DISASTERS

STELLA IWOSA
MSCPH
5th October 2017
Objectives
• Introduction
• Definitions of terms
• Risks for disasters
• Types of disasters
• Examples & Impact of disasters
• Pre and post assessment and management
Introduction
• In the last decade, more than 2.6 billion people have been affected by
natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides,
cyclones, heat waves, floods, or severe cold weather.
• These disasters lead to mass casualty (e.g., Blunt trauma, crush-
related injuries, drowning) that can overwhelm local medical
resources and prevent them from delivering comprehensive and
definitive medical care (WHO, 2017).
Disaster & risk factors
Disaster Risk factors
• This is an occurrence disrupting • Industrialization
the normal conditions of • Mining
existence and causing a level of • Green house effect
suffering that exceeds the
capacity of adjustment of the • Building on earth quake fault or
affected community (WHO, shoreline
2017) • Deforestation
• Combustion
Classification of disasters
Natural Disasters Examples
• A natural disaster is a major • Hurricanes, typhoons &
adverse event resulting from cyclones
natural processes of the earth • Avalanches & Landslides.
(Yassi, 2001).
• Earthquakes.
• Volcanic Eruptions.
• Floods.
• Tsunami.
• Blizzards.
Classification cont’
Man-made Disasters Examples
• A disastrous event caused • Nuclear accidents
directly and principally by one • Chemical disasters
or more deliberate or negligent
human actions (Yassi, 2001). • Terrorist attacks
• Environmental pollution
• Wars
 Natural disasters
Earth Quake
• An earthquake occurs when the earth
releases pent-up energy and causes the
ground to shake. Earth's ground is made
up of several very large pieces of land
called tectonic plates.
• Most earthquakes occur when these
plates rub against each other in some
way.
• These same plates also create mountains
when they push against each other.
• As the mountains are formed,
earthquakes may be felt.
Impact of earth quakes
• Physical Injuries & disability from • Disease outbreaks from
injuries from falling buildings or consumption of unsafe water &
during escape food & crowding
• Psychological distress; anxiety, • Earthquakes underneath water
depression, nightmares, post- bodies can cause floods
traumatic stress, suicidal • Economic crisis from
tendencies unemployment, interrupted
• Nutritional deficiencies from social services
inadequate food supply & intake • Displacement or migration due
to loss of settlements
 Hurricanes, typhoons & cyclones
• A storm is very bad weather, with heavy rain, strong
winds, and often thunder and lightning
• Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones are large storms
that swirl in circles. The cloud of the storm turns in a
spiral, touch down on the ground, and then reach
toward the sky.
• When a storm reaches a wind speed of over 74 miles
per hour, it gets classified as a hurricane, typhoon,
or cyclone depending on where the storm is located.
• The storm is called a hurricane if it happens in the
Atlantic and northern pacific.
• If the storm occurs in the northwestern part of the
pacific, then it is called a typhoon.
• In the southwestern pacific and the Indian ocean,
the same type of storm is called a cyclone.
Effects of hurricanes, cyclones & typhoons
• Physical injuries from falling • Reduced population of some
buildings, trees wild-life species from death,
• Destruction of buildings and migration, disease, and changes
settlements leading to migration in eco-system
• Loss of human and animal life
from falling buildings, trees
• Deforestation due to breakage &
destruction by storms
contributing to climate change
 Hailstorms and Blizzards
• Hailstorms and blizzards are storms,
though not as strong as hurricanes and
typhoons. They can still cause damage.
• A hailstorm is a storm where you get hail
or chucks of falling ice, instead of rain and
snow. Sometimes the hail may be size of
baseballs that can damage windows and
cars.
• A blizzard is a storm with a lot of falling
snow and high winds.
Impact of hailstorms and blizzards
• Occurrence or relapse of • Freezing of human and animal
respiratory conditions such as life when homeless or in the wild
asthma, pneumonias due to cold • Interrupted communication
• Physical injuries from falling hail systems like transport networks
• Destruction of crops by heavy
hailstorms predisposing to low
harvest & insufficient food for
consumption hence,
malnutrition
 Tsunami
• A tsunami consists of huge waves
caused by either an underwater
earthquake or volcanic eruption. In
Japanese, the word means 'harbor
wave.‘
• These waves can get as high as 100
feet and aren't the gentle waves that
you surf on.
• These are destructive waves that can
knock down buildings, trees, and
anything else in their path.
Consequences of tsunami
• Loss of life especially if in water • Interference with activities in the
• Damage of infrastructure (homes, oceans like fishing, oil mining,
sewage systems, offices, industries sports and tourism
etc) • Inadequate revenue collection
• Physical injuries and later disabilities from interrupted tourism for
• Diseases outbreaks especially from tourism industry
contamination of water sources &
floods
• Displacement of aquatic life onto
land causing death
 Floods
• A flood is an overflow of water
that covers the earth.
• This overflow can damage
buildings and cars in its path.
• In a severe flood, the water can
seep into houses and
completely cover them, ruining
everything.
Effects of floods
• Death from drowning • Displacement of people and
• Outbreak of sanitation-related animals
diseases due to limited access to • Loss of farming land; crops
or lack of clean water and animals resulting to
• Destruction of infrastructure micro- and macro nutritional
(property, bridges, buildings) deficiencies from inadequate
calorie intake
• Psycho-social problems from loss
of loved ones & property,
inadequate finances to replace
damaged property, unemployment
Avalanche
• An avalanche is when you have a
bunch of snow, ice, or rocks falling
rapidly down a slope, usually
along a mountainside.
• Avalanches can bury people and
animals alive.
• Human & animal life may freeze
to death
• Possibility of injuries during a fall
• Can spark off respiratory diseases
like asthma
 Volcanic Eruption
• The sudden occurrence of a violent discharge of
steam and volcanic material lasting for hours/days.
• Plinian eruption. A volcanic eruption in which a
stream of gas and ash is violently ejected to a
height of several miles
• Hawaiian eruption, fluid lava is ejected from a
vent as fire fountains or lava flows that may build
up large broad shield volcanoes.
• Strombolian eruption, ejects ash, give rise to ash
columns and abundant ballistic debris
• Vulcanian eruptions eject highly explosive, short-
lived eruptions that produce black, ash- and
steam-laden eruption columns
Effects of volcanic eruptions
• Suffocation of life-both human • Water contamination from
and animal from steaming volcanic toxic metals hence,
volcanic gases and lava poisoning life
• Physical injuries like burns • Temporal destruction of land,
• Diseases of the respiratory tract crops and animals from flowing
due to air pollution (inhalation of volcanic lava predisposing to
poisonous gases) drought hence, famine.
However, these eruptions are
• Ophthalmic irritation from known for producing rich soils
volcanic fumes for farming due to minerals in it
 Biological disasters
• Are the devastating effects caused by
an enormous spread of a certain kind
of living organism that may spread a
disease, virus, or an epidemic.

•  Eg, 2014 Ebola outbreak in West- Africa

recorded on 23rd March 2014, killed 11,315
people from six countries; Liberia, Guinea,
Sierra Leone, Nigeria, the US and Mali (CDC,
2016 & www.bbc.com)
Effects of biological disasters
• Disease outbreaks cause many ill • Environmental Contamination
people who become predispose to ill health,
unproductive to their disability, death of life
communities and nation, causing • Ban on travels affecting
economic crisis businesses, education,
• Massive deaths agriculture etc
• Psychological stress like stigma • Overwhelmed healthcare in an
and discrimination due to attempt to control the outbreak
disease like cholera, ebola
 Wild fires
• A wildfire is an unplanned,
unwanted fire burning in a natural
area such as a forest, or grassland

• Eg, Africa’s savanna fires comprise the

largest proportion (71%) of areas
burned globally leading to human &
animal migration (The Conversation,
2015).
Impact of wildfires
• Physical injuries like burns • Famine may lead to nutritional
• Air pollution from toxic gases deficiencies
released by fires predispose to • Deforestation predisposing to
suffocation soil erosion hence, soil infertility
• Cause respiratory diseases such which causes poor harvest and
as Asthma, and other allergies later starvation
• Ophthalmic irritations due to • Destruction of property (homes,
aerosols schools, offices, health facilities)
• Destruction of farms predisposing • Displacement of animal and
to drought and later famine. human life
Mudslides
• Mudslides occur when the
ground gets so wet that whatever
dirt is on the ground turns into a
liquid mass and flows, like a
flood, rapidly down a steep slope.
• When people or animals get
caught up in the mudslide, it
becomes very difficult to get out,
as the mud drags them down. If
not rescued, they may die.
MAN-MADE DISASTERS

Nuclear Accidents
• This refers to those incidents that
emit a certain level of radiation,
which could harm public health
(Nuclear energy, 2014)
 

• Eg, Fukushima Nuclear disaster in Japan

is reported to have contaminated land &
the nearby water body with radioactive
matter, hence the forceful evacuation of
people to safe settlements (Dong, 2016).
 Chemical disasters
• This is the unintentional release of one
or more hazardous substances called
chemicals which could pollute the
environment and harm human health
causing illness, injury, disability or
death

• Eg, Bhopal gas disaster was an industrial

accident that occurred at pesticide plant in
the city of Bhopal, India. December 3rd, 1984,
the plant released 42 tones of toxic methyl
isocyanate gas, exposing more than 500,000
people to toxic gases
Effects of Nuclear and chemical disasters
• Air pollution leading to suffocation • Land contamination leads to
from inhalation of toxic gases infertile soils, low crop yield, likely
• Water pollution renders water causing malnutrition from
unsafe for consumption hence, inadequate food-intake
limited clean water predisposes to (starvation)
dehydration • Radiations and chemicals may
• Radiations and chemicals may predispose to cancers
cause disability like blindness if • They may be teratogenic, interfere
eyes are affected or mental with development of fetus causing
retardation if brain is involved congenital defects, mental
retardation
 Oil spills
•  Oil spills is the release of crude
oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling
rigs and wells, refined petroleum
products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their
by-products, heavier fuels used by large
ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any
oily refuse or waste oil into the
environment.

• Eg, Oil spill in Bodo village, Nigeria (2008- 2009): A

55-year-old pipeline owned by Shell ruptured
twice, threw up 600,000 barrels (Aljazeera, 2017)
Impact of oil spills
• Suffocation of aquatic life • Land contamination impedes
• Poisoning of animal & human life agriculture predisposing to
if they consume water organisms drought then famine and later
containing the oil toxins nutritional deficiencies
• Lack of food for human • Fires from explosion may lead to
consumption especially for death
populations that entirely depend • Migration of people due to
on aquatic products unproductive land from
predisposing to malnutrition contamination
• Economic crisis for fisheries • Water transport is affected
industries & fishermen
Terrorist attacks
• Terrorism is the use of violence or
threat of violence especially
against civilians in the pursuit of
political aims, religious, or
ideological change.

• Eg, Twin Tower bombings in the US by

Al Quaeda. The attacks occurred
September 11, 2001 & resulted in 2,996
deaths and over 6000 injured persons.
Impact of Terrorist attacks
• Physical injuries from bomb blasts, • Land infertility from effects of
fires bombings predisposing to under
• Suffocation due to poisonous gases production
from explosions
• Deforestation
• Air pollution leading to suffocation
due to exposure to toxic gases if used • Destruction of buildings, homes,
• Disabilities, for example deafness
industrials, churches, mosques
from loud explosions from bombings
• Land wastage; some land may never • A lot of waste for disposal like
be used due to high concentration of the dead, destroyed buildings
toxins/chemicals etc
 Wars
• War is a state of armed conflict
between societies characterized by
extreme aggression, destruction, and
mortality,using regular or irregular 
military forces

• Eg, Syrian war has led to 400,000 estimated deaths, 5

million refugees, about 538,000 lost jobs, 78%
unemployment, malnutrition and inadequate
education and other destroyed infrastructure (World
Bank, 2017)
Impact of war
• Physical injuries such as gun-shot • Psychological stress; anxiety,
wounds, burns from fires, torture by depression, nightmares, loss of loved
enemy ones
• Suffocation if poisonous gases used & • Imprisonment
incase of fires
• Deaths due to gun-shots, torture,
• Starvation leading to malnutrition from disease
lack of food
• Migration due to displacement
• Dehydration from inadequate water
intake • Destruction of infrastructure; schools,
• Disease outbreaks from poor hygiene, health facilities
contamination of water/food, crowding • Land infertility from use of nuclear
in shelters, camps weapons
Prevention and management
• Prevention and management of disasters falls under 5 phases
i. Pre-disaster phase
ii. Alert phase
iii. Disaster phase
iv. Post-disaster phase
v. Rehabilitative/Reconstructive phase

(WHO, 2017)
Pre-disaster phase
• This involves mitigation • Structural measures may include
measures policies such as no settlements
• Assessment of hazards such as in disaster prone premises,
floods & likely impact construction of flood walls to
minimize floods’ impact or
• Vulnerability assessment to creating several water drainages
assess people more at risk like connecting to lake or river to
the elderly, children, pregnant mitigate floods
women and take necessary
measures to evacuate them
Alert phase
• Requires contingency plan which • Evacuate people in advance in
involves planning in advance anticipation of the disaster
prior to disaster • Plan for other facilities like
• This plan involves training medical care, food, shelter,
personnel to support victims clothing, water, before disaster
during & after disaster
• Some measures put in place like
children should not go to school
during disaster period
Disaster phase
• This intervention occurs • This relief includes;
immediately the disaster has • Search & rescue for dead, injured,
occurred missing persons
• Food relief
• This short-term response has to
• Clean water
do with urgent provision of relief
• Clothing & bedding
• Shelter and sanitation
• Security
• Healthcare
Post disaster phase
• This long-term intervention • Search through damaged
occurs after disaster phase property for useful items
• Families re-unite • Rebuilding of houses
• Lost persons listed
• Counseling is done
• Identification of the dead &
burial arrangements done
Rehabilitative/Reconstructive phase
• Reconstruction of infrastructure • Planning preventive measures in
like homes, schools, health the future
facilities, shops
• Ongoing counselling due to post-
traumatic stress
• Physiotherapy for persons with
sustained injuries/disability
Conclusion
• Disasters may be termed as natural or man-made considering the
source.
• Disasters (depending on magnitude) may cause unspeakable human
suffering and massive damage to the environment that might take
months and years to recover.
• Therefore, necessary preventive and disaster preparedness measures
should be in place to minimize the severity of destruction and impact
on both communities and the surroundings in which they live.
 References
• Top 10 man-made disasters (2007). Available from: content.time.com [Accessed
7th September 2017]
• Nuclear energy (2014) Nuclear Accidents. Available from:
https://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-accidents [Accessed 13th September 2017]
• India National Health Portal (2015) Biological disasters. Available from:
www.nhp.gov.in [Accessed 13th September 2017]
• WHO (2017) Disasters and Emergencies. Available from: www.who.int [Accessed
13th September 2017]
• Yassin, A. et al (2001) Basic Environmental Health. Oxford University Press
• CDC (2016) 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. Available from: www.cdc.gov
(Accessed 22nd September 2017)
• World Bank (2017) The Visible Impacts of the Syrian War May Only be the Tip of
the Iceberg. Available from: www.worldbank.org [Accessed 16th September 2017]
 References cont’d
• Ebola: Mapping the Outbreak-BBC News. Available from: www.bbc.com
. [Accessed 22nd September 2017]
• The Conversation (2015) The Impact of Savanna Fires on Africa’s
Rainfall Patterns. Available from: theconversation.com [Accessed 19th
September 2017]
• Dong, C. (2016) The Environmental Impact of the Fukushima Nuclear
Power Plant Disaster. Available from: http://large.stanford.edu.
[Accessed 18th September 2017]
• Earthquake. Available from: simple.wikipedia.org [Accessed 24th
September 2017]
• Aljazeera (2017) Long-term Effects of Oil Spills in Bodo, Nigeria.
Available from: www.aljazeera.com [Accessed 22nd September 2017]