Disaster management (or emergency management) is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and face disasters. Disaster management does not prevent or eliminate threats; Instead, it focuses on creating plans to reduce the impact of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead to human mortality, loss of income and damage to assets. Events that include disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents and communication failures.
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 that exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope with its own resources.
Red Cross and Red Crescent societies define disaster management as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities to address all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, including preparedness, response and Recovery to reduce the impact of disasters.
Types of Disasters
There is no country that is immune to disasters, although vulnerability to disaster varies. There are four main types of disaster.
• Natural disasters: floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that have immediate impacts on human health and secondary impacts that cause more deaths and suffer from (for example) floods, landslides, fires, tsunamis.
• Environmental emergencies: including technological or industrial accidents, usually involving the production, use or transportation of hazardous materials, and occur where these materials are produced, used or transported, and forest fires caused by humans.
• Complex emergencies: involving a breach of authority, looting and attacks on strategic facilities, including situations of conflict and war.
• Pandemic Emergencies: The sudden onset of a contagious disease that affects health, disrupts services and businesses, brings with it economic and social costs.
Any disaster can disrupt essential services, such as health care, electricity, water, trash removal, transportation, and communications. Disruption can seriously affect the health, social and economic networks of local communities and countries. Disasters have a significant and 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 disaster victims, but also on donors and relief agencies. Therefore, it is important that physiotherapists join established programs rather than attempting individual efforts.
Local, regional, national and international organizations are involved in the development of a humanitarian response to disasters. Each will have a prepared disaster management plan. These plans cover prevention, preparedness, relief and recovery.