I learned that natural disasters can be avoided. Natural hazards exist all over the world. They don't become disasters until people and property are affected by them. By learning more about our world, we can be more prepared to avoid the losses and high costs of natural disasters. By not doing so, we are being irresponsible with lives and money.
To help my students understand the need for proper community planning and the complexity of seeing disasters before they happen, I have them play a game called Stop Disasters:
http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/home.html
The students love the game and don't realize they are learning while they are playing. It makes you want to learn more about the situations so you can improve at the game. I am afraid there is a disconnect between the students and the victims in the game because they seem like a small part of the scenario and the students tend to focus more on winning than on connecting with the humanitarian part of the disaster. In order to bridge this disconnect and bring the humanitarian part to the game, it could be coupled with a relief effort like those described by my colleagues in there blog posts.
Locally in central PA, we have all been affected by recent flooding. My students' journal entries all reflected a commonality in having flooded basements. I know of some who are beginning to have black mold problems. My idea is to have the kids research flood clean up kits and seek donations to put together kits and information packets to help educate our community about the need to clean out and clean up their flooded basements.
Reference:
Stop Disasters: International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. (n/a). Retrieved from http://www.stopdisastersgame.org/en/home.html
