Longitudinal assessment of tsunami knowledge in an Italian school.

Italy is at tsunami risk, a phenomenon characterized by low frequency of occurrence that can cause widespread and destructive impact on coastlines.

The activities carried out by the INGV's Tsunami Alert Center (CAT-INGV), in concert with Italian Department of Civil Protection, include tsunami risk mitigation through: i) the study of tsunami risk perception, ii) the Tsunami Ready program, and iii) educational and dissemination activities with different methodologies.

In this work we analyze the effectiveness and durability of learning about knowledge and tsunami risk with Lazzaro Spallanzani Scientific High School students, in Tivoli (Rome province).

The assessment involved the administration of an online questionnaire composed of selected items from the tsunami risk perception survey carried out by CAT for the tsunami risk perception study (Cerase et al., 2019, Cugliari et al., 2022).

The survey sample consists of 90 students identified by age group (16-19 y.o.) and study address (high school scientific address).

The assessment was made administering the questionnaire in two stages, two months apart (March 2022 and May 2022) before and after a tsunami scientific lesson with the support of multimedia tools (photos, videos, animations and infographics).

A third survey is planned for March 2023, respecting the statistical-methodological survey criteria.

Data analysis shows an evident increase in tsunami risk knowledge. Student educational needs also emerge that can be used as leverage to structure targeted and effective interventions and increase young people's awareness of tsunami risk in other areas. There is also evidence that fieldwork, with the aid of multimedia and possibly interactive or assisted media, provides successful maintenance of attention and facilitates assimilation.