As coastal populations grow, so does the exposure to natural hazards such as hurricanes and flooding, creating the potential for increased social and economic disasters. The literature indicates coastal residents remain complacent when planning before, during, and after an event. There is a growing successful use of serious games in natural…

This article describes the possibilities of art workshops which have been conducted in Fukushima Prefecture that were affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant accident on March 11, 2011. In coastal areas, many people experienced unexpected domestic migrations/relocations and unwelcome changes in their lives due to the disaster,…

Scientists agree that we are on the precipice of a global climate crisis. How will it transform colleges and universities? In 2019, intense fires in the San Francisco Bay Area closed universities and drove afflicted people to shelter at other campuses. At the same time, extraordinary fires ravaged eastern Australia. Several universities responded…

The earthquakes which struck Nepal's capital in 2015 were humanitarian disasters. Not only did they inflict tragic loss of life and livelihoods, they also destroyed parts of the Kathmandu Valley's unique UNESCO World Heritage site. These monuments were not just ornate structures but living monuments playing central roles in the daily lives of…

Parts of this contributing article for educators was taken from a presentation given on December 1, 2022, by Dr. Patrice J. Pinder in collaboration with the University of the West Indies' (UWI) Mona Faculty of Science and Technology who hosted a UNESCO sponsored Disaster Heritage Webinar, i.e., Disaster heritage -- Jamaica National Commission for…

The activity presented in this article is part of a four-part module that centers earthquakes as a common phenomenon that students experience and introduces the idea of a resonant frequency. When the seismic waves from an earthquake encounter a building, the subsequent oscillating motion of the ground causes the building to move back and forth.…

Schools can be permanently closed for many reasons -- economic rationalisation, post-disaster relocations, population decline or educational failure. Research on permanent school closures reports mostly negative and long-lasting consequences, not just for the school's staff and students, but for the local community. After the 2010/2011 Canterbury…

This article traces the functioning of the Commissioners of National Education, outlining salient aspects of their activities in the national school system during Ireland's Great Famine of the 1840s. The role of the commissioners as an agency of government is explored in the context of their annual reports and their general response to the…

Education about catastrophes often begins with, and at times even focuses on, passing down catastrophe memories. For this education, catastrophe memories that are unique to the survivors must be translated carefully to ensure that they can be understood by successors who may not have experienced a catastrophe themselves. This study elaborates on…

The widespread occurrence of flooding and the fact that both precipitation data and river flow data are readily available for many locations provides an excellent opportunity for educators to bring relevant professionally collected data into their teaching. By connecting those data to the use of models, students can collect, interpret, and…

This presentation highlights the challenges of establishing a consistent application of the two terms, "threats" and "hazards," in academic courses and professional training, designed for emergency, disaster, and humanitarian management programs offered by public and private higher education, government agencies, and…

A common course activity used by emergency management faculty is the screening of Hollywood disaster films to provide students with an opportunity to apply key disaster concepts they have learned about in lectures. When college courses were abruptly moved online in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States, emergency management…

Examining the connections between geontologic and interrelational theories of place counter-mapping practices offers important methodological and pedagogic lessons in environmental sustainability education. Notably, the cultural counter-mapping undertaken by BIPOC women can educate on how cardinal ethics and mapping underpin ecological learning.…

Students at the elementary level should have opportunities to critique the world through mathematics and to see themselves as capable doers of mathematics. The lesson described in this article prompted students to consider how to use mathematics to organize an emergency evacuation. In this article, the authors show how small changes to a task…

In this essay the author recalls the process of organizing and interpreting an exhibition of art and language made in response to a catastrophic fire that devastated California's Sonoma and Napa counties in late 2017. The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art invited a group of artists and writers to be part of its small exhibition planning team to help…