Fostering empathy in the teaching of natural hazards

When starting a new topic on natural hazards, it is typically an exciting prospect for students and even teachers. There are so many images, video clips and outputs from popular culture that can be tapped into to give an immersive and engaging learning experience. Students must understand the effect of physical natural hazards on people and places, but what can we do in the classroom to develop empathy and avoid treating natural hazards and climate change as some form of academic entertainment? Here are just a few ideas from my own teaching and through observations of effective teaching by others. While the examples may be from less recent events, it is the methodologies used which are the focus