Raising a resilient generation: Ensuring disaster preparedness for children

At first glance, 10-year-old B. Kenit from the coastal town of Visakhapatnam in India looks like any other school-going child, but there is more than meets the eye. Inspired by a tsunami drill conducted in his school when he was eight, the third grader became a disaster risk reduction advocate, educating his fellow students and community members on early warning, evacuation, and search and rescue.

More than 6,000 kilometres away in Australia, a group of school students excitedly play with the controllers of their virtual reality headsets, deeply engaged in a game where they are comforting and preparing a dog for evacuation during a simulated bushfire scenario.

In a world where disaster risks are increasing, these examples showcase why engaging children in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is a worthwhile investment.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, a disaster related to a weather, climate or water hazard occurred every day on average over the past 50 years. As climate change is leading to a higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, the number of disasters has increased by five times during this period.

Yet improvements in early warning systems have resulted in reducing the number of deaths by almost three times. That said, certain groups continue to be disproportionately affected by disasters, including children. Often hit first and hardest when disasters strike, their safety, health, and education are always at risk.

UNICEF estimates that nearly half of the world's children - roughly 1 billion - live in one of 33 countries classified as "extremely high risk" due to climate change impacts. And between 2015 and 2021, over half a million schools have been damaged or destroyed by disasters according to data from the Sendai Framework Monitor.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a global agreement adopted by UN Member States in 2015 to reduce disaster risks and losses by the year 2030, emphasizes the need to protect children and youth by integrating their needs into disaster risk reduction strategies and promoting their active participation.

That is why the theme for this year's International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, observed on 13 October every year, is "Empowering the next generation for a resilient future." The theme highlights the role of education in protecting and empowering youth for a disaster-free future.