Regional guide for schools to prepare for tsunamis

The Regional Guide is intended to provide practical guidance to school administrations on how to prepare for and respond to a tsunami risk. This guide is particularly relevant to schools in tsunami prone areas, although much of the procedures are applicable to flood prone or even multi-hazard areas. Whilst many guides or instructional manuals exist, this guide is based on reports from expert technical agencies, as well as lessons learned and good practices that have emerged from the practical experience under the project.

The Regional Guide has two main sections:

1. Seven steps of school tsunami evacuation drills: They are based on the technical expertise of internationally reputed agencies that UNDP partnered with for this project – the International Tsunami Information Center (ITIC), Hawaii; the IOCUNESCO Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Center (IOTIC), Indonesia; Tohoku University, Japan and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). They illustrate the minimum steps for an effective tsunami evacuation drill.
2. School tsunami preparedness: It highlights measures that schools need to have in place before to be able to carry out an effective evacuation during a tsunami. This guide also highlights the importance of context and that preparedness is an iterative process.

By adapting this guide to schools’ needs, schools can improve their preparedness and enhance the safety of their students and teachers during a tsunami event.