1. What is disaster resilience?

This quiz tests disaster resilience skills, attributes and knowledge of the student. There are no right or wrong answers.

The result of this quiz provides a baseline measurement of students understanding of hazards and disaster resilience. In lesson five the students complete the same quiz to then identify if there has been any change in their knowledge.

Choose one natural hazard that is most likely to impact your area: bushfire, storm or flood.

Bushfire quiz

1. Has a bushfire ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
2. Describe some of the things you would do to prepare for a bushfire.
3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency bushfire survival plan.
4. What kinds of things do you think you should have in your family’s bushfire emergency kit?
5. If there was a bushfire in your area, what would you do to be safe?
6. How will you know if there is a bushfire threatening your local area?
7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to bushfire hazards and disasters?

Storm quiz

1. Has a storm ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
2. Explain what you need to do to prepare for a storm.
3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency storm plan.
4. What kinds of things would you include in your family’s storm emergency kit?
5. If there was a storm in your area, what would you do to be safe?
6. How will you know if there is a storm about to impact your area?
7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to storm hazards and disasters?

Flood quiz

1. Has a flood ever happened in your area? If yes, provide some more information about it.
2. Explain what you need to do to prepare for a flood.
3. Describe some things you would need to consider as part of your family’s emergency flood plan.
4. What kinds of things would you include in your family’s flood emergency kit?
5. If there was a flood in your area, what would you do to be safe?
6. How will you know if there is a flood about to impact your area?
7. How can young people your age help the community to become more resilient to flood hazards and disasters?

Tilly’s story highlights the critical importance of hazard education in preventing the tragic impacts of natural hazards and disasters. Students will view Tilly’s video and respond to the questions in the quiz.

1. Where did Tilly go to school? Answer: Surrey, England.
2. Where was Tilly on Boxing Day 2004? Answer: Phuket, Thailand.
3. What did Tilly do when she realised that a tsunami was coming? Answer: She alerted her parents and sister and headed back to the hotel.
4. How old was Tilly when the tsunami happened? Answer: 10 years old.
5. Why is it important for young people to learn about disaster resilience? Answer: Just like Tilly, if young people can anticipate disaster and act, lives can be saved.

Students view three video stories in the Firestorm suite of stories about the Holmes family experience of the 2013 Tasman Peninsula bushfires. Students then answer a series of questions and discuss their responses in groups and/or with the class.

(Note: there is a lot of content in the Firestorm story platform. The students only have time in this lesson to view the three stories listed below. Be aware that a few pieces of content on the platform contains swearing, however these parts are not in the student’s activity.)

• You will need to demonstrate how to locate and navigate this web-based story platform.
• Go to the Firestorm story platform
• Click Enter
• Go to the right hand side navigation column and
• click on the required chapter and go to these three stories.

Chapter 2 Highway chase – video story to view in this chapter is ‘Flames on the hill’

Chapter 3 Inferno – video story to view in this chapter is ‘The escape’

Chapter 6 Living with fire – video story to view in this chapter is ‘In their stride’

1. How did the family know about the oncoming bushfire? Possible answer: They had heard there was a fire burning close by for a number of days, saw the flames over the hills and across the paddocks, a house burning close by
2. How did the family prepare for the bushfire? What was their plan and did they follow it? Possible answer: Sweeping leaves off the roof, up and down ladders, thought they had a lot more time, had thought about an escape plan down to the water, boat placed near the water, had a bottle of water to drink.
3. How did the family adapt to the emergency situation? Possible answer: Acted quickly, children went down to the jetty and then had to go into the water, waited to all be together and then used the boat to escape.
4. What do you think are some of the skills and attributes that were required for the Holmes family to be resilient? Possible answers:
   • Patience
   • Empathy
   • Cooperation
   • Courage
   • Persistence
   • Listening
   • Strength
   • Planning
   • Positive attitude
   • Preparation
   • Confidence

• Feelings word search:
  • Student worksheet
  • Teacher worksheet
• Disaster Resilience in our community: think-pair-share on local community impacts of flood, storm and bushfire.
  1. Do you know of any disasters that have happened locally?
  2. How have people demonstrated resilience to these hazard events?
  3. What is happening now to build community resilience to the impacts of similar events that might happen in the future?
  4. What do you think a disaster resilient community looks like?

Possible answer: A disaster resilient community is

• 1. • A community with well-rehearsed emergency plans
     • fire mitigation processes in the cooler months (e.g. fuel reduction burns)
     • appropriate building development and construction controls suitable to local hazards and risks
     • widely adopted personal and business financial mitigation measures (e.g. insurance suitable to the risks)
     • people understand the risks that may affect them
     • people have taken steps to anticipate disasters
     • people work together with local leaders using their knowledge and resources to prepare
     • people work in partnership with emergency services, their local authorities and other relevant organisations before, during and after emergencies
     • detailed emergency management plans identify local hazards and their impacts on the community
     • land use planning systems and building control arrangements
     • following a disaster, a satisfactory range of functioning of the community is restored quickly (e.g. school returns)

Recap on the lesson with referring to the definition of a disaster resilient individual. Disaster resilient individuals are capable of:

• keeping themselves and their families safe from harm,
• adapting to changes in the physical, social and economic environment,
• being self-reliant if external resources are limited or cut off, and
• learning from the experience to be more prepared next time.

The lesson learning intentions:

• KNOW: The capabilities of a disaster resilient person.
• UNDERSTAND: The meaning of personal resilience and disaster resilience.
• DO: Identify skills and attributes that contribute to personal and disaster resilience.

Which of the disaster resilient skills and attributes that the Holmes family have, do you also have?