Rapaport, C and Ashkenazi, I (2019) Drop down or flee out? New official earthquake recommended instructions for schools and kindergartens in Israel. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 10(1), pp. 52-64. ISSN 1759-5916
Abstract
Purpose: The official earthquake protection instructions for schools and kindergartens in Israel have recently been updated from the traditional “drop, cover and hold on” approach to the “flee outside to an open space” approach. This paper aims to describe the decision-making process, discuss the dilemmas behind it and suggest new insights for challenging current instructions in other countries. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyze human behavior patterns during earthquakes in general, and at schools in particular, while taking into consideration the environment (in terms of applying building codes and the level of earthquake risk in various zones), personal characteristics (age, gender and past experience) and earthquake characteristics (intensity and duration). Findings: Five aspects should be taken into consideration when changing current earthquake instructions: the general official earthquake protection instructions, the structure and construction of schools and kindergartens, common behavior during emergencies, warning systems and the need to establish standardized protection instructions and guidelines for every school and kindergarten in the country. Practical implications: Policymakers in other countries should critique current instructions to maximize citizens' chances of survival and mitigate possible earthquake hazards, including by improving risk communication with the public. Originality/value: The paper describes a national decision-making process which questions current official earthquake instructions at schools and kindergartens, based on evidence gained from current construction conditions, human behavior analysis and other countries' experiences.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | best practice; decision-making; earthquakes; human behavior; risk management; school |
| Index terms: | critique, decision-making process, survival, duration, risk management, open space, earthquake, best practice, Israel, human behaviour, building code, evidence, decision-making, methodology |
| Subjects: | Geography, urban design, research methods, regulatory law, environmental hazards, project controls, decision analysis, health behaviours and lifestyles, evaluation and assessment methods, risk assessment, business, environmental science |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Risk Management, Sustainability, Urban Studies, Legal Issues, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here