Through the windows we could see people floating by, holding onto whatever they could. A boy was clinging to a piece of lumber. The waves carried us far out into Hilo Bay and back again three times.

　　Finally our house slammed into a factory wall. Somehow my parents and I climbed into the factory, where we found some neighbors on the upper floor. We all got busy tearing burlap sugar bags into strips to make a rope. Whenever someone floated by, we threw them the rope.

Our family was fortunate. And I'm not nervous about tsunamis anymore. But when I got married, I told my husband, "We're not living at the beach. We're going to live in the mountains!"

S2: I downloaded an article from the Internet: How Schools Can Become More Disaster Resistant

T: Good! Please read it to us.

S2: During Hurricane Andrew, Florida schools were blown to pieces. During the Northridge Earthquake, California schools were damaged. And after the Red River flooded in the spring of 1997, North Dakota and Minnesota schools were inundated by mud and made uninhabitable. Federal, state and local governments have spent millions repairing or replacing schools after disasters. Further, students have been left anxious, uprooted, out of classrooms for long periods of time or relocated to other facilities -disrupting their education and increasing their stress. And no state, no location, no school district is invulnerable. As gloomy as this picture is, there is much that can be done by school officials to plan for disaster, to mitigate the risk, to protect the safety of students and educators, and to ensure that schools recover quickly. The key, though, is timing. While the Federal Emergency Management Agency stands ready to mobilize when necessary to help communities pick up the pieces and recover, it's preferable to expend energy BEFORE the disaster. FEMA cannot undo the damage of an earthquake on an unprepared school or push back the clock after a flood has swept away a child's school year. Under its new Project Impact initiative, FEMA is encouraging city officials, businesses, schools, residents and others within communities to work together before disaster strikes. Prevention is always the best disaster action.

"The Northridge earthquake really motivated us and had a positive effect of raising awareness about the need for community preparedness," said Peter Anderson, director of emergency services for the Los Angeles Unified School District. "It raised awareness on the part of the teachers and the staff that we have to be prepared - not because it's mandated, but because it's real."

Many states now require specific disaster preparedness activities in their school systems. In California, for example, schools are required to have a disaster plan, to hold periodic drop, cover and hold drills and to hold educational and training programs for students and staff. In Kentucky, a 1992 bill mandated disaster plans, drills and training in the schools. Disaster drills in schools are required in Oregon, Montana and Missouri, and Idaho and Arkansas mandate earthquake resistant design for all public buildings, including schools.

In support of the growing awareness of the need for disaster preparedness in schools, FEMA offers a course several times each year at our Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Called the Multi-Hazard Safety Program for Schools, the week-long course outlines a specific plan of action for all