in it. But students also share and provide their equal contribution in the procedure of Disaster Management.