Design a disaster response

Type of activity: Simulation exercise that can help students understand some of the complexities of disaster response. This exercise can be used in groups of 5-6 people.

Grade level: Middle school and high school students

Setting: Can be adapted for use in public schools, Christian schools, other private schools, and homeschool settings

Procedure: Divide the class into three or four groups, and have each group respond to the following questions:

Choose a current disaster and design a disaster response. Ask yourself these kinds of questions:

1. How would you hear about the disaster?
2. How would you decide if you should go to help?
3. Do the people want your help?
4. Will the government of the country welcome your help?
5. How would you know what kind of help the people needed?
6. What kind of aid would you send?
7. What kinds of people would you send?
8. What kinds of supplies would you send?
9. How would you get people to the disaster location?
10. Who would pick you up from the airport?
11. What if the roads were blocked or destroyed?
12. Once you got to the site and saw that 15 other aid organizations are also there to respond, how would you decide who will do what?
13. Where would you start?
14. Where would you stay once you arrived?
15. What would you eat?
16. What would it cost you to respond to the disaster?
17. Where would you get the money?
18. How would you know if your money was being spent well?
19. How would you let people know about what you are doing?