Background of Study

1.1 Background of the study

The concept disaster is defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society, causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community/society to cope using its own resources (Brener et al, 2004). Russell & Bourque (1995) define disasters as those events that displace the structural, economic, organizational, cultural and spiritual well-being of communities by destroying their means of existence. Disaster could either be human-induced or natural occurrences. Disasters are natural if they just happen without being induced by humans like tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, storms and floods. Disaster preparedness refers to activities and measures taken in advance to ensure effective response to the impact of disasters, including the issuance of timely and effective early warnings and the temporary removal of people and property from a threatened location (Pankratz & Hallfors, 2004).

Fullan (2001) states that most of the natural disasters which affect people in Africa are caused by the weather, drought and floods but fewer disasters are caused by earthquakes and volcanoes. Whereas Burby (2003) posit that Kenya is a country not prone to spectacular destructive and media intensive disasters such as volcanic eruptions and massive earthquakes, but has rather been dominated by localized incidents of school fires and informal settlements fires. According to Dahlhamer & D'Souza (1997), when a natural hazard strikes, children are among the most vulnerable population group, especially those attending school in times of disaster. Furthermore during disasters, school buildings are destroyed, taking away the precious lives of children and teachers and stalling access to education in the aftermath of disaster. This is supported by the Pakistan earthquake in 2005, where over 16 000 children died in a school that collapsed and in a mudslide in the Philippines, more than 200 school children were buried alive. Therefore children need to be protected before disaster strikes. Protecting children during natural hazards requires two distinct yet inseparable priorities for action: disaster risk education and school safety as reported by Banerjee & Gillespie (2004). Natural and man-made disasters cannot be prevented, but at least communities can plan for them through disaster management involving preparedness and mitigation measures as indicated by Dalton & Burby (1994). According to Sattler & Hittner (2000), to prevent the huge destructions and to become a disaster resistant society, schools can play a pivotal role. For disaster preparedness to be achieved in schools, Disaster Management Act (Small et al, 2001) requires National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) to promote disaster management capacity building, training and education throughout the country, including schools. According

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