Over the last two decades, an average of 200 million people have been affected by disasters every year. With the impacts of climate change now being felt around the world, the next generation will have to deal with increasing numbers of disasters and increasing severity. Will they know what to do to when the next disaster strikes? This week on Earth Report we visit disaster hotspots in South East Asia, Central Asia and the Caribbean, to see how education, both in the classroom and in the community, can make the difference between life and death

When the Asian Tsunami struck in December 2004 around 200,000 people were killed throughout South Asia, but on one small island, just 40km from the epicentre of the earthquake, almost the entire population survived, thanks to the people’s inherited knowledge of tsunamis, handed down from each generation to the next.

Football on the beach, Simeulue.

Anto Suryanto: As soon as we saw the low tide we knew we had to run to the hills - we were very scared and the whole island was moving.

Unlike most other people affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, everyone on this island knows exactly what to do when a tsunami hits, thanks to their ancestors. In the local dialect they have their own word for tsunami - “smong”.

Mr Darmili, Bhupati (Governor), Simeulue Island: In 1907 a smong (tsunami) already happened here in Simuelue, and so our grandmothers always gave us the following advice: if an earthquake comes, we must go and look at the beach: if the sea is at low tide the smong or tsunami will be coming and we must look for higher ground.

The islanders had about thirty minutes to reach the hills. When the tsunami hit, only seven people were killed. The rest of the island’s 83,000 inhabitants were all saved. In neighbouring mainland Aceh, over 100,000 people were killed. And it wasn't just the people of Simelue who escaped from the tsunami – many animals also survived.

Mr Darmili: When the earthquake came, all the buffalo on the beach ran to higher ground - some of them didn't make it all the way. The villagers witnessed it - it's as if the animals were following their instincts.

Though the vast majority of the people here on Simeulue survived, their homes didn’t. The island was strewn with the wrecks of hundreds of buildings and many were left homeless.

Anto Suryanto: Our house is damaged – we didn't have time to save anything, and our neighbour's homes are also damaged. I am lucky because I'm still alive. I still have my father, my mother and my brothers and sisters.

As so many old buildings collapsed, the islanders are now turning to modern anti-seismic construction techniques to make the island a safer place to live and work. Several buildings have now been constructed using new methods that reduce the risk of earthquake damage.

Rebuilding, using anti-seismic construction methods.

The people here are aware of the risk, and understand the constant danger that faces them.

Mr Darmili, Bhupati, Simeulue Island: It's important to pass on the message: each must tell next the next generation if an earthquake comes, we must run to the hills.

By continuing to pass on the knowledge of smong, the people of Simeulue are ensuring that their children and grandchildren will know about tsunamis. They hope the example of their small island will show the rest of the world what to do when the time comes.

One of the other countries severely affected by the South Asian Tsunami was Thailand, where over five thousand people were killed, mainly in the South. The Thai authorities have come under attack both within Thailand and internationally for not warning the people in time, when it’s alleged they were aware of the threat of the tsunami almost two hours beforehand. Now throughout the region, many communities are taking responsibility for their own safety, making sure they’re prepared for the next time. On the Island of Koh Yao Yai, off the coast of Phuket, they’re going through the motions of a real-life disaster. The islanders are split into teams, each taking responsibility for a different aspect of the emergency procedure.

Dr Pichit Rattakul, Senior Adviser, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre: Right now they are fleeing up to the highland where the medical unit is up here and each one of them carry their bag which includes every important document.

The medical team are not just practising. In the heat and excitement a few of the villagers have fainted, some of them thinking this is a real tsunami.

Emergency practice drill

This is the first time the island has practised the drill, with a team from the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok. One of the challenges is making people aware it’s not a real emergency.

Dr Pichit Rattakul: The elderly who has been carried out from the house somehow are frightened like the small girl we saw the other moment that they are frightened of the tsunami. And the old lady thought that the tsunami is a real threat to her life so while they are moving her up here, she’s kind of very excited and frightened.

The leaders of Koh Yao Yai are very keen to spread awareness across the island so everyone is educated about the dangers of natural hazards..

Montree Ben-Ahmad, Chairman, Koh Yao Yai Island: It’s important for the villagers to know how to evacuate, know about the tsunami, about the early warning system, and how to get themselves ready.

Dr Pichit Rattakul, Senior Adviser, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre: The most important thing is, everyone has passed through this process one time, because when the danger comes they will be remembering. And most importantly is to train the people to know exactly that each one of them is not running for their own self, but they have to do it for community at large, because each one of them has the responsibility for the whole village.

The island of Koh Yao Yai is just one of forty different coastal communities that are being trained for disaster. They say now that they know what to do, they feel less vulnerable and at least partly-prepared for the next tsunami.

On the other side of the planet, even the world’s richest country is struggling to cope with the impacts of natural hazards.

BBC Newsreader: One of the most powerful hurricanes on record has hit the Southern Coast of the United States. It’s destroyed homes forcing hundreds of thousands to flee..

In August 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the US Gulf Coast, killing over 1800 people and causing 80 billion dollars worth of damage, making it the most expensive disaster in the nation’s history. The US Administration was widely criticized for its inadequate response, leading to an investigation by Congress and the resignation of the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Tine Ramstad, UNISDR: Definitely they had challenges in handling the problems after Hurricane Katrina. And I think when you see that even US would not be prepared to handle such a disaster, then you understand that you need to undertake measures in order to succeed and save lives.

By contrast America’s neighbour Cuba, has lost a total of just 18 people in 9 tropical cyclones and hurricanes in the last 10 years. According to the Cuban Government, the secret to their success is simple: education.

Despite being one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean, the people of Cuba are the best protected against disaster. Every year the whole country takes part in a two-day training session in risk reduction for hurricanes, complete with full simulation exercises and dramatic rescue operations.

Luis Angel Macarino Veliz, 2nd Chief of Estado Mayor Nacional de la Defensa Civil:: The people trust this system because it has never abandoned anybody, despite the fact that our resources aren’t as big as in some other countries that face the same risks. We always try and distribute the resources evenly, so that everyone is assured a space in a safe place, when the risk happens.

Up to 2 million people with all their belongings are evacuated to safe houses and in the rural areas all farm animals are herded up to higher ground.

Schoolchildren play a vital role spreading the word in the community. In Cuba disaster preparation is also part of the national school curriculum. The Primaria Fe del Valle School is situated right on the coast and is one of the first places to be battered by tropical storms. All the children practise moving classroom materials and furniture upstairs, and despite its proximity to the sea, so far the school has managed to avoid damaging any important property.

Rosa Maria Gonzales, Teacher: Here at school, we have not lost a single television, a single computer. Everything was taken up to the top floor in time, and we lost nothing. And we’ll carry on doing the same.

But it’s not just children and their books that need protection. School buildings also need to be resilient to disasters, or at least located in areas where the risks are reduced.

The Republic of Tajikistan, in Central Asia, is one of the world’s disaster hotspots. 93 percent of the country is covered by mountains, and seismic fault lines run throughout the region making it very vulnerable to earthquakes and in particular to landslides. According to Government figures, there are over 50,000 landslides a year in Tajikistan.

Farming in Tajikistan is made more difficult by frequent landslides.

In the east of Tajikistan, in Gorno Badokshan, many communities have been lost completely under landslides. The village of Dasht used to sit at the bottom of this hill, but three years ago it was wiped out by a massive landslide at 2 o’clock in the morning. 74 houses were destroyed along with the village school and the health centre. 24 people were killed and 521 had to find new homes. Though most were moved by the Government to the west of Tajikistan, some of the older generation have come back to Dasht, and still come to sit by the ruins of their former village .

Anorbegim Nodilyobova: I lost everything, everyone. Everything has gone. I don’t know what to do, I can’t get any help. Is it my fault, is it something I did that made the mudslide come and destroy everything? Everything is so bad I don’t know what to do. I have problems with my health, but have no support. I’m lost and I don’t know what to do.

Twenty kilometres down the valley, the village of Tuscion is also at great risk from disaster. Perched on a steep mountainside which is prone to both earthquakes and landslides the ground is highly unstable, and all the tiny streams that flow down from the glaciers above make the soil waterlogged and even more likely to collapse as the water seeps down the hillside. In some places it has already started to drop away. With this in mind the local school has now been moved and rebuilt on top of the hill above the village, out of the flow of any landslide.

Jamshedov Bahor, Principal, Tuscion School: The old school was in such a bad place it could have been destroyed at any time, and eventually it was. The was no heating so in the freezing winter, teachers couldn’t even conduct lessons. I used to wake up every morning thinking I’d go to the school and find it destroyed, and what would happen to the students’ education?

A disaster training session is taking place at the new school. Students and teachers from the local group of villages are being taught basic preparation measures and emergency procedures by a team from the NGO Focus Humanitarian Assistance.

Jamshedov Bahor: Even during these short training sessions, the students learn a lot, but imagine if it was to become part of the school curriculum.

But Tajikistan is a relatively new country, and its economy is still recovering from five years of civil war during the nineties. Sixty-three per cent of the population live below the poverty line.

Tine Ramstad, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR): To change the curriculum is very expensive, you need to train teachers, you need to make trainer manuals and you also need textbooks for a whole population.

But it’s not just training going on. Other more physical measures are also being put in place to reduce the risk of disaster. With the help of the community, Focus is working in over a hundred villages building water channels to stop the water seeping into the hillside, and mudflow dams, to stop the mud from reaching people's homes.

Lake Sarez - a threat if another earthquake strikes.

Malik Ajani, Focus Humanitarian Assistance: This lake is a huge threat to everyone further down into the Punj River Valley and if something happens like another landslide, or another earthquake which causes this dam to break then you have literally thousands and even millions of lives crossing multiple countries at risk.

Teams of scientists are constantly monitoring all seismic activity around the lake. Many leading authorities on the subject believe a major disaster is likely to occur at some point.

Dr. Vladishlav Minaev – Head Geologist, Academy of Sciences, Republic of Tajikistan: It’s very difficult to make exact predictions about earthquakes around the world, however statistics can tell us quite a lot. According to the Institute of Seismology, a big earthquake takes place in Tajikistan every eighty years. The last one, which was a very big one, took place in Kharatag in 1907 which tells us that we are right now on the top of this cycle again.

Downstream from Lake Sarez some villages are now taking steps to make sure they are prepared. Over the last four years an early warning system has been installed throughout selected villages, like here in Savnob in the Bartang Valley. This system is connected to a satellite network and linked to other villages so communities can warn each other of impending danger and instigate necessary evacuation procedures. The signal is constantly monitored at the regional capital in Khorog by staff from the civil defence who coordinate the national response.

Colonel Sulton Kholiknazarov, Head of Civil Defence & Emergency Response Dept.: Lake Sarez is well known for its beauty, but behind this beauty there is a massive risk. And it would be a big mistake not to consider this risk. If it happens, and I hope with God’s help it doesn’t, it will cause damage to many villages and many thousands of people. It would cause a tremendous disaster in this part of the world.

Komilbek Mamadnazarbekov, Village Leader: This is our homeland – it’s the only place we want to live, so the only way is to prepare for such disasters. There is some training going on, but we need to do more in terms of how to react, how to organise early warning systems and be more responsive.

Tine Ramstad, UNISDR: When we look at children that’s where we can plant implicit knowledge . They’re very good disseminators of knowledge, because very often if children learn about something they would take it home to their parents and most parents are very interested in their children and will listen to them.

Whether it’s children talking to their parents, or parents telling stories to their children, even in the poorest countries in the world lives can be saved through the simple power of knowledge.