9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
[G02-P06] Development of effective evacuation drills -Effectiveness and challenges of practical training-
Keywords:earthquake, evacuation drills, practical training, school safety
In this study, we summarize the issues of evacuation drills currently conducted at elementary and junior high schools and report on more effective evacuation drills, showing practical examples.
Current evacuation drills
During class time when all students are present, a school announcement is made that a disaster has occurred, and students follow the instructions of the teacher to hide under their desks. After that, the school announces again that "calmly line up and gather in the school yard”. The principal measures the time taken by the students to complete the roll call, and evaluates the time taken and whether the students were serious or not. Since the students are supposed to assemble in the school yard, in the event of rain, the event is usually cancelled and postponed to a later date.
Contradiction with what actually happened in past earthquake disasters
In past disasters that occurred under school management, hyperventilating children, children who were unable to move because of their backs, and children who vomited due to fear caused by continuous aftershocks have occurred, and falls down stairs have also occurred regardless of the age of the children.
In school evacuation drills, it is assumed that none of these events have actually occurred at schools in the past. Power outages, which occur with high probability, and aftershocks, which always occur in seismological terms, are assumed not to occur. Thus, there will be no aftershocks and falls on the stairs in the vortex of racing to the school grounds, nor will teachers and staff have trouble communicating with each other. It can be said that the situation is such that the assembly to the schoolyard has become an objective, and all facts that are inconvenient to it have been eliminated.
Introduction of practical training
We conducted practical training in an actual school building to examine how the teachers and staff working there should behave in the event of a disaster. University students in the laboratory reproduced past cases of injuries and hyperventilating students, and the teachers and staff handled the situation as if they were students at their own school.
As a result, issues were found in 1) the formulation of standards for transporting students to the infirmary, 2) the review of handover procedures, and 3) the communication of information in the event of a power failure. The authors prepared and provided the standards for transporting the victims to the infirmary, since these standards require the expertise of disaster medical personnel, etc. However, the methods of handing over and information sharing need to be reviewed at each school, since they vary depending on the type of school, location, and structure of the school building.
Confusion in Schools after practical training
We conducted such the practical training at several elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Saitama prefectures, and analyzed and discussed how such training would improve school disaster preparedness. As a result, it became clear that the training brought about a change in disaster awareness among all participating teachers and staff, but that this in turn brought about a confusing situation in which it became clear that there was a mountain of issues to be addressed, and it was difficult to know where to start.
In this presentation, we will report on the development of teaching materials, the implementation of more effective drills with students, and the effectiveness of the drills, which were carried out in collaboration with schools to break free from such a situation.
Current evacuation drills
During class time when all students are present, a school announcement is made that a disaster has occurred, and students follow the instructions of the teacher to hide under their desks. After that, the school announces again that "calmly line up and gather in the school yard”. The principal measures the time taken by the students to complete the roll call, and evaluates the time taken and whether the students were serious or not. Since the students are supposed to assemble in the school yard, in the event of rain, the event is usually cancelled and postponed to a later date.
Contradiction with what actually happened in past earthquake disasters
In past disasters that occurred under school management, hyperventilating children, children who were unable to move because of their backs, and children who vomited due to fear caused by continuous aftershocks have occurred, and falls down stairs have also occurred regardless of the age of the children.
In school evacuation drills, it is assumed that none of these events have actually occurred at schools in the past. Power outages, which occur with high probability, and aftershocks, which always occur in seismological terms, are assumed not to occur. Thus, there will be no aftershocks and falls on the stairs in the vortex of racing to the school grounds, nor will teachers and staff have trouble communicating with each other. It can be said that the situation is such that the assembly to the schoolyard has become an objective, and all facts that are inconvenient to it have been eliminated.
Introduction of practical training
We conducted practical training in an actual school building to examine how the teachers and staff working there should behave in the event of a disaster. University students in the laboratory reproduced past cases of injuries and hyperventilating students, and the teachers and staff handled the situation as if they were students at their own school.
As a result, issues were found in 1) the formulation of standards for transporting students to the infirmary, 2) the review of handover procedures, and 3) the communication of information in the event of a power failure. The authors prepared and provided the standards for transporting the victims to the infirmary, since these standards require the expertise of disaster medical personnel, etc. However, the methods of handing over and information sharing need to be reviewed at each school, since they vary depending on the type of school, location, and structure of the school building.
Confusion in Schools after practical training
We conducted such the practical training at several elementary and junior high schools in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Saitama prefectures, and analyzed and discussed how such training would improve school disaster preparedness. As a result, it became clear that the training brought about a change in disaster awareness among all participating teachers and staff, but that this in turn brought about a confusing situation in which it became clear that there was a mountain of issues to be addressed, and it was difficult to know where to start.
In this presentation, we will report on the development of teaching materials, the implementation of more effective drills with students, and the effectiveness of the drills, which were carried out in collaboration with schools to break free from such a situation.