Role of School Students in Disaster Risk Management

- T. Annamathy
Teacher, SRV, Dindigul

Principal Madam, VP, Head Mistress, Teachers and my dear students,

good morning to all of you. Now I am going to talk about the role of School
Students in Disaster Risk Management.

You know well, there will be a big tragedy or heartbreak incident in our earth in
every ten or fifteen years or even every year. They are nothing but disaster such as
cyclone at Thanuskodi in the year 1964, flood all over the state every year, Tsunami
in 2004, earthquake in Gujarat, drought and other issues due to climate change. Due
to all these, so many lakhs of people died. Assets and infrastructure with the thousands
of Cores of rupees got lost.

In the occurrence of any kind of disaster, the children are the most vulnerable
group. So that I here talk about disaster.

So, nowadays, every one of us should aware about the issues of disaster and
disaster risk management techniques.

You will agree with the belief that education is not only about acquiring
knowledge, it is also about applying the knowledge for the betterment of the society.
Tagged as the “future” of the society, it is the responsibility of every school student to
bring about major changes in the lives of the society as a whole through their dedicated
efforts. In line with the uncertainties that the future beholds, the onus will be on
students to do their best to mitigate the damaging effects of a natural disaster.

Gaining strength from their acquired bookish and practical knowledge, students
play a major role in not only devising well-informed plans to face an eventuality but
also in handholding victims of a disaster through their timely intervention. This is where
their presence comes to the fore as part of an effective “Disaster Management”.

What is Disaster Management?

Disaster is an incident that which will create human and economic loss.

Disaster is can be divided into two types:

1. Man Made Disaster: Dams, road accident, building collapse, etc

2. Natural Disaster: Earthquake, Tsunami, flood, landslide, cyclone, fire, drought,

volcano, etc.

Disaster Management, also called as Crisis Management or risk management or

is a methodical process to safeguard the lives and property of people from unforeseen
natural and man-made crises. All in an attempt to reduce the loss caused by a
calamity, the student community teamed with groups of teachers has made its strong

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presence felt in assisting communities to better deal with exigencies.
Many instances of students saving the lives of their fellow mates and strangers can
become an inspiration to everyone to do the best they can to reduce the suffering
caused by a disastrous episode.

Ways in Which Students Can Support During a Crisis

If you as a student are inclined towards lending a helping hand to others, the
following sections will help you contribute to this noble ideal of social service.

A Disaster in School

Imagine a scenario when a group of students witness another student lose

consciousness after he being accidently electrocuted through a faulty switch. When
faced with such a situation, it calls for a great deal of presence of mind from the
onlookers to find a way to save the victim.

Here are the preventive steps students can take to help to save an accident victim.

 A well-chalked out plan that will be come into force during an internal or
external disaster
 Active involvement with public service agencies like ambulance, police
and fire departments
 Training imparted to school staff to better manage the crisis without
panicking
 Circulation of pamphlets about disaster management in every classroom
 Identifying the extent of damage caused by the crisis as a data point for
the head of the institution to initiate corrective measures
 Constantly being watchful about the safety of school mates

Acting on Information – The Best Way to Manage an External Crisis

Education is all about assimilating information. And this information comes from
books and experiences. Far away from experiencing this benefit are the illiterates who
live in remote villages. Such people are the ones who are susceptible to nature’s fury
which can come in the form of an inundating flood or a shaky earthquake.

Following are the ways in which you can become a source of important
information to them who are in the dire need of your support to overcome the troubled
situation.

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  You can spread the word about disasters along with certain measures
that can be taken to handle them better
 You can productively utilize your holiday time by organizing mock camps,
throwing light on the “do’s” and “don’ts” of a natural calamity or accident
 Setting up and becoming a part of “rescue teams” can come as another
worthwhile move to save people during an emergency
 You as a volunteer should ensure that the victims do not panic during the
emergency.
 First-aid training imparted to students is a good damage-control
mechanism that a well-informed group of students can implement

Working With Government Specialized Agencies:

NDRF = National Disaster Response Force, there is a wing at Arokkonam

IMD = Indian Metrological Department, New Delhi

IRCS = Indian Red Cross Society

NIDM = National Institute of Disaster Management

NDMA = National Disaster Management Authority

SDMA = State Disaster Management Authority

DDMA = District Disaster Management Agency

Emergency Contact No:

SDMA (State level) = 1070

DDMA (District level) = 1077

Donations to Victims

As a timely response to a crisis that has occurred, you as a student volunteer

can take up the responsibility of saving lives. Being a volunteer to such a group will
help you offer your support to the troubled souls who rely on external help. While your
first move is to identify and locate the survivors, your next move is to call for help by
informing the civic service providers. Last but not the least is to provide resources in

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the form of medicines, food, water, shelter and clothes to the injured. In order to
achieve this goal, you can actively engage in donation camps.

Trying to do your bit to lessen the inconvenience of a disaster, you can not only
collect funds but can also bring about awareness amongst communities to part with
their old clothes, blankets and books to the victims. On humanitarian grounds, you can
also request others to supply consumables like milk and biscuits to the disaster
victims.

Conclusion

In addition to the above mentioned ways in which you as a student can become
a messiah of love and peace during an exigency, the quality time that you spend with
the victims will surely work wonders. This humane gesture of yours will help the victims
come out of their troubled state faster than expected, soothing their physical and
emotional disturbances. Healing people better than medicines, it is though this act of
community service that you will become a role model in the lives of the survivors of a
major disaster or minor accident. Helping them wriggle back to the state of normalcy,
there will come a day when you will become a hero in the lives of victims you helped
through your selfless service and presence of mind.

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