General classification
What is
disaster management?
The United
Nations defines a disaster as
a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society. Disasters
involve widespread human, material, economic or environmental impacts, which
exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own
resources.
The Red Cross and
Red Crescent societies define disaster management as
the organisation and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing
with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness,
response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.
Description
Do you know Types of disasters?
Types
of disasters
There is no country that is immune from disaster,
though vulnerability to disaster varies. There are four main types of disaster.
·
Natural
disasters: including floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and
volcano eruptions that have immediate impacts on human health and secondary
impacts causing further death and suffering from (for example) floods, landslides,
fires, tsunamis.
·
Environmental
emergencies: including technological or industrial accidents,
usually involving the production, use or transportation of hazardous material,
and occur where these materials are produced, used or transported, and forest fires
caused by humans.
·
Complex
emergencies: involving a break-down of authority, looting
and attacks on strategic installations, including conflict situations and war.
·
Pandemic
emergencies: involving a sudden onset of contagious disease
that affects health, disrupts services and businesses, brings economic and
social costs.
Any disaster can interrupt essential services,
such as health care, electricity, water, sewage/garbage removal, transportation
and communications. The interruption can seriously affect the health, social
and economic networks of local communities and countries. Disasters have a
major and long-lasting impact on people long after the immediate effect has
been mitigated. Poorly planned relief activities can have a significant
negative impact not only on the disaster victims but also on donors and relief
agencies. So it is important that physical therapists join established
programmes rather than attempting individual efforts.
Local, regional, national and international
organisations are all involved in mounting a humanitarian response to
disasters. Each will have a prepared disaster management plan. These plans
cover prevention, preparedness, relief and recovery.
Disaster
prevention
These are activities designed to provide
permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural
disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be
mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design
standards. In January 2005, 168 Governments adopted a 10-year global plan for
natural disaster risk reduction called the Hyogo Framework. It offers guiding principles, priorities
for action, and practical means for achieving disaster resilience for
vulnerable communities.
Disaster preparedness
These activities are designed to minimise loss of
life and damage – for example by removing people and property from a threatened
location and by facilitating timely and effective rescue, relief and
rehabilitation. Preparedness is the main way of reducing the impact of
disasters. Community-based preparedness and management should be a high
priority in physical therapy practice management.
Disaster
relief
This is a coordinated multi-agency response to
reduce the impact of a disaster and its long-term results. Relief activities
include rescue, relocation, providing food and water, preventing disease and
disability, repairing vital services such as telecommunications and transport,
providing temporary shelter and emergency health care.
Disaster
recovery
Once emergency needs have been met and the
initial crisis is over, the people affected and the communities that support
them are still vulnerable. Recovery activities include rebuilding
infrastructure, health care and rehabilitation. These should blend with
development activities, such as building human resources for health and
developing policies and practices to avoid similar situations in future.
Disaster management is linked with sustainable
development, particularly in relation to vulnerable people such as those with
disabilities, elderly people, children and other marginalised groups. Health Volunteers Overseas publications address some of
the common misunderstandings about disaster management.
