Promotion of Disaster Risk Reduction Education
Disaster Risk Reduction Education for Children in Elementary and Junior High Schools
As it is the job of each individual to protect themselves and their families while supporting the disaster risk reduction capability of communities during times of disaster, it is important to train people who can take appropriate actions at such times.
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sendai City compiled its disaster risk reduction education policy and has implemented its own original disaster risk reduction education program at all municipal elementary and junior high schools since FY 2016. All schools appoint a teacher in charge of disaster risk reduction, and supplementary readers for disaster risk reduction education—describing Sendai City’s original disaster risk reduction education—are distributed to all children and used in lessons of various subjects.
To ensure that the experiences and lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake are passed on, students visit the former Arahama Elementary School, a preserved earthquake memorial site. Since FY 2022, all municipal elementary schools in Sendai City conduct this visit. To help students learn about local disaster risks, workshops are held where children recreate the topography of their own school districts using 3D dioramas. These hands-on sessions encourage students to think for themselves about locations likely to experience flooding or landslides.
Supplementary Readers for Disaster Risk Reduction Education
To ensure the experiences and lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake are passed on to the next generation, Sendai City has created supplementary readers for disaster risk reduction education. They include first-hand accounts from the disaster, accurate knowledge about disasters, and practical guidance on how to protect one’s life. The goal is to cultivate children’s ability to think, make decisions, and take action on their own.
The readers are structured in three volumes tailored to different developmental stages: a printed version is distributed to students in grades 1–3 of elementary school, while the volumes for grades 4–6 and junior high school students are provided as web books. This format allows key learning points to be revisited and reinforces children’s awareness and understanding of disaster risk reduction.
Inquiries
Educational Supervision Section,
Educational Bureau
kyo019120@city.sendai.jp
Education Center,
Educational Bureau
info-web@sendai-c.ed.jp
Cooperation with Miyagi University of Education
On August 30, 2019, the City of Sendai, Sendai Board of Education, and Miyagi University of Education made a trilateral agreement to cooperate in matters such as promotion and education of disaster risk reduction with the aim of conveying the experiences and lessons learned from the Great East Japan Earthquake to children in Sendai who did not experience the disaster, and with the goal of making both a national and global contribution to disaster risk reduction efforts.
Going forward, the City will cooperate in various fields such as the cultivation of human resources and improvement in disaster risk reduction education and research, promotion of the use of disaster ruins (including Arahama Elementary School), and advancement of global cooperation in disaster risk reduction.
Inquiries
Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City Promotion Office,
City Planning Policy Bureau
mac001605@city.sendai.jp