APELL for schools and educational buildings: a community-based approach for school safety and education for disaster reduction
Knowledge management and education can help communities located in hazard-prone areas gain a better grasp of the ways to cope with risks. Education has been recognized as an essential element in sustainable development and is entirely linked with disaster risk reduction strategies, since it accelerates the progress of societies toward disaster resilience.
Furthermore, safe schools and educational buildings, well known as potential ‘safe havens’ against industrial and natural hazards, have proven effective in saving lives; their importance therefore needs to be emphasized in disaster risk management.