Virtual reality based disaster resilience training
The Asia Pacific Disaster Resilience Centre (APDRC) hosted by the Republic of Korea National Red Cross (KNRC) embarked on a virtual reality journey in 2018 because of the need for more realistic and participatory training in Asia Pacific, the most disaster prone region of the world. VR is one of various experimental disaster safety training tools used by ADPRC.
Working with South Korean education company Tekville Education, and funded by the Red Cross Honors Club, ADPRC disseminated two virtual reality (VR) pilot disaster simulations of
- A fire in a theatre and
- A sinking cruise ship. These were then rolled out across five National Societies: Philippines, Nepal, Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Indonesia.
To date over 4,200 young people, Red Cross staff and volunteers have tried the simulations.