A Cross Sectional Study on Earthquake Readiness of Dhaka’s Secondary School Students
Keywords:
earthquake, awareness, preparedness, secondary school students, drop, cover & hold, emergency Go-bag, disaster risk reduction, DhakaAbstract
Background: Dhaka is highly vulnerable to seismic hazards, while school students may face substantial risk because preparedness education and institutional practice remain limited. Objective: To assess earthquake awareness and preparedness among secondary school students in a selected school of Dhaka city. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2026 among 440 students of classes VI-X at BCSIR School. Participants were selected by non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face interview and observation using a pretested structured questionnaire. Quality of data was checked in all stages of the study. Data processing and analysis was performed by the 27th version of SPSS software. All ethical issues were strictly maintained. Results: Among 440 students, 48.8% students were from 13-14 years age group. Mean ± SD was 13.44 ± 1.43 years. Most of them were Male (69.3%) and 90.3% were Muslim. Majority of the respondents (93.2%) recognized sudden ground shaking as a sign of earthquake and 79.5% perceived Dhaka as earthquake-prone city. The sources of information were from internet (33.1%), parents (28.8%), from TV (15.2%). Most of the respondents (96.4%) reported they had previous earthquake experience. However, only 49.09% were familiar with the 'Drop, Cover, and Hold' technique and only 22% had an emergency Go-bag. Most of the respondents (62.8%) do not know what to put in an emergency Go-bag. Only one fourth of total respondents (25.9%) had participated in earthquake awareness or preparedness training but most of them (76%) are interested to participating in earthquake preparation and awareness training programme. A majority of the respondents (82.05%) reported that earthquake topics had been discussed in their school lessons but 84.2% reported that no earthquake drills were conducted in school. Conclusion: General earthquake awareness among students was relatively high, but practical preparedness and institutional readiness were weak. Regular drills, hands-on safety education, emergency planning, teacher training, and visible evacuation guidance are needed to convert awareness into safe practice.
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