TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose Terrorist attacks on schools and colleges have disrupted educational processes and caused fear, deaths and tragedies. Considering the recent increase in terrorist attacks on educational facilities in different parts of the world, vulnerability and risk assessments have assumed crucial importance in the design and evaluation of mitigation plans to reduce the traumatic impacts of such events. This paper aims to assess the vulnerability and risk of Lebanese high school assets to terrorism.Design/methodology/approach Through site visits to various high schools in Lebanon, the authors evaluated specific features common in the majority of Lebanese high schools and identified six categories of schools. Using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA 428) guidelines, one high school from each category was surveyed and analysed.Findings The results reveal a relatively high vulnerability to and risk of the threat of terrorism and a lack of protective plans and mitigation measures to minimise this risk among the majority of the investigated high school facilities.Originality/value This paper should alert school administrators, public leaders and government officials regarding the terrorist threats and their subsequent effects on the structural safety of school buildings in Lebanon. The risk assessment of schools to terrorism has rarely been performed or even discussed in the Lebanese-related literature.
VL  - 7
IS  - 5
SN  - 1759-5908
DO  - 10.1108/IJDRBE-07-2015-0037
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-07-2015-0037
AU  - Naja Mohamad K.
AU  - Baytiyeh Hoda
PY  - 2016
Y1  - 2016/01/01
TI  - Risk assessment of high schools in Lebanon for potential terrorist threat
T2  - International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 460
EP  - 471
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -