Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Due to weak socio-economic and physical infrastructure, the impact of disaster is always high on the life and livelihood of the poor and the disadvantaged. The poor live in high disaster risk areas not by choice, but by compulsion as their socio-economic condition do not allow them to do otherwise. They risk their lives only to earn a subsistence living. They are exploited socially, economically and politically. So, the root cause of their vulnerabilities to disasters is not the exposure to hazards, but 'exploitation'. Living in disaster-prone areas for hundreds of years have taught the disaster vulnerable people indigenous coping strategies and survival techniques e.g. floating at the height of tidal surge during tropical cyclone with indigenous life jacket made of dry coconut; climbing tall trees and tying with tree trunks for protection from tidal surge; using rafts made of banana plants for evacuation, even living on it for days during the peak of the flood, etc. Lessons of these indigenous survival techniques passed through generations by various means e.g. telling live lessons through maternal hierarchy (from grandma to mother, to daughter, and the granddaughter). Live lessons were also kept alive through popular media such as folk lores, folk songs, open-air-stage performances, etc. These were done by committed and dedicated people who commanded respect and confidence of their fellow community members and villagers. However, the cyclone of 1970, that killed half a million people in Bangladesh, brought significant change in those practices. Dissemination of live lessons and family level preparedness, done mainly by the elders of the families and community leaders, were replaced by paid workers of NGOs, educational institutions, and government controlled media. Now a days, 'invasion by NGOs' (who are entirely dependent on foreign donors, except for a very few) is thrusting upon disaster vulnerable poor people ideas of coping with disasters in a 'top down' and 'donor-driven' way. Dust collecting glossy publications and profit making digital and electronic media are replacing the age old effective practices of 'telling live lessons'. All these are not only far from the traditional culture of the largely rural Bangladesh but also destroying the very cultural fabric of the society. Moreover these are devoid of commitment and dedication that we used to boast of in Bangladesh. Therefore, we need to go back to our traditional culture and age old practices of telling live lessons for effective disaster risk reduction of the poor.

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　For the first time after a major earthquake in Iran, problems, comments and issues of affected people has been analyzed through a local newsletter. This paper will provide a brief description of needs of earthquake stricken people in Bam by reviewing the news values of different variables in a local newsletter within a period of two years. After the Bam earthquake on December 26 of 2003, the affected people needed a media in order to express their experiences, comments and difficulties and also to be aware of activities around them. For dissemination of information among the people many pamphlets and newsletters have been distributed in the city after an earthquake, but one newsletter has been published systematically for exchange of information in the region. In this article the news values of different issues and variable of this newsletter for a period of two years will be reviewed by content analysis.

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The museum was established within the premises of the headquarters of the civil protection in 2004 in the wake of the Boumerdes 2003 earthquake by the General Directorate of the Civil Protection. The Civil protection is responsible for administration and management of the museum. The museum for natural disasters is located within the national museum of the civil protection in Algiers. The visitors of the museum are mainly school children (about 1200 a year) and general public (about 250 people a year). The visit of the museum is a real education training session in terms of preventive education. The idea has been well appreciated by the general public as well as by school teachers and children. The civil protection called an artist to build models showing the situations during earthquakes, floods, forest fires, etc., including shelter, response and relief operations. Keeping the memory of the disasters and so people will not forget and should live with the risk. Trained members of the civil protection and mainly those members who participated in response and relief during disasters are the guides and operating the museum activity. About the main activities of the civil protection in peace time is conducting drill across the country about earthquakes, floods and fires. Unfortunately, people are not involved in museum activities. Naturally, some associations and universities are commemorating each year the most destructive disasters, by telling what and how it happened and particularly measures that have been implement to reduce the risk during future destructive events. Several conferences are held each year particularly in the zones affected by disasters where the general public is invited. Also, people in informal gathering, very often tell their stories about things that happened during disasters. In the cultural background of the society which a strong tradition anchored in their oral culture, people are used to tell their stories to their family members and in gathering occasions. I believe that beside the disaster scenes in the museum, the managers should also show the reconstruction in all its aspects as social, economical, cultural and physical. They should promote the development of the human society within a risk environment as northern Algeria. This type of museum is planned to be developed and multiplied in other cities across the country.

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The memories of past natural disaster experience tend to fade out quickly. Although the transference of lessons learnt through past disaster experience is considered as one of ways to motivate people to take disaster preventive action, the mechanism of how the personal memory form collective memory and transfer to other generation/region is still not clear. In this study, we focus on the memory of disaster, what kind of experiences remain in people as memories, and how those personal memory form collective memory

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I am a researcher who experienced disaster as a junior high school student. In providing lessons and presentations on my research work, I realized that what people want to hear and how they react to what they hear differs greatly according to age, occupation, where they live, etc. I will be reporting on an effective method of audience-tailored “storytelling” I use in research and outreach activities, from the perspective a researcher, storyteller and reporter.

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