Schools’ Flood Emergency Preparedness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan

Ashfaq Ahmad Shah; Jingzhong Ye; Lu Pan; Raza Ullah; Syed Irshad Ali Shah; Shah Fahad; Shaista Naz

doi:10.1007/s13753-018-0175-8

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Article Navigation > International Journal of Disaster Risk Science > 2018 > 9(2): 181-194

Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, Jingzhong Ye, Lu Pan, Raza Ullah, Syed Irshad Ali Shah, Shah Fahad, Shaista Naz. Schools’ Flood Emergency Preparedness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2018, 9(2): 181-194. doi: 10.1007/s13753-018-0175-8

Citation:

Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, Jingzhong Ye, Lu Pan, Raza Ullah, Syed Irshad Ali Shah, Shah Fahad, Shaista Naz. Schools’ Flood Emergency Preparedness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2018, 9(2): 181-194. doi: 10.1007/s13753-018-0175-8

Citation:

Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, Jingzhong Ye, Lu Pan, Raza Ullah, Syed Irshad Ali Shah, Shah Fahad, Shaista Naz. Schools’ Flood Emergency Preparedness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2018, 9(2): 181-194. doi: 10.1007/s13753-018-0175-8

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Schools’ Flood Emergency Preparedness in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan

doi: 10.1007/s13753-018-0175-8

1 College of Humanities and Development Studies(COHD), China Agriculture University, Beijing 100083, China;
2 Institute of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan;
3 Department of Agricultural Economics and Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
4 College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China;
5 Institute of Development Studies(IDS), The University of Agriculture Peshawar(AUP), Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 25000, Pakistan

Funds:

This study was part of Ph.D. research at the College of Humanities and Development Studies (COHD), China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. The research project was made possible by the sponsorship of the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). We are extremely thankful to the College of Humanities and Development (COHD) Studies, as well as the Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education (E&SE) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and school representatives, for their effective support and coordination in organizing and conducting successful interviews. Further, we would like to thank our survey team members in conducting interviews during August and September 2017. We are very thankful to Nicholas Parrott for his contribution to the proofreading and editing of this manuscript.

Available Online: 2021-04-26

Abstract

Abstract

Pakistan is highly exposed to climate-induced disasters, especially floods. Flooding history shows that educational establishments have been disproportionately hard-hit by flooding events. In Pakistan, school safety and preparedness is still a choice, rather than a mandatory requirement for all schools. But schools in Pakistan do have a responsibility to keep safe the students in their care, especially during and after the catastrophic events. This implies the need to maintain the environment in and around school property, so as to minimize the impacts of floods and to have the mechanisms in place to maximize a school’s resilience. This study examined the emergency preparedness activities of 20 schools in four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province that had recently been severely affected by floods. Through face to face interviews and a structured questionnaire (n=100) we collected data on the four pillars of emergency preparedness: emergency planning, preparation measures, safe school facilities, and hazard education and training. The study revealed that the majority of the sample schools had experienced more than one natural hazard-induced disaster, predominantly flooding, yet despite this had not undertaken adequate emergency preparedness activities. There are particular gaps with regard to plans for students with disabilities, the continuity of school operations after a disaster, the presence of maps to identify evacuation routes, the availability of emergency equipment and resources, disaster preparedness guidelines, and psychological first aid and crisis counseling. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis that our researchers carried out indicates that, although schools in the survey have taken many steps towards flood preparedness, many weaknesses still exist and there remain significant opportunities to strengthen the preparedness level of many schools. The goal of this study is to inform policy decisions that improve school safety in Pakistan and to suggest the priority areas for future school disaster preparedness and management efforts.
- Emergency preparedness,
- Flood disaster,
- Pakistan,
- School resilience,
- School safety culture

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References(65)

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