Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery GFDRR Secretariat 1818 H Street NW Washington, DC 20433, USA Telephone: 202 458 0268 Facsimile: 202 522 3227 E-mail: [email protected] Web Site: www.gfdrr.org GUIDAN INEE Secretariat C c/o the International Rescue Committee E 122 East 42nd Street, 14th floor N New York, NY 10168-1289 OTE Telephone: 212 551 2720 S Fax: 212 551 3185 ON SAFER S Email: [email protected] Web Site: www.ineesite.org 2009 C HOOL CON S Guidance Notes TRU C on Safer School TION Construction Global Facility for Disaster Special thanks to the partners who support GFDRR’s work to protect livelihoods and Reduction and Recovery improve lives: Australia, Canada, Denmark, European Commission, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and the World Bank. INEE would like to thank the World Bank, CIDA and Unbound Philanthropy for their financial support to the initiative. The Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction were developed as collaboration between the Inter- Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) at the World Bank, in partnership with the Coalition for Global School Safety and Disaster Prevention Education, the IASC Education Cluster and the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. INEE acknowledges the leading work of Darren Hertz, the consultant who facilitated the development of these Guidance Notes; Sanjaya Bhatia representing GFDRR; and Allison Anderson and Monica Garcia representing INEE. In addition, hundreds of individuals and agencies contributed to this consultative process of workshops, peer reviews and the sharing of good practices and lessons learned from tools and country-specific case studies. In particular, the guidance and expertise of Garry De la Pomerai, James Lewis, Khizer Omer, and Marla Petal, were instrumental. For a full list of acknowledgements, please see Appendix 3. INEE is a global, open network of over 3,500 members working in 115 countries within a humanitarian and development framework to ensure all persons the right to safe, quality education in emergencies, disasters and recovery. www.ineesite.org GFDRR is a partnership of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) system to support the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA). The GFDRR provides technical and financial assistance to high risk low- and middle-income countries to mainstream disaster reduction in national development strategies and plans to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The information and advice contained in this publication is provided as general guidance only. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information. This publication is not a substitute for specific engineering advice. The World Bank, the Inter Agency Network for Education in Emergencies, and the authors accept no liability. Design: [email protected] Cover photo: © Mats Lignell, Save the Children Photo above: © The World Bank/Wu Zhiyi Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery Table of Contents Terminology: a chart of key terms ...................................................................................... iv 1. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 1 2. The Need for Safer Schools: Introduction, Objectives and Scope .................... 9 3. We CAN Build Safer Schools: Case Studies and Guiding Principles .............. 13 How safe are your schools? ........................................................................................ 18 4. Suggested steps towards safer school buildings ................................................... 19 4.1 Identifying Key Partners .................................................................................... 23 4.2 Determining risk .................................................................................................. 30 4.3 Defining Performance Objectives ................................................................... 38 4.4 Adopting Building Codes and Retrofit Standards ...................................... 42 4.5 Assessing a School site .................................................................................... 46 4.6 Assessing the Vulnerability of Existing School Buildings .......................... 54 4.7 Preparing a School or Retrofitting Design .................................................... 60 4.8 Assuring Quality of Construction and Retrofit Works ................................ 69 5. Basic Design Principles ............................................................................................... 75 5.1 Earthquakes .......................................................................................................... 77 5.2 Windstorms .......................................................................................................... 87 5.3 Flood ...................................................................................................................... 92 5.4 Landslide .............................................................................................................. 95 5.5 Wildfires ................................................................................................................ 97 6. Appendix 1. Rationale and Background to the Development of Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction ....................................................................... 99 Appendix 2: Safe and Child Friendly School Buildings: A Save the Children poster ............................................................................................................... 101 Appendix 3. Acknowledgements and Links to Additional Information, List of Documents Consulted ...................................................................................... 102 TERMINOLOGY Natural hazards are “Natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and eco- nomic disruption, or environmental damage” if we do not take measures to prevent these impacts. The term hazard event refers to the actual occurrence of a hazard. A hazard event may or may not result in the loss of life or damage to human interests. A disaster is a “serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which ex- ceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources”. Risk is the product of hazards over which we have no control and vulnerabilities and ca- pacities over which we can exercise very good control. Vulnerability is the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. A school is said to be ‘at-risk’ or ‘vulnerable’, when it is exposed to known hazards and is likely to be adversely affected by the impact of those hazards if and when they occur. Capacity is the combination of all the strengths, attributes and resources available within a community, society or organization that can be used to achieve disaster reduction and prevention. In this context, capacity refers to the knowledge, skills, human social and politi- cal relationships that can be used to reduce vulnerabilities. Mitigation refers to the process of the lessening or limiting of the adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters. Hazard (or Disaster) Resilience is the ability of a system, community or society ex- posed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions. Disaster Risk Reduction is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the causal factors of disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise manage- ment of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. Preparedness is the knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events or conditions. Page iv / Prevention is the outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters. Responses is the provision of emergency services and public assistance during or imme- diately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public