Hazards, whether natural or man-made, are sources of damage to both the human and the natural environments. The vulnerabilities of the communities throughout the world to a wide range of hazards from hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding and drought, to civil unrest, famine, displacement and terrorism, is well documented by the media on a yearly basis.
Reports of specific events caused by the impact of hazards routinely include references to repetitive damage from recurring events, the surprising magnitude of damage, as well as the fact that lessons from previous events are often forgotten. A conclusion often reached in the aftermath of disasters is that there is a critical need for education at all levels, meaning education relative to vulnerability, hazards, and mitigation.
Education with the objective of reducing the potential for damage to vulnerable communities from hazards must be: a) a continuous effort, not just an activity undertaken in the aftermath of an impact, b) a wide ranging effort that utilizes the total educational system from primary and secondary schools, to higher education, continuing education and various outreach media, c) a dynamic effort based on a model that allows for the acquisition of new knowledge from each new disaster, and d) a practical effort promoting "showing" rather than "telling" based on an interactive approach.
Developing a Culture of Mitigation through Education is a K-12 initiative that was started in the Spring of 2002 with those objectives in mind. The initiative is a collaboration between the Global CDMHA at USF in Tampa, and the International Hurricane Center (IHC) at FIU in Miami.
