Displays

Under the influences of natural disasters, disabled people are often the majority of sufferers when a serious disaster happens. Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (3WCDRR) calls for agencies of the United Nations system, academia, the private sector, civil society, and people with disabilities to integrate the issue of the physically and mentally disabled into the new global framework for disaster reduction. Taiwan is one of the regions in the world where earthquakes occur very frequently. According to the statistics of the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau, an average of 23,000 earthquakes occurs in Taiwan each year, including about 1,000 sensational earthquakes. Earthquake prevention is therefore the essential task for campus disaster prevention and rescue programs. The school should recognize different evacuation abilities for students in special education classes, and know their special needs in earthquake disaster drills and emergency response ability.

In this study, four special education classes in elementary schools were selected as examples to understand the current situation in the engagement with earthquake drills by way of interviews and questionnaires. The evacuation abilities of students in special classes are classified into four categories based on the issues of physical environment, manpower arrangement, and both students’ and teachers’ educations in earthquake prevention. On the basis of the results, the conclusions regarding to those three issues can be drawn as follows. For the first issue concerning the physical environment, the teaching space for special education classes should consider the students’ evacuation abilities. Second, both internal and external support manpower should understand the students' evacuation capabilities and give different assistance based on their abilities. Last, the education goals in earthquake disaster prevention for students in different categories should be different. The earthquake drills should be well arranged in the aspects of time, place, equipment, and manpower assistance. It is important to note that special education teachers and assistants should have good knowledge in earthquake disaster prevention, understand the appropriate response to earthquake disaster, and strive to ensure the safety of students and themselves in the evacuation process.

How to cite: Ma, K.-C., Wang, M.-H., Lee, M.-H., and Chuang, M.-H.: A study on the Status of Earthquake Drills for Special Education Classes in Taiwan Elementary Schools, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2790, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2790, 2020.

Nepal is located above the convergent India-Eurasia plate boundary and has repeatedly experienced devastating earthquakes. During the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, an often-reported experience was that people were not aware of the threatening seismic hazard and have insufficient level of preparedness. An important source of the problem is that earthquake-related topics are not part of the school curriculum. Earthquake education reaching a broad group of the population early in their lives is therefore strongly needed.

We have established an initiative in Nepal to introduce seismology in schools, which relies on two pillars: a low-cost seismic network with stations installed in schools (presented in another session) and educational activities in schools on earthquakes and the related hazards. For classical teaching, we have prepared educational materials adapted to the Nepali school system, labels and language. By using these materials, not only students in the schools but also local people in the community can learn earthquake education and follow guidelines for better preparedness. We also developed educational sessions using Raspberry Shake low-cost seismometers, for example to record earthquake waveforms and to allow learning-by-doing classroom activities.

For efficient implementation, we have organized a 2-day workshop for the school teachers to prepare them for the new teaching, which was presented by experts in the field and included lots of discussion to find the adapted level. Moreover, during our field visits, we give special lectures and also perform earthquake drills with the students. Well-prepared educational materials such as flyers and stickers are distributed to students, and demonstration tools for physics to schools. All the material from our project is freely available on our program’s website: http://seismoschoolnp.org.

We have started the program by choosing 22 schools in the region, and establishing direct contact with the teachers, principals and the local communities. We found this was an efficient way to implement the project, especially in rural areas. The preliminary and personal feedbacks reflect that this program is well received. A survey-based evaluation on the program’s impact on the local community is being carried out, and we plan to present results at the conference. We hope that the project is able to help this region to prepare for future earthquakes, and we seek that the initiative is spread to other regions  to make earthquake-safer communities across Nepal.

How to cite: Subedi, S., Hetényi, G., Denton, P., and Sauron, A.: Educational seismology in Nepali schools: tailored solutions to start a program , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-15142, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-15142, 2020.

Nepal, located above the convergent India-Eurasia plate boundary, has repeatedly experienced devastating earthquakes. During the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, an often-reported experience was that people were not aware of the threatening seismic hazard and have insufficient level of preparedness. An important source of the problem is that earthquake-related topics are not part of the school curriculum. Earthquake education reaching a broad group of the population early in their lives is therefore strongly needed.

We established an initiative in Nepal to introduce seismology in schools, with focus on education and citizen seismology. We have prepared educational materials adapted to the Nepali school system, which we distributed and also share on our program’s website: . In selected schools, we also installed a low-cost seismometer to record seismicity and to allow learning-by-doing classroom activities. Our approach was very well received and we hope it will help making earthquake-safe communities across Nepal.

The seismic sensor installed in schools is a Raspberry Shake 1D (RS1D), selected based on performance in laboratory tests and adequacy to field conditions. At a test site in Switzerland we were able to record magnitude 1.0 events up to 50 km distance with a RS1D. In Nepal, 22 such seismometers installed in schools create the Nepal School Seismology Network providing online data openly. The seismometer in each school allows students to be informed of earthquakes, visualize the respective waveforms, and estimate distance and magnitude of the event. For significant local and regional events, we provide record sections and network instrumental intensity maps on our program’s website.

In 6 months of network operation, more than 194 local and teleseismic earthquakes of M≥4 have been recorded. From a local and a global catalogue, complemented with our own visual identifications, we provide an earthquake wave detectability graph in distance—magnitude space. Based on our observations, we calibrate a new magnitude equation for Nepal, related to the epicentral distance D[km] and to the observed peak ground velocity PGV[µm/s]. The calibration is done to best fit local catalogue magnitudes, and we will present the updated parameters at the conference.

How to cite: Hetényi, G., Subedi, S., Denton, P., and Sauron, A.: Seismology at School in Nepal: a network and program for education and citizen seismology, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19450, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19450, 2020.

Lack of access to science-based natural hazards information impedes the effectiveness of school-based disaster risk reduction education. To address this challenge, we have created 10 geosciences video lessons (https://www.youtube.com/user/EuroGeosciencesUnion) that follow an innovative pedagogy known as paired teaching. This approach is used to supplement the standard school curriculum with video lessons instructed by geoscientists from around the world and activities carried out by local classroom teachers.

To evaluate the effectiveness of these virtual lessons, we tested selected videos with 38 sixth grade students (12 years of age) and 39 nine grade students (12-13 years of age) from two school classes in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and London (United Kingdom), respectively. By examining the same videos with two different groups of student populations, we aimed to identify potential factors (e.g., geographic location, culture, level of hazard experience) influencing students’ learning and/or teachers’ teaching of natural hazard information. We asked students from both groups to complete questionnaires before and after video implementations. Questionnaires probed students on topics covered by each video including the Earth’s interior, tectonic plate boundaries, and nonstructural hazards.  

Prior to video implementation, a significant percentage of students from Dushanbe (71%) and from London (51%) demonstrated no conceptual framework about the Earth’s interior. However, when asked about the causes of earthquakes, 90% of London students mentioned plate tectonics in their responses while 51% of Dushanbe students only made references to mountains and volcanoes. Both groups responded similarly to questions concerning earthquake forecasting where most students said it is possible to know the location of future earthquakes, but not their exact time of occurrence. Similarly, both groups demonstrated some knowledge of nonstructural hazards found in typical school classrooms prior to video testing. Following video implementation, a notable portion of Tajik students (71%) showed an increased level of understanding of the Earth’s interior. This is 40% higher than the level of improvement observed in the responses of the UK students. Tajik students showed little improvement (23%) in their understanding of the causes of earthquakes, and continued to list mountains and volcanoes as the primary reasons for earthquake occurrence. For nonstructural hazards identification, both groups showed significant improvement in classroom hazard identification (60% and 80% for Dushanbe and London groups, respectively).  

Our video testing and result comparison between two groups reveal a number of factors affecting curriculum testing (e.g., level of teachers’ participation and suitable classroom culture) and students’ learning of content (e.g., past hazard experience). In this presentation, we discuss these factors and how to maximize the impact of school-based risk reduction education.  

How to cite: Mohadjer, S., Mutz, S., Kemp, M., Gill, S., Ischuk, A., and Ehlers, T.: Paired teaching approach to earthquake education: a cross-country comparison between Dushanbe, Tajikistan and London, United Kingdom, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11230, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11230, 2020.

Here we present several teaching demonstrations and hands-on activities for natural hazards. Many methods exist to actively involve students and local community participants, particularly when numbers are large, so that teaching is not just `receiving of information' via monologue talks and using powerpoint. These methods include (a) breaking up into small group discussions, (b) group ‘role playing’ exercises, (c) serious games, (d) hands-on activities, and (e) class demonstrations. This paper concentrates on the latter and includes demos/activities for (a) earthquakes, (b) landslides, (c) tsunamis, (d) volcanoes and (e) weather. Natural hazards demonstrations/activities presented here are mostly inexpensive, have been used in front of large university classes and smaller `break-out groups', and are also appropriate for secondary-school students, university students, and local community communications. We have found that as a teaching tool, students and community participants often become much interested and more excited about what they are learning if use is made of these 5-10 minute class demonstrations or activities, even if only peripherally related to the subject at hand. Resultant discussion with questions and comments by students keeps both the students and the lecturer motivated and intrigued about the subjects being discussed. Days, weeks, and months later, the students remember these `demonstrations', but to set these up takes time, effort, and resources of equipment, although not necessarily a large amount of the latter.

How to cite: Malamud, B. D. and Taylor, F.: Hands-On Demonstrations for Natural Hazards, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-20155, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-20155, 2020.

We present our experience of learning by doing while integrating ICT, advanced and classic techniques in classroom and fieldwork, to teach Natural Hazards at University. The learning activities are structured around a mountain valley affected by floods and landslides. The working groups (4-5 students) focus on a specific stretch along the valley and adjacent slopes. We alternate classroom activities with field work, organized in 3 steps: 1) Information compilation and preparation of the field work; 2) field work (3 days); and 3) GIS analysis considering hazardous and exposed areas, and final synthesis. The students work with dropbox to compile basic hazard information of the area from archives, administration and university databases, etc. To prepare the field work, they use classical stereoscopic photointerpretation to characterize the geoforms and to study the reference flood occurred in 1982 through ancient aerial photographs. In the field, they use cellphone photos, GoogleEarth and PPT to present their preliminary observations. They use these data to collectively construct the indicators and hazard legends, and to generate the indicators and hazard maps (group task). To conclude, the students present an individual report, including a hazard evaluation and a preliminary risk map generated by GIS analysis. The group tasks and the individual report are used for assessment.

How to cite: Furdada, G. and Guinau, M.: Teaching Natural Hazards at University level: Integration of ICT, and advanced and classic techniques in classroom and fieldwork., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10481, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10481, 2020.

Climate change, globalization, urbanization and increased interconnectedness between physical, human and technical systems pose major challenges to disaster risk reduction, and natural hazards and disaster research. This calls for novel scientific approaches and new data collections between the natural hazards paradigm and the vulnerability paradigm. Such interdisciplinary problem-solving approaches requires collaboration between multiple disciplines, which also increases the need to introduce interdisciplinary curriculum into higher education within natural hazard research. But, how can we construct a course of study that involve students to adopt interdisciplinary practices and interact across disciplines? The Centre of Natural Hazards and Disaster Science (CNDS) in Sweden, is an interdisciplinary research centre that gathers earth-, engineering- and social scientists to work on understanding coupled human-nature systems and reciprocal feedback mechanisms between natural hazards and sociotechnical vulnerability. The centre also has a strong focus on training early career scientists in interdisciplinary natural hazards research, both through its research school and its international summer school for PhD students. Here we share our experience in training the next generation of early career scientists in the nexus of natural hazards and sociotechnical vulnerability, and present the challenges and opportunities of teaching natural hazards in an interdisciplinary setting.

How to cite: Mård, J. and Di Baldassarre, G.: Creating an interdisciplinary environment for training early career scientists in natural hazards, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13265, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13265, 2020.

Climate change changes the pathway to reach sustainable development. However, the spirit of sustainability is neglected in Taiwan’s education system, which ignored the relationship between climate change and sustainability. This study aims to re-examine the content of climate change education, integrate the concepts of sustainable development, climate change adaptation and transition niche in 12-Year Basic Education Curricula, in order to fill the gap between the international sustainable development trend and climate change education. The methods are literature review and data-gathering methods to understand the connotation through the implementation of international education for sustainable development and climate change education. Furthermore, climate change literacy questionnaires which examined the content validity by the experts were analyzed the sustainability assessment and indicators. At last, the combination of international sustainable development concepts, literacy surveys, questionnaires, is proved to be an effective design for climate change literacy of high school students.  As a result, these can be used as an important framework for designing effective educational strategies to improve students’ climate change literacy and raise their sustainability performance in their daily life.

Key Words: Education for sustainable development、Climate change education、Sustainability assessment and indicators、Climate change literacy

How to cite: Hung, W. and Tung, C.-P.: Climate Change Education: From Sustainable Development Thinking to Climate Action, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3640, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3640, 2020.

Dealing with topics concerning natural risk management in a volcanic environment, can greatly benefit from innovative techniques. In particular, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are well known by Native Digital and can be used by lower-level and university students to promote their understanding of natural risks.

3DTeLC is a three-year trans-European project funded by the Erasmus+ Key Action 2 programme: “Cooperation for Innovation and Exchange of Good Practices, a European scheme that fosters higher education partnerships” (https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/key-action-2).

The main goal of this project is to help young students to become highly-skilled professionals in the field of environment and geosciences, gaining knowledge in image and 3D-spatial analysis, data management and informatics, and strengthening their mathematical and numerical skills in Earth observation and data analysis.

In the framework of this project INGV team has developed a “Talking poster”, using a custom AR tool to propose a user friendly approach aimed at the reduction of volcanic and seismic risks.

How to cite: Reitano, D. and Falsaperla, S.: Augmented reality for volcanic and seismic risk communication, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-16813, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16813, 2020.

Environmental radioactivity is all around us, but the perception of the hazard deriving from this phenomenon is often altered by widespread negative feelings, misconceptions and the shortage of didactic paths dealing effectively with the topic. Ingenious methods for promoting knowledge exchange between researchers, general public and students are increasingly in demand. Traditional physics lessons need to embrace new smart technological tools more familiar to new generations.

We developed a powerful and stand-alone portable detection system called GammaEDU. This device operates autonomously to quantify the presence of radioactive elements in the environment through the detection of gamma rays emitted by their decays and can exchange data with users’ mobile devices via Bluetooth wireless connection.

Through the easy to use GammaEDU Android app the layman operator visualizes in real time the gamma ray spectrum acquired by the detector. The main spectrum structures are automatically highlighted by the software, which allows to take the GPS coordinates and shoot a picture of the surrounding environment. An automatic algorithm processes the acquired spectrum on-board, obtaining the estimated abundances of the different radioisotopes. The data are saved in a KMZ file reporting the measurement results ready to be visualized in a Google Earth and shared on cloud services or social-media applications.

GammaEDU was successfully tested during several educational activities to explore in-situ environmental radioactivity with the general public and with university and lower-level students. Thematic maps of natural radioactivity were created and found to be an effective educational tool for heightening awareness of natural hazards and break out of traditional communication approaches.

How to cite: Albéri, M., Bottardi, C., Chiarelli, E., Raptis, K. G. C., Serafini, A., Strati, V., and Mantovani, F.: GammaEDU: an innovative tool for sensitizing society to natural radioactivity, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-16228, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16228, 2020.

Flood risk assessment and the design of risk reduction strategies often neglect the influence of socio-economic development on future exposure and vulnerability to floods and their development over time. Flood risks will increase or decrease depending on proactive adaptations of both households and government. A cooperation between household and government is therefore essential and may be reached by encouraging a constructive flood risk dialog. To overcome communication barriers, ease knowledge transfer between stakeholders and allow an integral rise in flood risk awareness the web-based tool “Flood damage simulator” is introduced.

As a communication and awareness-raising instrument for flood risk management, the tool is directed at various user groups such as policy makers, local authorities, spatial planners as well as researchers. The tool offers scenarios which represent the magnitude of flood damages to be expected today and show possible trends in the near future. Furthermore, it is possible to customize a user defined scenario in which the key flood risk drivers exposure, vulnerability and flood extension can be individually adapted, thus breaking down a complex topic in more comprehensible subunits. Generated knowledge and awareness might promote proactive adaptation of both households and government leading to a reduction of flood risk.

How to cite: Brughelli, M., Fehlmann, A., Mertin, M., Zischg, A., Mosimann, M., Martius, O., and Keiler, M.: Damage simulator - a tool to explore the effects of flood risk drivers on the development of flood damage in Switzerland, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19655, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19655, 2020.

Reducing disaster risk is critical to securing the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and natural hazard scientists can help to do this. Their understanding of Earth dynamics underpins hazard analysis, which (alongside analysis of other disaster risk drivers) in turn informs the actions needed to manage and reduce disaster risk. Here we outline how natural hazard research scientists can contribute to the planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities through improved engagement in disaster risk reduction (DRR). Building on existing good practice, this talk therefore aims to provoke discussion in the natural hazard science community about how we strengthen our engagement in DRR. We first set out seven reflections on improving the integration of natural hazard science into DRR: (i) characterise multi-hazard environments, (ii) prioritise effective, long-term partnerships, (iii) understand and listen to stakeholder, (iv) embed cultural understanding into natural hazards research, (v) ensure improved and equitable access to hazards information, (vi) champion people-centred DRR (leave no one behind), and (vii) improve links between DRR and sustainable development. We then proceed to synthesise key actions that natural hazards scientists and research funders can take to improve education, training, and research design, and to strengthen institutional, financial and policy actions. We suggest that these actions support the translation, adoption and effective application of natural hazards science, and will enable the natural hazard science community to contribute more effectively to the integrated work needed to improve DRR activities.

How to cite: Gill, J. C., Taylor, F. E., Duncan, M., Mohadjer, S., Budimir, M., and Mdala, H.: How can natural hazard scientists enhance their contribution to building sustainable and resilient societies?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-16893, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-16893, 2020.

There is currently around a 30% probability New Zealand’s Alpine Fault will accommodate another M~8 earthquake in the next 50 years. The fault passes through Franz Josef Glacier town, a popular tourist destination attracting up to 6,000 visitors per day during peak season. The township straddles the fault, with building stock and infrastructure likely to be affected by at least 8m horizontal and 1.5m vertical ground displacements in this coming event. New Alpine Fault science is presented here that adds to the strong evidence in support of moving the township northward and out of a 200m zone of deformation across the fault zone to mitigate future losses.

In 2011 two shallow boreholes were drilled at Gaunt Creek, as part of the Alpine Fault Drilling Project, DFDP. In cores collected from the deeper of these boreholes (DFDP-1B), two ‘principal slip zones (PSZ)’ were sampled, indicating the fault is not a simple geometrical structure. Subsequent studies of the recovered cores have demonstrated:

These studies, combined with other recent outcrop studies nearby, highlight that the central Alpine Fault zone is a complex structure comprising multiple PSZ in the near surface, some of which may have been simultaneously active in past earthquakes. The results support previous studies (e.g. lidar mapping of offset Quaternary features) that underpinned definition of an ‘avoidance zone’ around the fault trace in the town. Sadly, local government has failed to acknowledge this risk in public legislature in a way that adequately protects tourism and community infrastructure, and the >1.3 million visitors passing through the region each year. We will explain other actions consequently taken to build awareness and resilience to this hazard.

How to cite: Toy, V., Schuck, B., Matsumura, R., Orchiston, C., Barth, N., and Stirling, M.: Scientific basis for definition of a fault rupture hazard in Franz Josef Glacier, West Coast, New Zealand, and the fight to see use made of this information. , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-5316, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-5316, 2020.

Sea level rise (SLR) in the 21st century poses fundamental risks to coastal residents. The U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast (Gulf Coast) is among the regions experiencing the most rapid SLR. In addition to its increasing exposure to SLR and related coastal flooding, the Gulf Coast is home to a large percentage of population that displays high social vulnerability. How the coastal population in this vulnerable region perceives the impending risks posed by SLR warrants further examination. The gap between scientific assessment and laymen’s perceptions of climate change and its impacts has posed fundamental challenges in risk communication. Without a thorough understanding of how probabilistic SLR projections would be perceived by the public, scientific communication and adaptation efforts may be hindered. Using a new comprehensive Gulf Coast survey data, this study examines perceptions of future sea level change and provides the first explicit  comparison of coastal residents’ expectation with scientific projections of SLR by mid-21^st cenruty.

How to cite: Shao, W., Moftakhari, H., and Moradkhani, H.: Do Laymen’s Perceptions of Sea Level Rise Risk Conform to the Scientific Projections? , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21101, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21101, 2020.

The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers form in the Himalaya and its catchment is shared among five countries and ultimately deposits the freshwater and sediments in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta shared between Bangladesh and India. The delta is strongly influenced by neighbouring countries’ water and sediment management decisions in addition to environmental, climatic and internal management. The coastal population is exposed to climate hazards, including fluvio-tidal floods, tropical cyclones accompanied by storm surges, river-bank erosion, saline water intrusion and arsenic contamination of shallow aquifers. It is also evident that, low income countries prioritize developmental activities for economic development. Hence, disaster prevention and control are not well integrated into socioeconomic activities, which increases exposures and even new disaster risks.

The concept of risk governance includes institutional and policy process to guide/monitor collective activities of a group or community to regulate, reduce or control risk problems. The multi-hazard risk assessment of Ganges Brahmaputra Meghna delta communities depicts the complexities in implementation of risk governance in developing country context. Risk governance has  also been emphasized in the global agreements like Sustainable Development Goals and Sendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction. SFDRR priority 2, states the strengthening of disaster risk governance to manage disaster risks with global targets of reducing economic loss, enhancing international cooperation and substantial increase in availability and access to disaster risk information fostering partnerships and collaboration.

Present study analyses the risk governance frameworks in the multi-hazard parlance to understand the effectiveness of policies and plan for the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) river delta communities. The qualitative research also reflects that experiences of developing countries on institutional parallelism and implementation challenges. The relationship between state and sub‑national governments has also been examined in the context of local governance systems (both formal and informal).

How to cite: Pal, I. and Szabo, S.: Multi-Hazard Risk Governance framework and implementation challenges in Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta communities – linking science, policy and decision makers, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-22363, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22363, 2020.