Teacher Preparation

Learning Intentions:

Students will...

investigate how the National Warning System in Australia applies to them and how to prepare in the event of a natural hazard.

Success Criteria:

Students can...

design and create information and a preparation kit that considers and prioritises the safety of their community during a natural hazard.

Make the learning intentions and success criteria visible for students throughout this lesson.

Handling Sensitive Topics:

While presenting the lesson, you may notice that students could develop heightened emotions as you uncover the physical and psychological effects of hazards and disasters. Resilience, rebuilding and hope are essential learnings from the lessons. Therefore, it is vital to create a psychologically safe place for students to discuss and debrief, shall they need to. The tasks can be activating for some students and could trigger old memories that some students may find challenging to revisit or process. You should direct students to a school counsellor if they require additional support and read through the Handling Sensitive Topics and Issues for more information.

Delivery of Lessons:

The Years 7 to 8 Design and Technology lessons will encourage students to explore the essence of sustainable and resilient design and how to improve the resilience of communities that have or may be affected by natural disasters. Students will analyse current technologies and designs and will have opportunities to create concepts, build prototypes and use their critical and creative thinking skills to explore how society can mitigate hazards and reduce the harmful impact of natural disasters, to create a resilient Australia. The following designs and technology lessons and future resources comprise of two mutually reinforcing components - the principles and the environments in which resilient communities strive - which are designed to holistically guide teachers, community leaders and organisations in their work within communities. These lessons are best delivered as a sequential set of lessons to build students' confidence to discuss the devastating impacts of disasters through the lens of hope and optimism.

Teacher Content Information:

The IPCC

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created to:

provide policymakers (governments) with regular scientific updates about climate change;
highlight the impact climate change will have on the planet in the future; and,
offer some ideas about how to tackle the challenges of climate change's potential effects on the planet.

In 2021-22, the IPCC released their sixth assessment report. This is the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change.

The report makes a number of important points:

It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.
Global surface temperature will continue to increase until at least mid-century under all emissions scenarios considered. Global warming of 1.5°C and 2°C will be exceeded during the 21st century unless deep reductions in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions occur in the coming decades (B1). The report describes five possible climate futures, where #1 is not great and #5 is extremely bad. If we want to keep global warming at less than two degrees, which the IPCC says is the best-case scenario, we need to reduce our CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions significantly and start right away.

'Net zero' or 'carbon neutral' are terms that refer to achieving an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Getting to net zero means we can still produce some emissions, so long as we're doing something else to reduce the greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere at the same time, kind of like balancing a set of scales (more info).

Teacher content information:

Education and fluency in natural disaster management hope to educate people about preparedness and planning times of disaster by communities. This can save lives, livelihoods, buildings, and costs to the Australian economy.

This lesson includes information on natural disasters to educate people about existing warning systems in Australia and bodies that manage information around hazards. It also provides an example of an early detection system so students can understand the role of new and emerging technologies in early detection. Various communication modes are central to creating educated and resilient communities that can prevent and be protected from natural hazards when they occur.

In Australia, there are symbols used to communicate warnings. Recently, all jurisdictions participated in a review of the warning systems in place, and a new nationally consistent warning system was introduced in 2021. This has created a consistent and national understanding of how to communicate and prepare for a hazard or emergency. More information can be found on the AIDR website (knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/australian-warning-system).

There are three warning levels:

What is a Warning?

A warning provides point-in-time information about a hazard that is impacting or is expected to impact communities. It describes the impact and expected consequences for communities and includes advice on what people should do.

What are the warning levels?

There are three warning levels:

Advice (Yellow): An incident has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in case the situation changes.
Watch and Act (Orange): There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
Emergency Warning (Red): An Emergency Warning is the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.

Read more about the Australian warning system on the AIDR website or read through the PowerPoint presentation about the Australian Warning System.
The information about the Australian Warning System and Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge was retrieved from the AIDR website (knowledge.aidr.org.au/resources/australian-warning-system).

It is worth noting these are visual in the first instance to ensure everyone can understand the level of danger. This demonstrates the importance of different modes of communication required to educate diverse language groups and people who may not have a high level of English literacy.

About the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM):

In Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology warns us of natural hazards. These are communicating via television, radio, online, and signage. BOM has areas of responsibility depending on the type of weather that needs to be covered.

Fire: Fire danger ratings differ from state to state but are communicated using the following symbols. BOM work with fire services around the country to keep communities informed. The BOM does not issue Fire Bans, but decisions for bans by fire agencies are based on information provided by the BOM. You can find more information on fire weather warnings here.

Flood: The BOM issues warnings and applies a range of classifications to floods.
Flood Watch and Flood Warning: A flood Watch is issued if there is some uncertainty around rainfall or location and there is a chance of flooding. A Flood Warning is issued when there is certainty about an area that will be flooded. This will also include a classification of the flood ie Minor, Moderate and Major flooding. Each has its own definition and is dependent on rainfall and the inundation of areas. Find more information on flood warnings here.

Cyclone: The BOM issues warnings for winds over 62km/h. Like floods, a Watch or Warning will be issued. Watches are issued within 48 hours, but not within 24 hours of a gale-force wind. Warnings are issued if a gale is expected within 24 hours. Warnings can continue to be hourly depending on the conditions. Find more information on cyclone warnings here.

Thunderstorms: The BOM gathers data from a variety of sources to determine the likelihood of thunderstorms. These include sattelite photos, radars and storm spotters. Find more information on thunderstorm warnings here.

Earthquakes: These are monitored by GeoScience Australia over 50 stations nationally. They have a contact number that provides information on locations. Find more information on earthquake notifications here.

Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre: This centre is operated by the Bureau of Meteorology and Geo Science Australia. Geo Science analyse data from its stations and provides the information to the BOM who then communicates the warnings through its existing infrastructure and channels. Find out more information here.

Resilient Australia - Design A Hazard Safety Kit

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