Prioritization of Iran's Provinces Based on Level of Students Risk-taking against Earthquake

Successful countries consider appropriate public education programs as effective success factors, especially those have been planned and implemented in schools, in the field of earthquake disaster management. This, in turn, leads to risk reduction activities in addition to increasing the level of students’ preparedness. In this study, reviewing the status of seismic provinces, we examined students’ exposure against earthquake in order to classify the most vulnerable geographical points in terms of the student population at earthquake risk and highest rate of risk. To investigate the status of risk province, the area of earthquake relative risk zones were calculated. The students’ population in each zone was studied and risk index for each zone was determined and calculated. Calculating the risk index, provinces were prioritized for earthquake-related educational planning. Level of students’ earthquake risk-taking, in provinces of Iran, were classified in five groups: Very high risk (Tehran, Khorasan-e-Razavi, Fars and Khuzestan), high risk (East Azerbaijan, Isfahan, Sistan and Baluchistan, Alborz, Mazandaran, West Azerbaijan, Kerman, Gilan, Lorestan, Kermanshah, Golestan and Hormozgan), medium risk (Hamedan, Qazvin, Ardabil, Kurdistan and Markazi), low risk (Qom, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari, North Khorasan, Yazd and Zanjan) and very low risk (Bushehr, Kohkiloye Boyer Ahmad, South Khorasan, Semnan and Ilam). Most parts of the country are located in very high to medium risk zones. There aren’t enough budget, financial and human resources for simultaneously training in all regions and requires scheduled educational programs. So, educational officials and policy makers in schools should implement curriculum appropriate with each province, using educational priorities, in a proper way and considering required budget. Type of Paper: Research article