SAFE RURAL SCHOOLS

In Colombia, 80% of the territory is rural and is inhabited by a third of the population. In Antioquia, 86% of educational venues are rural, however, the current state of the infrastructure is poor and the level of risk is high due to phenomena such as landslides, torrential floods or seismic events that have caused severe damage to the population and the infrastructure. The scarcity of economic resources and the precarious conditions in which most rural schools find themselves make it necessary to develop novel comprehensive strategies to reduce risk. This project focuses on the generation of a risk assessment platform for multi-hazard phenomena that will allow control entities to make decisions to prioritize the intervention of rural schools. The development and implementation of the platform involves four elements: 1) construction of a classification matrix for rural schools in Antioquia with seismic and geological characteristics based on the development of an App that will allow the in-situ survey of information by part of the administrative staff of the schools. 2) Development of a simplified evaluation methodology of seismic-geological and structural risk for rural schools, based on the calibration of numerical and qualitative data from historical records of disasters, typology of educational structures and geological characteristics. 3) Implementation of a simplified evaluation methodology in 12 pilot schools through the elaboration of a practical guide and a training program for educational personnel to obtain evaluation indicators of the strategy. A free virtual diploma course will be held that will allow collaborative work to be launched in which each of the actors can contribute to the evaluation, management and reduction of risk. To facilitate interaction between the different actors, the Antioquia Network of Rural Schools will be created. 4) Design and execution of the structural and prospective intervention plan of seismic engineering and bioengineering for the reduction of the risk of a rural school in the department of Antioquia to be used as promotion and training.

Develop a technological strategy to reduce the risk of disasters due to seismic and geological phenomena in rural schools located in areas of high seismic hazard in Antioquia, through a multi-hazard assessment methodology based on digital tools and the implementation of innovative mitigation measures and risk reduction at the geological, seismic and structural level in a pilot educational institution. Specific Objectives: •Build a matrix for the identification and classification of rural schools in Antioquia with the general seismic and geological characteristics, based on a diagnosis that involves the survey of secondary information, the creation of forms for database collection and an App application.•Develop a simplified evaluation methodology of seismic-geological and structural risk for rural schools in Antioquia, based on the calibration of numerical and qualitative data from historical records of disasters, typology of educational structures and geological and geomorphological characteristics, and information from the Network for the Safety of Rural Schools.•Implement the simplified evaluation methodology in 12 pilot schools through the development of a practical guide and a training program educational personnel to obtain strategy evaluation indicators, pertinent risk reduction measures. • Execute actions to reduce seismic and geological risk in a pilot school selected from among the 12 pre-established ones, using prospective and structural measures of seismic engineering and bioengineering, according to the results of implementing the strategy together with the evaluation of the costs and cultural and socioeconomic aspects of the community to intervene.

This project aims to develop and implement a multi-hazard risk assessment and reduction methodology for Rural Schools in the Department of Antioquia. Innovation focuses on the risk management, evaluation and reduction model.