Seismology at School in Nepal: A Program for Educational and Citizen Seismology Through a Low-Cost Seismic Network

Subedi, Shiba; Hetényi, György; Denton, Paul; Sauron, Anne

doi:10.3389/feart.2020.00073

Cited by 32 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…To increase the efficiency of the learning and to ensure long-term uptake, we organized a 2 d workshop for nearly 100 school teachers, which was very well received. The full details of the program are documented in an earlier paper (Subedi et al, 2020) and all the material is accessible on the program website (http://www.seismoschoolnp.org).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impacts of earthquake disasters can be minimized by learning what to do before, during and after earthquakes and by taking a variety of personal safety measures (Lehman and Taylor, 1987). Whether people prepare for future earthquakes or not can be significantly influenced by their education and their engagement with the topic (Tanaka, 2005). All-inclusive public awareness and education is fundamental for reducing casualties, personal injuries and property damage from natural disasters (National Research Council, 1991;Torani et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the devastating 2015 Gorkha earthquake event, and considering the history of major earthquakes and the likelihood of many more as well as the poor educational efforts on the topic, we initiated and implemented a seismology education program in schools in western Nepal ( Fig. 1; Subedi et al, 2020), including the area affected by the 2015 earthquake and expanding towards the west (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

2020

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Abstract. Scientific education of local communities is key in helping to reduce the risk associated with natural disasters such as earthquakes. Western Nepal has a history of major seismic events and is highly prone to further earthquakes; however, the majority of the population is not aware about or prepared for them. To increase earthquake awareness and improve preparedness, a seismology education program was established at 22 schools in Nepal. At each school, educational activities were performed by teaching earthquake-related topics in classrooms, offering training to teachers and through installing a low-cost seismometer network which supported both teaching and awareness objectives. To test the effects of this program, we conducted two surveys with school children, one before and one after the initiation of the program, with several hundred participants in each. The survey findings highlighted that educational activities implemented at schools are effective in raising the awareness levels of children, promoting broader social learning in the community, thus improving the adaptive capacities and preparedness for future earthquakes. However, perceptions of risk did not change very much. The high and positive impact of the program on the students and the community is encouraging for the continuation and expansion of the program.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

2020

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“…To increase the efficiency of the learning and to keep its effect for long-term, we organized a 2-day workshop for nearly 100 school teachers, which was very well received. The full details of the program are documented in an earlier paper (Subedi et al, 2020) and the all the material is accessible on the program website (www.seismoschoolnp.org).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the devastating Gorkha event, and considering the history of major earthquakes and the likelihood of many more, we initiated and implemented a seismology education program in schools in Western Nepal ( Fig. 1; Subedi et al, 2020) including the area affected by the 2015 earthquake and expanding towards the West (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

Subedi¹,

Hetényi²,

Shackleton³

2020

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Abstract. Scientific education of local communities is key to help reduce the risk associated with natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Western Nepal has a history of major seismic events and is highly prone to further earthquakes; however, the majority of the population is not aware about or prepared for them. To increase earthquake awareness and improve preparedness, a seismology education program was established at 22 schools in Nepal. In each school, educational activities were performed by teaching earthquake related topics in classrooms, offering training to teachers and through installing a low-cost seismometer network which supported both teaching and awareness objectives. To test the effects of this program we conducted two surveys with school children, one before and one after the initiation of the program, with several hundred participants in each. The survey findings highlighted that educational activities implemented at schools are effective in raising the awareness levels and in improving the adaptive capacities and preparedness for future earthquakes. However, perceptions of risk did not change so much. Furthermore, we know there was dissemination of this information to the broader community though social learning, leading to broad scale awareness. A high and positive impact of program on the students and the community is encouraging to continue and expand the program.

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Analysis of the 2020 Taal Volcano tephra fall deposits from crowdsourced information and field data

et al. 2022

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After 43 years of dormancy, Taal Volcano violently erupted in January 2020 forming a towering eruption plume. The fall deposits covered an area of 8605 km2, which includes Metro Manila of the National Capital Region of the Philippines. The tephra fall caused damage to crops, traffic congestion, roof collapse, and changes in air quality in the affected areas. In a tropical region where heavy rains are frequent, immediate collection of data is crucial in order to preserve the tephra fall deposit record, which is readily washed away by surface water runoff and prevailing winds. Crowdsourcing, field surveys, and laboratory analysis of the tephra fall deposits were conducted to document and characterize the tephra fall deposits of the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption and their impacts. Results show that the tephra fall deposit thins downwind exponentially with a thickness half distance of about 1.40 km and 9.49 km for the proximal and distal exponential segments, respectively. The total calculated volume of erupted fallout deposit is 0.057 km3, 0.042 km3, or 0.090 km3 using the exponential, power-law, and Weibull models, respectively, and all translate to a VEI of 3. However, using a probabilistic approach (Weibull method) with 90% confidence interval, the volume estimate is as high as 0.097 km3. With the addition of the base surge deposits amounting to 0.019 km3, the volume translates to a VEI of 4, consistent with the classification for the observed height and umbrella radius of the 2020 main eruption plume. VEI 4 is also consistent with the calculated median eruption plume height of 17.8 km and sub-plinian classification based on combined analysis of isopleth and isopach data. Phreatomagmatic activity originated from a vent located in Taal Volcano’s Main Crater Lake (MCL), which contained 42 million m3 of water. This eruptive style is further supported by the characteristics of the ash grain components of the distal 12 January 2020 tephra fall deposits, consisting dominantly of andesitic vitric fragments (83–90%). Other components of the fall deposits are lithic (7–11%) and crystal (less than 6%) grains. Further textural and geochemical analysis of these tephra fall deposits contributes to better understand the volcanic processes that occurred at Taal Volcano, one of the 16 Decade Volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) because of its destructive nature and proximity to densely populated areas. The crowdsourcing initiative provided a significant portion of the data used for this study while at the same time educating and empowering the community to build resilience.

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Seismology at School in Nepal: A Program for Educational and Citizen Seismology Through a Low-Cost Seismic Network

Cited by 32 publications

References 34 publications

Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

Impact of an educational program on earthquake awareness and preparedness in Nepal

Analysis of the 2020 Taal Volcano tephra fall deposits from crowdsourced information and field data

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