Giving Voices to Youth in Community Disaster Mitigation: Texas Case Study

Abstract

There is a paucity of research on the inclusion of children and youth in disaster risk reduction nor participating in using mitigation strategies to lessen the impact of disasters prone to occur in their communities. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual increase of research documenting that children and youth play a role in emergency management in taking leadership to educate and influence their community on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and mitigation. This thesis will bring focus on a group of individuals that have been ignored in voicing their thoughts on creating a safer community against natural disasters, such as flooding. The study will focus on the impact of Tropical Storm Imelda in the Kingwood, Texas area, and how children and youth can engage in DRR and mitigation in their community. Thesis reviews existing literature on the children and youth population, and their inclusion in DRR and mitigation. Thesis results is an educational module formed to help engage and educate children and youth in the Kingwood community on their role in DRR and assist in forming mitigation strategies to prevent future impacts caused by natural disasters.