Reducing Vulnerability of School Children to Earthquakes: A project of School Earthquake Safety Initiative (SESI)

Earthquake damages residential buildings and infrastructures alike. The damageswitnessed in the past tell a compelling story that among the damages caused toinfrastructures, damages to school facilities are disproportionately high. Many schools inthe earthquake prone regions are vulnerable to earthquakes and are susceptible to severedamages often killing the students and teachers during an earthquake. In addition to thealready existing vulnerable schools, many schools are being constructed without propercompliance to earthquake safety standards. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)envisage education for all by 2015. In order to achieve this target, there is a large pressureto build thousands of class rooms in many of the developing countries and non-complianceto the safety standards means vulnerable schools are increasing. As witnessed in the past, the school buildings which are supposed to provide education to children are also thecause of death in many disasters.