Disasters
Definition of Disaster and Emergency
A disaster is a calamitous event caused by nature, technology or humans that halts or seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability to cope using its own resources. Disaster is not the event itself, it is the consequences of the events bring along.
TYPES OF DISASTER
Disasters are divided into various types according to their origins and speed of onset.
Disasters by their origins:
- Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Flood, Landslide, Fire etc.)
- Technological Disasters (Nuclear Explosions etc.)
- Man-made Disasters (Wars, Terror etc.)
Disasters by Speed of Onset:
- Rapid-onset Disasters (Earthquake, Avalanche, Tornado etc.)
- Slow-onset Disasters (Drought, Erosion, Global Warming etc.)
| NATURAL CAUSES |
MAN-MADE CAUSES |
Sudden Only Cause
- Thunderstorm
- Heat Wave
- Freezing Cold
- Earthquake
- Volcanic Eruption
|
Sudden Only Cause
- Fire
- Explosion
- Collusion
- Maritime Accident
- Structural Subsidence
|
| Progressive Multiple Causes
|
Progressive Multiple Causes
- Environmental Pollution
- War
- Economic Crisis
- Epidemics
|
SEVERITY OF DISASTERS
Measures such as loss of lives, affected region, affected population, structural damages, social and economic losses are used to determine the severity of disasters. The impacts of disasters can be divided into two as direct and indirect effects.
Some of these effects are as follows:
EFFECTS OF DISASTERS
Direct Effects
- Loss of lives
- Injuries
- Infrastructural damages
- Treatment, nutrition and food, clothing costs
- Costs for repair of the damages in infrastructural, communicational and transportation facilities
Indirect Effects
- Input/Output losses due to temporary or permanent shutdown of businesses and production facilities
- Service losses due to interruption or halt in health care, education and other governmental services
- Property and material losses, animal and agricultural losses
- Extra costs due to interruption in education and general development program
- Other social costs caused by labour, immigration, injured people and unattended people
INTERVENTION
It is the activities starting right or subsequently after the disaster lasting for a period of 1-3 months depending on the severity of the disaster.
INTERVENTION ACTIVITIES
- Communication and transportation
- Determining of Needs - Needs Analysis (including psychosocial needs)
- Search and Rescue
- First Aid and Treatment
- Evacuation, Temporary Housing
- Food, drink, clothing and fuel supply
- Security, environmental health and preventive medicine
- Damage Assessment
- Removal of hazardous debris
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Disaster Management; aims to manage resources with all institutions and organizations to plan, guide, coordinate, support and implement the activities which should be applied before, during and after the disaster in order to prevent the disaster and reduce damages.
Mitigation: Choosing the residential area from free of hazard areas, determining high standards prioritising solidness in the structures, taking legal measures and increasing audits
Identifying the measures that every individual, NGO and institution may take in reducing damages and put legal and other regulations in order to ensure implementation of these sanctions.
Preparedness: It is all activities designed prior to disaster to prevent the negative impacts of hazards and risks if possible and if not, to reduce the impacts and to achieve fast and effective response when the disaster strikes.
Intervention:It refers to activities starting right or subsequently after the disaster lasting for a period of 1-3 months depending on the severity of the disaster. These activities include communication and transportation, needs analysis, search and rescue, first aid, treatment, evacuation, temporary housing; food, drink and fuel supply, security, environmental health, damage assessment, removal of hazardous debris.
Recovery: It includes activities with an aim to meet the needs of those affected in a level higher than the pre-disaster level in order to provide economic, social and psychological integrity destroyed by the disaster.
REACTIONS DURING DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES ARE ORDINARY REACTIONS TO EXTRAORDINARY SITUATIONS. OLAĞAN ÜSTÜ DURUMLARA VERİLEN OLAĞAN TEPKİLERDİR.
Immediate Post-Disaster Psychological Reactions (ACUTE PHASE)
- Not being able to think logical
- Feeling like everything is unreal; not being able to believe what they have gone through, thinking that it’s all a dream
- Emotional chaos (excitement, shock, tension, nervousness, anger, overwhelm, despair)
- Dreams, nightmares
- Memory and attention related problems
- Increased anxiety, social isolation and depression
- To survive, survival guilt and mourning
- Restlessness, sleep disorder, changes in appetite, increase in smoking and drinking
- Insecurity
Ordinary Reactions During Reaction Phase
- Avoiding situations reminiscing the disaster
- Anxiety, depression
- Tension, fear
- Feeling isolated and alone
- Frightening dreams and nightmares
- Feelings of guilt
Ordinary Reactions during Recovery/Adaptation Phase
- Decrease in the severity of reactions,
- Increase in the interest in daily life
- Active participation to future plans
- Acceptance of reality by victims
- Gaining ability to cope with current situation
- Being able to make future plans
- Emotional recovery
PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION
- To support individuals/families/society after the disaster
- To help disaster victim individuals/families/society going back to their normal life
- To increase capacities of disaster victims
- To help them taking responsibilities in order to be able to maintain their lives after the disaster
OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION
- To alleviate physical and emotional pain
- To facilitate returning to normal
- To inform them about ordinary reactions
- To help them in recovering and coping
- To increase the control and stimulate their support systems
TARGETS OF PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION
- To inform them about coping with negative psychological experiences caused by the disaster
- To ensure their participation
- To determine the target group, objectives and response methods with the target groups’ representatives
- To remember the social support systems have a vital role in recovery phase, to aim at developing current coping strategies and skills
- To plan social events, projects and trainings to reduce the stress in the society with individuals
- To encourage employees to reduce the impact of the stress
- To achieve simple, clear and reliable information flow, to maintain this and to ensure that target group accesses this information
- To take cultural, political, ethnic and religious contexts into consideration during preparation and assessment phase
ACTIONS DURING PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTION PHASE
- Need and Resource Analysis
- Psychological First Aid
- Dispatch and Guidance
- Establishing Information Centre
- Coordination and Collaboration
- Evoke the Society
- Planning Sustainable-Long Term Activities/Projects
- Support for Employees
- Education/Training
- Monitoring and Evaluation
Resources;
APHB Participant Book (Psychosocial Services in Disasters Union)
TPD Psychosocial Studies Training (Turkish Psychologists Association)
ASPB Psychosocial Support Training in case of Disasters and Emergencies (Ministry of Family and Social Policies)