Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Awareness and Practices of Secondary School Students in Guihulngan City, Philippines

This study examined disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) awareness and reported preparedness practices among junior and senior high school students of Guihulngan National Agricultural School, Negros Oriental, Philippines. A quantitative descriptive-comparative-correlational survey design was used with 179 students selected from a population of 324 through proportionate stratified sampling across Grades 7–12. A researcher-developed questionnaire assessed awareness of earthquakes, floods, typhoons, and landslides and the extent of DRRM practices. Descriptive statistics summarized awareness and practices, while group differences were examined by sex, age, and grade level and Pearson correlation tested the association between awareness and practices. Students were generally much aware of earthquakes (M=4.13), floods (M=4.13), landslides (M=3.98), and typhoons (M=3.91); DRRM practices were highly practiced overall (M=4.04). Awareness did not differ significantly by age (p=.792), sex (p=.209), or grade level (p=.093). Practices did not differ significantly by age (p=.051) or sex (p=.375), but did differ by grade level (F=3.471, p=.005). Awareness and practices were weakly and negatively related, but not significantly (r=-.103, p=.174). The findings suggest that high awareness alone is insufficient to ensure consistent protective behavior and support school DRRM programming that emphasizes repeated drills, scenario-based practice, grade-responsive activities, family knowledge sharing, and performance-based monitoring.

disaster awareness; disaster preparedness; disaster risk reduction and management

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