Each year countries suffer great tragedy when natural disasters destroy schools and disrupt children's education. In addition to causing immediate harm to children, there is mounting evidence that the direct impact of natural disasters can translate into a series of indirect long-term effects. For some time, multilateral and bilateral development…

At the request of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF) has conducted "a literature search and review to identify best practices in [school] building design for accommodating the evacuation and sheltering needs of individuals with special needs or…

Available technical literature pertaining to exit facility design and emergency escape provisions of the National Fire Protection Association's "Life Safety Code" (1976 Edition) are reviewed in order to determine the technical support for such provisions. The report focuses on the time-based capabilities of building occupants to effect…

This study presents an overview of collected literature relevant to school buildings, or building in general, in disaster-prone areas, together with some discussion of the role that school buildings, as a universally present community asset, may play in situations of crisis. The natural disasters referred to in this study include cyclones and…