Nepal earthquake activities

Transcription

1 Nepal earthquake activities For key stages 3 4 (can be adapted for KS2) 1] Describe the geography of Nepal shown in each of the three following photos a. Write down the first three words you think of to describe the type of landscape in each of the photos. b. Discuss these with your partner/class to produce a word bank or word mat. c. Now think how a geographer might describe what is shown. A geographer might describe aspects such as relief, climate, communications, infrastructure, farming and settlement building. Add these terms to your word bank. c. Using your word bank or mat write a short paragraph to describe Nepal s physical geography as shown in terms of altitude, slopes and physical features. d. Look at the photos again. What implications does this landscape have on the people who live here? Think about communications, infrastructure, farming and settlement building. 1

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3 2] Look at the first picture of Scenes from Nepal? (Montage below) a. What do you think the country is like? b. Write a sentence for each impression you have. c. Look at the photos below. What damage can you see? d. Look at the photos in more detail. What else do you see? 3

4 e. What has happened to the people in the photo below? How have their circumstances changed? 4

5 3] The photo below shows a school destroyed by the earthquake. a. Imagine you are the teacher. Write a two short paragraph report to the education board, to include: In the first paragraph describe the damage caused by the earthquake. In the second say what is left, what is needed for repair and the effect delay to supply this may have on the students. b. Remember how important education is to children. Either: Write a short dialogue between two village students describing their feelings Or imagine you were the student and write down a description of your feelings. c. Prepare a short statement for the Local education representative to read on the evening news, imagining your school (in Nepal) has just collapsed. Think what they would say about their feelings, the current situation and the authority s actions. d. How would a UK student reaction and future outlook differ from that of a Nepalese student? 5

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7 4] The photos above show earthquake damage and destruction. Kenneth Maswabi has written a poem to describe his emotional response: A trail of destruction produced A path of misery excavated A well of tears uncovered A moment of despair unleashed A chronicle of death published A glorious day ruined An avalanche of sadness triggered A call for help broadcasted a. Look at each of the lines in the poem and write down at least six things that have been damaged or triggered by the earthquake. It could be a small thing like a tool, school bench or someone s smile or something bigger like a dust cloud or something affecting a whole village. b. Write a list type poem to describe the impact of the earthquake. You could use Kenneth s writing style to describe the impact the disaster has had on an individual or community, e.g.: A school collapsed. A child s education lost. A harvest destroyed. A hungry stomach unfed... c. Try changing the words until you get the feel you want and then add future consequences; A school collapsed, A child s education lost, an illiterate future, A harvest store destroyed, A hungry stomach unfed, too weak to grow... (Teachers may wish to develop the PEE type structure more fully and explicitly for more mature students by, for example, using measures of development) 4. Study the photos in this document that show building damage caused by the earthquake. a. Make a list of the materials used by the Nepalese for their buildings. b. Put your list in order, the materials which stood up to the earthquake best at the top, and the weakest at the bottom. c. Justify by giving reasons for your choice. 7

8 d. Annotate the photo below in as much detail as you can to show the damage caused and its implications for the farming householder. (Alternatively use these labels to annotate the photo, add any of your own) Building unsafe and can no longer be used for shelter. Soft building stone and mortar pulverised to dust. Large stones fallen Animal food store in loft exposed to the weather and degraded by dust Tools damaged and buried in rubble Corrugated metal roof buckled, ripped and broken. All household articles and necessities buried and lost in rubble Aid organisations can only provide a tarpaulin for shelter. 8

9 5] Read the account by Dr. Pohl, Phase Worldwide medical co-coordinator Dear friends Across the PHASE community we are saddened by the news from Nepal. Yesterday a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake caused devastation in many areas of the country. It is the nation s worst earthquake in 80 years and it has already claimed thousands of lives. The aftershocks are continuing and there was a second earthquake this afternoon. We have now heard from all PHASE staff and can report that none of them were killed or seriously injured. We are encouraging all PHASE staff to stay where they are until the aftershocks reduce. Many of our staff are sleeping in the open due to building damage and fear of aftershocks, and many of their families have been affected by the earthquake. The true scale of the destruction in remote areas will not be clear for weeks. Two of our project areas; Gorkha (where PHASE have worked since 2009) and Sindhulpalchok (where PHASE have worked since 2006) are among the most severely affected regions. The devastation is unimaginable. People have lost everything; lives have been lost, their homes have collapsed, they have limited food or equipment to prepare food and much of their livestock has been killed. Dr Gerda Pohl, PHASE medical co-coordinator and Trustee was on her way to a health post in Sindhulpalchok when the earthquake struck. She reports: We were on our way to Fulpingkot village when the earthquake began and there were huge rocks coming past us. Suddenly there was a massive dust cloud over the market town below and many people were screaming. After the shaking had stopped we continued on to the health post and over the next few hours helped to treat several children with severe head injuries. After the shaking had stopped we continued on to the health post and over the next few hours helped to treat several casualties. We saw lots of cuts and grazes and some deep cuts that needed suturing mostly head wounds, and several children but very few broken bones. We walked past many houses that had been destroyed; there were many dead and people were helping each other to rescue those trapped under buildings. Dr Gerda treating injured in Sindhulpalchok 9

10 We slept outside on Saturday night with the PHASE staff and discussed with them on Sunday morning if they wanted to remain at the health post. They decided they should stay to continue to provide emergency care during the disaster, although they were upset when we left and we were upset to leave them. The family our staff live with are looking after them as if they were their own daughters. The house where the staff were living in Fulpingkot The quake hit on a Saturday lunchtime, when most people had finished their morning meal and were out in the fields working or playing. If it had been at night, the number of dead would have been much higher. Just 15 minutes after the quake, while we were still sitting in an open space with a few villagers, waiting for the aftershocks to subside, there was someone crying out that they could hear a child in one of the damaged houses one of the women we were sitting with had been worrying that she didn t know where her youngest son was. A few men immediately went to explore and at great danger to themselves, entered the house a boy about 2 years old was trapped underneath a beam miraculously, they managed to get him out totally unhurt, apart from a few scrapes and bruises. Travelling back to Kathmandu was my first experience of travelling through a disaster zone and it was eerily quiet when we reached the capital. We are currently trying to assess what support our staff need with a view to keeping our health posts in the field open to respond to the significant and immediate medical need. We are also working to ensure our staff have access to shelter, food and safe drinking water to reduce the risk to their well being over the coming days. This will mean mobilising support by helicopter as there is no practicable road access to our Gorkha and Sindhupalchok project areas. We will then start to formulate a longer term response in coordination with other agencies. 10

11 5b] Imagine you were in Sindhulpalchok and Fulpingkot, then Kathmandu during and after the earthquake. Write your own earthquake diary. Use this checklist to help: What did you feel as the quake struck, what did you see and hear and taste? How was your breathing? What happened immediately after the quake? What happened to the buildings and the people? What were they doing? What were their losses and their injuries? How could you help? Make sure you are geographically accurate in your details 6] Phase Worldwide Phase Worldwide is a charity providing agricultural training, medical aid and education, food etc. for people in remote areas. a. Study the map of the areas in Nepal where PHASE is working: 11

12 Label the capital Kathmandu and mark the location of the countries, India and China. b. Compare the areas in which PHASE is working to the places effected by earthquakes in April Note - you will need to locate /sweep to the Nepal area of the map and enlarge the area. c. Look at the aerial photo showing the before and after earthquake views of Kathmandu city on this webpage. 7] Create a newspaper front page about the Nepal Earthquake. Write about the damage caused, the affect this has had on the people and the efforts being made to help them. Include a hard-hitting headline, and use three images from this document (or others taken of the Nepal earthquake) and construct your text around them. Include quotes from local residents, the Nepalese government and aid agencies. Include the five W s (who, where, when, what, why and how) 12

13 8] Aid agency activity Phase Worldwide works in areas of the world where people have the greatest needs and little other offers of help. Phase Worldwide provides practical help toward self empowerment and self sufficiency. a. Read PHASE s current statement below from their website: Nepal is very close to the hearts of PHASE supporters and the communities we work with need us now more than ever. The situation is critical PHASE is running an emergency appeal to offer essential support where we can please donate now to support our staff and communities in Nepal who have been affected. Donate Now or text PHAS01 followed by the amount you would like to donate eg. 20, 10 to Please share this information with friends, family and colleagues who may wish to help. If you would like to support the fundraising efforts in any other way please contact Sarah on sarah@phaseworldwide.orgwe will continue to update Facebook, Twitter (@phaseworldwide) and our website as we receive more information. In friendship, Jiban, Gerda, Sarah and the PHASE Team b. In pairs decide the best two points about this statement/request for aid and two of the worst points. c. PHASE is going to need much more money to rebuild its bases in Sinhulpalchok region in Nepal. Create a poster for Phase Worldwide to encourage people to donate money toward their work in Nepal after the earthquake. Your poster should be eye catching and effective in raising money, use persuasive language and photos. 13

14 9] BBC documentary The BBC is planning a follow up documentary about the Earthquake in Nepal Look at the photos on pages 9 10, for each think of three questions you would like to ask to find out more about what is happening. Plan a six-part story board for your documentary based on: i. The background information you need for your introduction ii. The four pictures (perhaps from this document) you think are most important to talk about to inform and instruct the British Public about the situation in Nepal. Think carefully about the ordering of the scenes so that they flow logically from one to the next. iii. A summary of the current situation based on internet research. Click here to find recommended links Think of the order you are going to present this information. Extension In a group compare your story boards and use the best ideas to create a slide show presentation with a script to deliver to the class using the most up-to-date information you can find. 14