Introduction to

Natural Disasters
Kimberly D. Galicia, M.D
2nd year Resident
Ospital ng Makati Department of Emergency, Pre-hospital and
Disaster Medicine
• Natural disasters are the major consequences of occurrences of
natural hazards and are among the most serious global challenges

• Populations’ exposure to hazard, conditions of vulnerability and

insufficient capacity are factors that determine if a natural hazard
leads to a disaster.

• Adverse impacts of climate change are predicted to increase the

risks of hydrometeorological disasters by increasing the intensity of
hurricanes and cycles of droughts and floods.
As the size of human population increases, it can be predicted that the impact of
natural disasters on society will grow, for the following reasons:

• Disasters are continuing to increase in frequency and/or intensity

• Disasters are affecting more population centers in the world community
• The economic costs associated with disasters are increasing at an alarming
rate
• More people are moving to areas subject to natural hazards such as cyclone-
and tsunami-prone coastlines, flood-prone river basins and earthquake-prone
cities
Intensive risk refers to the risk of high-severity, mid- to low-frequency disasters,
mainly associated with major hazards (i.e 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2011 Japan
earthquake and tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012)

Extensive risk refers to risk of low-severity, high-frequency disasters, mainly but

not exclusively associated with highly localized hazards.

Ø The loss and damage associated with extensive risks are increasing because
of poor urbanization, environmental degradation, poverty, inequality, and
weak governance.
Ø Responsible for about 65% of damages to hospitals
The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) classification for
natural disasters based on the hazard’s origin as follows:

1. Geophysical disasters - originating from solid earth events such as earthquakes,

tsunamis, and mass movements (dry)

2. Hydrological disasters - events caused by deviations in the normal water cycle

and/or overflow of water caused by wind. This includes floods (river flood, flash flood,
and storm surge or coastal flood) and mass movements (wet).

3. Meteorological disasters - due to short-lived, small- to medium scale atmospheric

processes, that is, from minutes to days. These include tropical storms,
thunderstorms/lightning, snowstorms/blizzards, sand/dust storms, and tornados
The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) classification for
natural disasters based on the hazard’s origin as follows:

4. Climatological disasters - caused by long-lived, medium- to large-scale processes

that range from intra-seasonal to multi-decade events. This category includes extreme
temperature (heat waves and cold waves including frost), extreme winter conditions
(snow pressure, icing, freezing, rain debris, and avalanche), drought, and wildfires
(forest and land fires)

5. Biological disasters - due to the exposure of living organisms to germs and toxic
substances. Examples are bacterial or viral epidemics, insect infestations and animal
stampedes.
Other variations in terminology:

• Hydroclimatological hazards includes both water- and weather-related hazards.

• Hydrometeorological hazard as a process or phenomenon of atmospheric,

hydrological, or oceanographic nature

• Socio-natural hazard refers to human activities that increase the probability and/or
intensity of a natural hazard. Examples include increased flood occurrence following
deforestation and increased intensity of cyclones following global warming induced
by emission of greenhouse gases.

• In some cases, one hazard may result in another, as the case of a tsunami created by
an earthquake, a flood caused by a hurricane, or a landslide following an earthquake
or a hydrological event.
Initiatives to reduce risk of disasters:

• Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) –World Conference on Disaster Reduction ;

January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.
Ø An agreed upon international framework for the period of 2005 to 2015. This
has lead to enhancement of capacities in early warning, disaster preparedness,
and response that accordingly has contributed to a decreasing trend in mortality
risk.

• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction for the 2015–2030 period – March
2015 in Sendai, Japan.
Ø Expected outcome: “The substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives,
livelihoods, and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural, and
environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities, and countries.”

Ø Goals: “Prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the
implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social,
health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political, and
institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and
vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and
thus strengthen resilience.”
Management of natural disasters follows the same tenets of the disaster management
cycle: prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery

Health systems can play a significant role in disaster risk reduction, particularly
for natural disasters.

Ø Public health response to disasters and risk reduction of health facilities,

assessment and monitoring of community vulnerability and public awareness
campaigns.
Hurricanes, Cyclones
and Typhoons
• Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all tropical weather systems formed
by overly warm water in tropical oceans. Each, characteristically, exhibits
rotary circulation and can be described as a low-pressure system.

• The structure of a tropical weather system is primarily defined around the

eye and the eye wall of the storm.
Ø The eye is the storm’s center, and it may be up to 30 km in diameter. It
is characterized as the area of lowest pressure, as well as by warmth,
lack of precipitation, and air compression.
Ø The eye wall is an area extending, on average, 10 to 20 km from the
center of the eye; there are thick clouds and heavy rain in the eye wall,
and wind speeds are the highest there.
• Hurricanes are classified by the strength of their sustained winds. The Saffir-
Simpson scale rates hurricanes on a scale from 1 to 5.

• Hurricanes can be described as originating from a large number of thunderstorms.

These storms arrange in a pinwheel formation, leading to heavy convection and
precipitation, separated by areas of weaker uplift and less precipitation.
 Pre-incident actions
• Planning for a tropical storm involves preparations for all of the threats
associated with the storm: high winds, flooding, landslides, thunderstorms, and
storm surge.

• Hospital emergency management plans, facility infrastructure considerations

and evacuation plans

• Before a storm, employees should be alerted to bring in personal items that

may be required for a prolonged stay in the medical treatment facility.

• Enough durable and expendable medical equipment and pharmaceuticals

should be stocked to allow for unsupported operations for up to 72 hours.
 During the storm
• Damage control predominates

• In an intense storm, there will be minimal movement outdoors, so new patients

will not be arriving in large numbers.

• Rescue and EMS operations may cease for a period of time; communications
will deteriorate and cellular systems will go down

• Major causes of death: flooding (drowning) in flat areas, landslides in areas with
hills

• Deaths poststorm: electrocution when power lines are reenergized, use of

candles which can lead to house fires. Deaths related to carbon monoxide,
resulting from the use of generators or charcoal stoves/grills without proper
ventilation
 Post-incident actions
• Rapid needs assessment for the hospital and community including repairs
needed for hospital operations

• Post-storm morbidity in the community is associated with disruption in the

infrastructure and attempts to restore normal function.
Ø Patients with chronic medical problems or who require regular routine
medical procedures (i.e dialysis) may experience exacerbation
Ø Injuries occur during cleanup of storm damage - lacerations, concussions,
and plantar puncture wounds.
Ø Illnesses associated with lack of safe water sources or proper food
handling and the inability to dispose of waste – cholera and other
diarrheal diseases
Ø Mental health effects - anxiety and posttraumatic stress among survivors
Medical treatment of casualties
• Admission
• Sheltering
• Antibiotic wound prophylaxis
• Early updates of tetanus immunization
• Delayed primary closure maybe more appropriate
• Psychotherapy, short-term use of anti-anxiety and sleep medications for PTSD
and depression
Pitfalls
• Failure to perform preplanning
• Failure to evacuate which can lead to significant loss of life
• Failure to plan for delivery of basic needs
• Failure to plan for long-term effects
Floods
• Floods are the most common natural disasters. They may be caused by an
abundance of rainfall, melting snow, or the expanding development of
wetlands, which reduces absorption of rainfall

• They cause greater mortality than any other natural disaster and account for
approximately 40% of natural disasters worldwide.

• Flash floods occur within 6 hours of a rain event, after a dam or levee fails, or
after the sudden release of water from an ice or debris jam.
Ø Leading cause of natural disaster-related death.
Ø Communities at greatest risk are those in low-lying areas, near water,
and located downstream from a dam.
 Pre-incident actions
• Hospitals should determine whether they are located in a flood-prone area.

• The National Weather Service issues flood watches and warnings (NDRRMC
Advisories in the Philippines based on PAGASA Rainfall warnings )
Ø Flood watches are posted 12 to 36 hours before possible flooding events.
Ø Indicate that a hazardous event is occurring or will occur within 30minutes
and should be used for early evacuation planning.

• Evacuation routes should be planned and practiced with alternative routes as usual
routes of access to and from the hospital may be flooded.

• Planning for alternative routes of transportation including aeromedical and marine

units.
 Pre-incident actions
• Emergency communications system plan should be available.
Ø Create a plan for redundant communications capabilities (two-way radios and
dedicated channels, cell phones, and Internet connectivity)
Ø Awareness of social media resources

• Floods are long-term events that may last days to weeks, or longer. Therefore at least
72 hours of disaster supplies, including nonperishable food and water, should be
available.
 Post-incident actions
• Rapid needs assessment for the hospital and community including repairs
needed for hospital operations

• Post-storm morbidity in the community is associated with disruption in the

infrastructure and attempts to restore normal function.
Ø Patients with chronic medical problems or who require regular routine
medical procedures (i.e dialysis) may experience exacerbation
Ø Injuries occur during cleanup of storm damage - lacerations, concussions,
and plantar puncture wounds.
Ø Illnesses associated with lack of safe water sources or proper food
handling and the inability to dispose of waste – cholera and other
diarrheal diseases
Ø Mental health effects - anxiety and posttraumatic stress among survivors
 Borcelle University

Overview
01 Introduction 05 Objective 09 Result
02 Problem 06 Hypothesis 10 Conclusion
03 Literary Preview 07 Methodology 11 Recommendation
04 Theoretical 08 Implementation

Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Problem
01 02 03
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Literary Preview
01 02 03
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04 05 06
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Theoretical Framework
Overview Proponents
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non porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus, non porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus,
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Objectives
Objective 1 Objective 2
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porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus, ut non porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus,
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Hypothesis
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Methodology
Quantitative Qualitative
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in, ornare in dui. Ut imperdiet ante in, ornare in dui. Ut imperdiet ante
eros, sed porta ex eleifend ac. Donec eros, sed porta ex eleifend ac. Donec
non porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus, non porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus,
ut scelerisque odio semper nec. ut scelerisque odio semper nec.

Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Implementation
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Result
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Conclusion
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imperdiet ante eros, sed porta ex eleifend ac. Donec non
porttitor leo. Nulla luctus ex lacus, ut scelerisque odio
semper nec.

Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Recommendation
1 2 3
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Presented by Juliana Silva

 Borcelle University

Thank
You
Presented by Juliana Silva