GNGTS 2023 - Atti del 41° Convegno Nazionale

Session 2.2 GNGTS 2023 VISUS multi-hazard methodology was first tested in pilot projects in Laos (2015) and Indonesia (Bandung and Pangandaran, 2015). These tests confirmed the importance of expressing the OBS through a graphic language, to overcome difficulties in communication. The following applications in Indonesia in 2016 aimed to improve both the methodology and the trainings, also thanks to the feedback on the main difficulties encountered by the surveyors and the new photos acquired during the surveys. Since 2017, the SPRINT-Lab researchers with the support of UNESCO DRR started to elaborate the VISUS guidelines, which were revised in 2018 during the first meeting of the UNESCO-VISUS experts (MUVex). In the meantime, further applications were developed in Peru, Haiti and Mozambique. In 2019, the three volumes of the “UNESCO Guidelines for Assessing Learning Facilities in the Context of Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation” were published (Grimaz & Malisan, 2019b, 2019c; Torres et al., 2019): Volume 1 (Introduction to learning facilities assessment and to the VISUS methodology) provides decision-makers with understanding of the outcomes of the implementation of the VISUS methodology. Volume 2 (VISUS Methodology) explains the theoretical aspects of the VISUS methodology, and presents in its annexes the rules and criteria that are the basis for assessment and evaluation. Volume 3 (VISUS Implementation) explains the phases of VISUS implementation and presents in its annexes the tools developed for it. After the publication of the guidelines, the third phase has begun, in which the methodology is being applied in further pilot projects, in Zimbabwe and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two VISUS projects are currently being developed: the first in Haiti which foresees VISUS inspections in 700 schools to identify those where safety improvement measures will be implemented. The second is in the Dominican Republic for assessing 100 schools. Tab. 1 and Fig. 3 provide an overview of the project implemented over the years. Tab 1: Summary of schools assessed using the VISUS methodology, under UNESCO coordination. Country (district) Year Schools Buildings Persons El Salvador 2013 100 300 47078 Laos 2015 10 43 2730 Indonesia (Bandung, Pangandaran) 2015 58 303 40377 Indonesia (Ambon) 2016 87 512 31695 Peru (Lima) 2017 53 142 13872 Haiti (north, North-East) 2017 101 504 48830 Mozambique (Maputo) 2018 100 869 215305