Misplaced Pages

#381618

91-519: While some emergencies are self-evident (such as a natural disaster that threatens many lives), many smaller incidents require that an observer (or affected party) decide whether it qualifies as an emergency. The precise definition of an emergency, the agencies involved and the procedures used, vary by jurisdiction, and this is usually set by the government , whose agencies ( emergency services ) are responsible for emergency planning and management. An incident, to be an emergency, conforms to one or more of

182-608: A god or gods are angry with women's independent, freethinking behavior, such as dressing 'immodestly', having sex or abortions. For example, Hindutva party Hindu Makkal Katchi and others blamed women's struggle for the right to enter the Sabarimala temple for the August 2018 Kerala floods , purportedly inflicted by the angry god Ayyappan . During and after natural disasters, routine health behaviors become interrupted. In addition, health care systems may have broken down as

273-502: A ground blizzard . Blizzards can impact local economic activities, especially in regions where snowfall is rare. The Great Blizzard of 1888 affected the United States, when many tons of wheat crops were destroyed. In Asia, the 1972 Iran blizzard and the 2008 Afghanistan blizzard , were the deadliest blizzards in history; in the former, an area the size of Wisconsin was entirely buried in snow. The 1993 Superstorm originated in

364-748: A tsunami occurred near Fukushima, Japan and spread through the Pacific Ocean. Some of the 18 natural hazards included in the National Risk Index of FEMA now have a higher probability of occurring, and at higher intensity, due to the effects of climate change . This applies to heat waves, droughts, wildfire and coastal flooding. A heat wave is a period of unusually and excessively hot weather. Heat waves are rare and require specific combinations of weather events to take place, and may include temperature inversions , katabatic winds , or other phenomena. The worst heat wave in recent history

455-544: A vulnerable community . It results from the combination of the hazard and the exposure of a vulnerable society. Nowadays it is hard to distinguish between natural and human-made disasters. The term natural disaster was already challenged in 1976. Human choices in architecture, fire risk, and resource management can cause or worsen natural disasters. Climate change also affects how often disasters due to extreme weather hazards happen. These " climate hazards " are floods, heat waves, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and

546-438: A vulnerable population . A natural disaster is the highly harmful impact on a society or community following a natural hazard event. The term " disaster " itself is defined as follows: "Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceed its capacity to cope using its own resources. Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards , as well as various factors that influence

637-558: A Category 2, 3, or 5 telephone triage, the patient may receive an ambulance response (which could be Category 1-4 depending on the outcome of the triage), may be referred to another service or provider, or treatment may be completed over the phone. In an independent report into the emergency response to the Manchester Arena bombing , an Advanced Paramedic for the North West Ambulance Service stated it

728-481: A Flu Response Unit (FRU), a single provider that could attend a patient and determine what additional resources were required for patient care to reduce the risk of pandemic exposure to EMS Personnel. In March 2020 the protocol was revised to assist with mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic . As well as triaging emergency calls, MPDS also provides instructions for the dispatcher to give to the caller whilst assistance

819-461: A bottleneck in human evolution, and killed three-quarters of all plant life in the northern hemisphere. However, there is considerable debate regarding the veracity of this theory. The main danger from a supervolcano is the immense cloud of ash, which has a disastrous global effect on climate and temperature for many years. A tsunami (plural: tsunamis or tsunami; from Japanese: 津波, lit. "harbour wave"; English pronunciation: /tsuːˈnɑːmi/), also known as

910-467: A cloud (generally after cooling) and settle thickly in nearby locations. When mixed with water, this forms a concrete-like material. In sufficient quantities, ash may cause roofs to collapse under its weight. Even small quantities will harm humans if inhaled – it has the consistency of ground glass and therefore causes laceration to the throat and lungs. Volcanic ash can also cause abrasion damage to moving machinery such as engines. The main killer of humans in

1001-529: A consequence of human-induced climate change . A tornado is a violent and dangerous rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud , or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud . It is also referred to as a twister or a cyclone , although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider sense to refer to any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes but typically take

SECTION 10

#1732780597382

1092-450: A cost for the service. An example would be an emergency plumber. Emergency action principles are key 'rules' that guide the actions of rescuers and potential rescuers. Because of the inherent nature of emergencies, no two are likely to be the same, so emergency action principles help to guide rescuers at incidents, by sticking to some basic tenets. The adherence to (and contents of) the principles by would-be rescuers varies widely based on

1183-474: A country), but in most cases, they are in a short number format, such as 911 (United States and many parts of Canada), 999 (United Kingdom), 112 (Europe) and 000 (Australia). To simplify the summoning of emergency services, EmerGa, a French first aid association recognized as being of public interest, is developing e-mergency in 2024. This mobile application offers quick access to emergency services worldwide through an intuitive visual interface, eliminating

1274-612: A different response approach. For example, in the United Kingdom, most, but not all front-line emergency ambulances have advanced life support trained crews, meaning that the ALS/BLS distinction becomes impossible to implement. Instead, each individual response code is assigned to one of several categories, as determined by the Government, with associated response targets for each. * This may include an emergency ambulance,

1365-418: A disaster. Following an emergency occurring, the agencies then move to a response phase, where they execute their plans, and may end up improvising some areas of their response (due to gaps in the planning phase, which are inevitable due to the individual nature of most incidents). Agencies may then be involved in recovery following the incident, where they assist in the clear up from the incident, or help

1456-407: A few kilometers before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 480 km/h (300 mph), stretch more than 3 km (2 mi) across, and stay on the ground for perhaps more than 100 km (60 mi). Blizzards are severe winter storms characterized by heavy snow and strong winds. When high winds stir up snow that has already fallen, it is known as

1547-677: A large potential to cause danger to life, health and property if there is an infrastructure failure. Generally perceived as pay per use emergency services, domestic emergency services are small, medium or large businesses who tend to emergencies within the boundaries of licensing or capabilities. These tend to consist of emergencies where health or property is perceived to be at risk but may not qualify for official emergency response. Domestic emergency services are in principle similar to civil emergency services where public or private utility workers will perform corrective repairs to essential services and avail their service at all times; however, these are at

1638-510: A major disaster, many governments maintain the right to declare a state of emergency , which gives them extensive powers over the daily lives of their citizens, and may include temporary curtailment on certain civil rights , including the right to trial. For instance to discourage looting of an evacuated area, a shoot on sight policy, however unlikely to occur, may be publicized. [REDACTED] Media related to Emergencies at Wikimedia Commons Natural disaster A natural disaster

1729-433: A rapid response car, ambulance officers, or specialist crews e.g. HART . Other basic life support responses may also be sent, e.g. Community First Responder . ** If an emergency ambulance is unlikely to reach the patient within the average response time, a rapid response car and/or Community First Responder may also be dispatched. The exact nature of the response sent may vary slightly between Ambulance Trusts . Following

1820-586: A response). Some services have a fourth category, where they believe that no response is required after clinical questions are asked. Another system for prioritizing medical calls is known as Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD). Jurisdictions that use EMD typically assign a code of "alpha" (low priority), "bravo" (medium priority), "charlie" (requiring advanced life support ), delta (high priority, requiring advanced life support ) or "echo" (maximum possible priority, e.g., witnessed cardiac arrests) to each inbound request for service; these codes are then used to determine

1911-420: A result of the disaster, further reducing access to contraceptives. Unprotected intercourse during this time can lead to increased rates of childbirth, unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Pregnant women are one of the groups disproportionately affected by natural disasters. Inadequate nutrition, little access to clean water, lack of health-care services and psychological stress in

SECTION 20

#1732780597382

2002-411: A row of temperatures exceeding 40 °C (104 °F), with some regional areas sweltering through much higher temperatures. A flood is an overflow of water that 'submerges' land. The EU Floods Directive defines a flood as a temporary covering of land that is usually dry with water. In the sense of 'flowing water', the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tides . Flooding may result from

2093-405: A seismic sea wave or tidal wave, is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Tsunamis can be caused by undersea earthquakes such as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami , or by landslides such as the one in 1958 at Lituya Bay, Alaska , or by volcanic eruptions such as the ancient eruption of Santorini . On March 11, 2011,

2184-433: A set of standardized protocols to triage patients via the telephone and thus improve the emergency response system. Protocols were first alphabetized by chief complaint that included key questions to ask the caller, pre-arrival instructions, and dispatch priorities. After many revisions, these simple cards have evolved into MPDS. MPDS today still starts with the dispatcher asking the caller key questions. These questions allow

2275-450: A short warning time and are short-lived. Slow onset events can also be very damaging, for example drought is a natural hazards that develops slowly, sometimes over years. A natural disaster may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage. Globally, the total number of deaths from natural disasters has been reduced by 75% over

2366-559: A slope prone to failure. In many cases, the landslide is triggered by a specific event (such as a heavy rainfall , an earthquake , a slope cut to build a road, and many others), although this is not always identifiable. An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope , such as a hill or mountain. Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, other animals, and earthquakes . Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have

2457-606: A sub-classification to the emergency, prioritising incidents that have the most potential for risk to life, health or property (in that order). For instance, many ambulance services use a system called the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System (AMPDS) or a similar solution. The AMPDS categorises all calls to the ambulance service using it as either 'A' category (immediately life-threatening), 'B' Category (immediately health threatening) or 'C' category (non-emergency call that still requires

2548-467: A suspected cardiac or respiratory arrest where the patient is not breathing is given the MPDS code 9-E-1, whereas a superficial animal bite has the code 3-A-3. The MPDS codes allow emergency medical service providers to determine the appropriate response mode (e.g. "routine" or "lights and sirens") and resources to be assigned to the event. Some protocols also utilise a single-letter suffix which may be added to

2639-566: A threat to humans and property, as well as wildlife . One example for a notable wildfire is the 1871 Peshtigo Fire in the United States, which killed at least 1700 people. Another one is the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia (collectively known as " Black Saturday bushfires "). In that year, a summer heat wave in Victoria, Australia, created conditions which fueled the massive bushfires in 2009. Melbourne experienced three days in

2730-518: A wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls , mudflows , shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows . Landslides occur in a variety of environments, characterized by either steep or gentle slope gradients, from mountain ranges to coastal cliffs or even underwater, in which case they are called submarine landslides . Gravity is the primary driving force for a landslide to occur, but there are other factors affecting slope stability that produce specific conditions that make

2821-662: Is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. When natural erosion, human mining or underground excavation makes the ground too weak to support the structures built on it, the ground can collapse and produce a sinkhole . Coastal erosion is a physical process by which shorelines in coastal areas around the world shift and change, primarily in response to waves and currents that can be influenced by tides and storm surge. Coastal erosion can result from long-term processes (see also beach evolution ) as well as from episodic events such as tropical cyclones or other severe storm events. Coastal erosion

Emergency - Misplaced Pages Continue

2912-815: Is a result of a natural hazard impacting a vulnerable community . But disasters can be avoided. Earthquakes, droughts, floods, storms, and other events lead to disasters because of human action and inaction. Poor land and policy planning and deregulation can create worse conditions. They often involve development activities that ignore or fail to reduce the disaster risks . Nature alone is blamed for disasters even when disasters result from failures in development. Disasters also result from failure of societies to prepare. Examples for such failures include inadequate building norms, marginalization of people, inequities, overexploitation of resources, extreme urban sprawl and climate change . Defining disasters as solely natural events has serious implications when it comes to understanding

3003-401: Is en route. These post-dispatch and pre-arrival instructions are intended both to keep the caller and the patient safe, but also, where necessary, to turn the caller into the "first first responder" by giving them potentially life-saving instructions. They include: Whilst MPDS uses the determinants to provide a recommendation as to the type of response that may be appropriate, some countries use

3094-652: Is essential." Whilst most emergency services agree on protecting human health, life and property, the environmental impacts are not considered sufficiently important by some agencies. This also extends to areas such as animal welfare , where some emergency organizations cover this element through the "property" definition, where animals owned by a person are threatened (although this does not cover wild animals). This means that some agencies do not mount an "emergency" response where it endangers wild animals or environment, though others respond to such incidents (such as oil spills at sea that threaten marine life). The attitude of

3185-699: Is licensed to design and publish MPDS and its various products, with research supported by the International Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch (IAEMD). Priority Dispatch Corporation, in conjunction with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, have also produced similar systems for Police (Police Priority Dispatch System, PPDS) and Fire (Fire Priority Dispatch System, FPDS) MPDS was developed by Jeff Clawson from 1976 to 1979 when he worked as an emergency medical technician and dispatcher prior to medical school. He designed

3276-424: Is likely to define whether the incident qualifies as an emergency, and consequently if it warrants an emergency response. Some agencies may still respond to non-emergency calls, depending on their remit and availability of resource. An example of this would be a fire department responding to help retrieve a cat from a tree, where no life, health or property is immediately at risk. Following this, many agencies assign

3367-569: Is no recycling facility, plastics have flooded the camps' streets and surroundings. In contrast, the Azraq camp in Jordan for refugees from Syria has waste management services; of 20.7 tonnes of waste produced per day, 15% is recyclable. Because of the social, political and cultural context of many places throughout the world, women are often disproportionately affected by disaster. In the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, more women died than men, partly due to

3458-512: Is one of the most significant coastal hazards. It forms a threat to infrastructure, capital assets and property. Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster in several ways. One hazard is the volcanic eruption itself, with the force of the explosion and falling rocks able to cause harm. Lava may also be released during the eruption of a volcano; as it leaves the volcano, it can destroy buildings, plants and animals due to its extreme heat. In addition, volcanic ash may form

3549-644: Is referred to as a "typhoon"; a "cyclone" occurs in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. The deadliest hurricane ever was the 1970 Bhola cyclone ; the deadliest Atlantic hurricane was the Great Hurricane of 1780 , which devastated Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados. Another notable hurricane is Hurricane Katrina , which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005. Hurricanes may become more intense and produce more heavy rainfall as

3640-479: Is that it is core to emergency management that rescuers do not become secondary victims of any incident, as this creates a further emergency that must be dealt with. A typical assessment for danger would involve observation of the surroundings , starting with the cause of the accident (e.g. a falling object) and expanding outwards to include any situational hazards (e.g. fast moving traffic) and history or secondary information given by witnesses , bystanders or

3731-474: Is the most important driver of economic losses. However, part of these are also due to human-induced climate change . During emergencies such as natural disasters and armed conflicts more waste may be produced, while waste management is given low priority compared with other services. Existing waste management services and infrastructures can be disrupted, leaving communities with unmanaged waste and increased littering. Under these circumstances human health and

Emergency - Misplaced Pages Continue

3822-545: Is the very harmful impact on a society or community after a natural hazard event. Some examples of natural hazard events include avalanches , droughts , earthquakes , floods , heat waves , landslides , tropical cyclones , volcanic activity and wildfires . Additional natural hazards include blizzards , dust storms , firestorms , hails , ice storms , sinkholes , thunderstorms , tornadoes and tsunamis . A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property . It typically causes economic damage. How bad

3913-498: The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) or Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) help in large emergencies such as a disaster or major civil unrest. Most countries have an emergency telephone number , also known as the universal emergency number, which can be used to summon the emergency services to any incident. This number varies from country to country (and in some cases by region within

4004-540: The Japanese Ministry of the Environment . Some of this waste, mostly plastic and styrofoam washed up on the coasts of Canada and the United States in late 2011. Along the west coast of the United States, this increased the amount of litter by a factor of 10 and may have transported alien species. Storms are also important generators of plastic litter. A study by Lo et al. (2020) reported a 100% increase in

4095-684: The Spitak Earthquake ). The Asia-Pacific region is the world's most disaster prone region. A person in Asia-Pacific is five times more likely to be hit by a natural disaster than someone living in other regions. Between 1995 and 2015, the greatest number of natural disasters occurred in America, China and India. In 2012, there were 905 natural disasters worldwide, 93% of which were weather-related disasters. Overall costs were US$ 170 billion and insured losses $ 70 billion. 2012

4186-401: The training the people involved in emergency have received, the support available from emergency services (and the time it takes to arrive) and the emergency itself. The key principle taught in almost all systems is that the rescuer , whether a lay person or a professional , should assess the situation for danger . The reason that an assessment for danger is given such high priority

4277-606: The Gulf of Mexico and traveled north, causing damage in 26 American states as well as in Canada and leading to more than 300 deaths. Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System The Medical Priority Dispatch System ( MPDS ), sometimes referred to as the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System ( AMPDS ) is a unified system used to dispatch appropriate aid to medical emergencies including systematized caller interrogation and pre-arrival instructions. Priority Dispatch Corporation

4368-416: The National Risk Index of FEMA: avalanche , coastal flooding , cold wave , drought , earthquake , hail , heat wave , tropical cyclone , ice storm , landslide , lightning , riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado , tsunami , volcanic activity , wildfire , winter weather. In addition, there are also dust storms . The term natural disaster has been called a misnomer already in 1976. A disaster

4459-453: The aftermath of the disaster can lead to a significant increase in maternal morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, shortage of healthcare resources during this time can convert even routine obstetric complications into emergencies. Once a vulnerable population has experienced a disaster, the community can take many years to repair and that repair period can lead to further vulnerability. The disastrous consequences of natural disaster also affect

4550-619: The agencies involved is likely to reflect the predominant opinion of the government of the area. Many emergencies cause an immediate danger to the life of people involved. This can range from emergencies affecting a single person, such as the entire range of medical emergencies including heart attacks , strokes , cardiac arrest and trauma , to incidents that affect large numbers of people such as natural disasters including tornadoes , hurricanes , floods , earthquakes , mudslides and outbreaks of diseases such as coronavirus , cholera , Ebola , and malaria . Most agencies consider these

4641-551: The amount of microplastics on beaches surveyed following a typhoon in Hong Kong in 2018. A significant amount of plastic waste can be produced during disaster relief operations. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti , the generation of waste from relief operations was referred to as a "second disaster". The United States military reported that millions of water bottles and styrofoam food packages were distributed although there

SECTION 50

#1732780597382

4732-434: The appropriate level of response. Other systems (especially as regards major incidents ) use objective measures to direct resource. Two such systems are SAD CHALET and ETHANE , which are both mnemonics to help emergency services staff classify incidents, and direct resource. Each of these acronyms helps ascertain the number of casualties (usually including the number of dead and number of non-injured people involved), how

4823-416: The assistance from funds raised from donations . Most developed countries operate three core emergency services: There may also be a number of specialized emergency services, which may be a part of one of the core agencies, or may be separate entities who assist the main agencies. This can include services, such as bomb disposal , search and rescue , and hazardous material operations. The Military and

4914-431: The capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees. Avalanches occur in two general forms, or combinations thereof: slab avalanches made of tightly packed snow, triggered by a collapse of an underlying weak snow layer, and loose snow avalanches made of looser snow. After being set off, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass and volume as they capture more snow. If an avalanche moves fast enough, some of

5005-434: The causes of a disaster and the distribution of political and financial responsibility in disaster risk reduction , disaster management , compensation, insurance and disaster prevention. Using natural to describe disasters misleads people to think the devastating results are inevitable, out of our control, and are simply part of a natural process. Hazards (earthquakes, hurricanes, pandemics, drought etc.) are inevitable, but

5096-520: The causes of an emergency threatening to life, which includes medical emergencies and natural disasters, although the range of incidents that can be categorized here is far greater than those that cause a danger to life (such as broken limbs, which do not usually cause death, but immediate intervention is required if the person is to recover properly). Many life emergencies, such as cardiac arrest, are also health emergencies. Some emergencies do not immediately endanger life, health or property, but do affect

5187-611: The country. As a result, many desalination plants were built for the first time ( see list ). In 2011, the State of Texas lived under a drought emergency declaration for the entire calendar year and suffered severe economic losses. The drought caused the Bastrop fires. Wildfires are large fires which often start in wildland areas. Common causes include lightning and drought but wildfires may also be started by human negligence or arson . They can spread to populated areas and thus be

5278-410: The damage is depends on how well people are prepared for disasters and how strong the buildings, roads, and other structures are. Scholars have been saying that the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned. Instead, the simpler term disaster could be used. At the same time the type of hazard would be specified. A disaster happens when a natural or human-made hazard impacts

5369-469: The damage typically associated with storms, such as winds, hail and flooding, the lightning itself can damage buildings, ignite fires and kill by direct contact. Most deaths from lightning occur in the poorer countries of the Americas and Asia, where lightning is common and adobe mud brick housing provides little protection. Typhoon , cyclone , cyclonic storm and hurricane are different names for

5460-413: The dispatchers to categorize the call by chief complaint and set a determinant level ranging from A (minor) to E (immediately life-threatening) relating to the severity of the patient's condition. The system also uses the determinant O which may be a referral to another service or other situation that may not actually require an ambulance response. Another sub-category code is used to further categorize

5551-442: The earthquake is called the seismic focus . The point directly above the focus on the surface is called the epicenter . Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife – it is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, that cause death. Many of these can possibly be avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and planning. A sinkhole

SECTION 60

#1732780597382

5642-406: The emergency services (e.g. an attacker still waiting nearby). Once a primary danger assessment has been completed, this should not end the system of checking for danger, but should inform all other parts of the process. If at any time the risk from any hazard poses a significant danger (as a factor of likelihood and seriousness) to the rescuer, they should consider whether they should approach

5733-555: The end of the code to provide additional information, e.g. the code 6-D-1 is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert, 6-D-1A is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert and also has asthma, and 6-D-1E is a patient with breathing difficulties who is not alert and has emphysema/COAD/COPD . This Protocol was created to handle the influx of emergency calls during the H1N1 pandemic: it directed that Standard EMS Resources be delayed until patients could be assessed by

5824-497: The environment are often negatively impacted. Natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes) have the potential to generate a significant amount of waste within a short period. Waste management systems can be out of action or curtailed, often requiring considerable time and funding to restore. For example, the tsunami in Japan in 2011 produced huge amounts of debris: estimates of 5 million tonnes of waste were reported by

5915-628: The event that it significantly harms a community. An example of the distinction between a natural hazard and a disaster is that an earthquake is the hazard which caused the 1906 San Francisco earthquake disaster. A natural hazard is a natural phenomenon that might have a negative effect on humans and other animals , or the environment . Natural hazard events can be classified into two broad categories: geophysical and biological . Natural hazards can be provoked or affected by anthropogenic processes , e.g. land-use change , drainage and construction. There are 18 natural hazards included in

6006-439: The exposure and vulnerability of a community." The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) explains the relationship between natural disasters and natural hazards as follows: "Natural hazards and natural disasters are related but are not the same. A natural hazard is the threat of an event that will likely have a negative impact. A natural disaster is the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in

6097-555: The fact that fewer women knew how to swim. During and after a natural disaster, women are at increased risk of being affected by gender based violence and are increasingly vulnerable to sexual violence. Disrupted police enforcement, lax regulations, and displacement all contribute to increased risk of gender based violence and sexual assault. In addition to LGBT people and immigrants , women are also disproportionately victimized by religion-based scapegoating for natural disasters: fanatical religious leaders or adherents may claim that

6188-424: The following, if it: In the United States, most states mandate that a notice be printed in each telephone book that requires that someone must relinquish use of a phone line, if a person requests the use of a telephone line (such as a party line ) to report an emergency. State statutes typically define an emergency as, "...a condition where life, health, or property is in jeopardy, and the prompt summoning of aid

6279-441: The form of a visible condensation funnel , the narrow end of which touches the Earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust . Tornadoes can occur one at a time, or can occur in large tornado outbreaks associated with supercells or in other large areas of thunderstorm development. Most tornadoes have wind speeds of less than 180 km/h (110 mph), are approximately 75 m (250 ft) across, and travel

6370-430: The highest priority emergency, which follows the general school of thought that nothing is more important than human life. Some emergencies are not necessarily immediately threatening to life, but might have serious implications for the continued health and well-being of a person or persons (though a health emergency can subsequently escalate to life-threatening). The causes of a health emergency are often very similar to

6461-409: The immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is pyroclastic flows , consisting of a cloud of hot ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases. It is believed that Pompeii was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow. A lahar is a volcanic mudflow or landslide. The 1953 Tangiwai disaster was caused by a lahar, as

6552-408: The impact they have on society is not. Thus, the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned in favor of the simpler term disaster , while also specifying the category (or type) of hazard. As of 2019, the countries with the highest share of disability-adjusted life years ( DALY ) lost due to natural disasters are Bahamas , Haiti , Zimbabwe and Armenia (probably mainly due to

6643-461: The incident has occurred, and what emergency services are required. Most developed countries have a number of emergency services operating within them, whose purpose is to provide assistance in dealing with any emergency. They are often government operated, paid for from tax revenue as a public service, but in some cases, they may be private companies, responding to emergencies in return for payment, or they may be voluntary organisations, providing

6734-498: The initial questions asked by the emergency dispatcher. The second component, a letter A through E (including the Greek character Ω), is the response determinant indicating the potential severity of injury or illness based on information provided by the caller and the recommended type of response. The third component, a number, is the sub-determinant and provides more specific information about the patient's specific condition. For instance,

6825-410: The last 100 years, due to the increased development of countries, increased preparedness, better education, better methods, and aid from international organizations. Since the global population has grown over the same time period, the decrease in number of deaths per capita is larger, dropping to 6% of the original amount. The death rate from natural disasters is highest in developing countries due to

6916-406: The like. Some things can make natural disasters worse. Examples are inadequate building norms, marginalization of people and poor choices on land use planning . Many developing countries do not have proper disaster risk reduction systems. This makes them more vulnerable to natural disasters than high income countries . An adverse event only becomes a disaster if it occurs in an area with

7007-496: The lower quality of building construction, infrastructure, and medical facilities. Global economic losses due to extreme weather, climate and water events are increasing. Costs have increased sevenfold from the 1970s to the 2010s. Direct losses from disasters have averaged above US$ 330 billion annually between 2015 and 2021. Socio-economic factors have contributed to this trend of increasing losses, such as population growth and increased wealth. This shows that increased exposure

7098-525: The mental health of affected communities, often leading to post-traumatic symptoms. These increased emotional experiences can be supported through collective processing, leading to resilience and increased community engagement. Disasters stress government capacity, as the government tries to conduct routine as well as emergency operations. Some theorists of voting behavior propose that citizens update information about government effectiveness based on their response to disasters, which affects their vote choice in

7189-487: The natural environment and creatures living within it. Not all agencies consider this a genuine emergency, but it can have far-reaching effects on animals and the long term condition of the land. Examples would include forest fires and marine oil spills . Agencies across the world have different systems for classifying incidents, but all of them serve to help them allocate finite resource, by prioritising between different emergencies. The first stage of any classification

7280-628: The need to memorize different emergency numbers. The majority of mobile phones also dial the emergency services, even if the phone keyboard is locked, or if the phone has an expired or missing SIM card , although the provision of this service varies by country and network. In addition to those services provided specifically for emergencies, there may be a number of agencies who provide an emergency service as an incidental part of their normal 'day job' provision. This can include public utility workers, such as in provision of electricity or gas , who may be required to respond quickly, as both utilities have

7371-569: The next election. Indeed, some evidence, based on data from the United States, reveals that incumbent parties can lose votes if citizens perceives them as responsible for a poor disaster response or gain votes based on perceptions of well-executed relief work. The latter study also finds, however, that voters do not reward incumbent parties for disaster preparedness , which may end up affecting government incentives to invest in such preparedness. Landslides , also known as landslips, or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include

7462-461: The patient. The system is often used in the form of a software system called ProQA, which is also produced by Priority Dispatch Corp. Each dispatch determinant is made up of three pieces of information, which builds the determinant in a number-letter-number format. The first component, a number from 1 to 36, indicates a complaint or specific protocol from the MPDS: the selection of this card is based on

7553-435: The people involved overcome their mental trauma. The final phase in the circle is mitigation , which involves taking steps to ensure no re-occurrence is possible, or putting additional plans in place to ensure less damage is done. This should feed back into the preparedness stage, with updated plans in place to deal with future emergencies, thus completing the circle. In the event of a major incident, such as civil unrest or

7644-531: The same phenomenon: a tropical storm that forms over an ocean. It is caused by evaporated water that comes off of the ocean and becomes a storm . It is characterized by strong winds, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms. The determining factor on which term is used is based on where the storm originates. In the Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, the term "hurricane" is used; in the Northwest Pacific, it

7735-638: The scene (or leave the scene if appropriate). There are many emergency services protocols that apply in an emergency, which usually start with planning before an emergency occurs. One commonly used system for demonstrating the phases is shown here on the right. The planning phase starts at preparedness , where the agencies decide how to respond to a given incident or set of circumstances. This should ideally include lines of command and control, and division of activities between agencies. This avoids potentially negative situations such as three separate agencies all starting an official emergency shelter for victims of

7826-450: The snow may mix with the air, forming a powder snow avalanche . An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves . At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking, and sometimes displacement of the ground. Earthquakes are caused by slippage within geological faults . The underground point of origin of

7917-510: The volume of a body of water, such as a river or lake , becoming higher than usual, causing some of the water to escape its usual boundaries. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, a flood is not considered significant unless the water covers land used by humans, such as a village, city or other inhabited area, roads or expanses of farmland. Severe storms, dust clouds and volcanic eruptions can generate lightning . Apart from

8008-710: Was a moderate year. 45% were meteorological (storms), 36% were hydrological (floods), 12% were climatological (heat waves, cold waves, droughts, wildfires) and 7% were geophysical events (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). Between 1980 and 2011 geophysical events accounted for 14% of all natural catastrophes. Developing countries often have ineffective communication systems as well as insufficient support for disaster risk reduction and emergency management . This makes them more vulnerable to natural disasters than high income countries . Natural hazards occur across different time scales as well as area scales. Tornadoes and flash floods are rapid onset events, meaning they occur with

8099-749: Was no operational waste management system. Over 700,000 plastic tarpaulins and 100,000 tents were required for emergency shelters. The increase in plastic waste, combined with poor disposal practices, resulted in open drainage channels being blocked, increasing the risk of disease . Conflicts can result in large-scale displacement of communities. People living under these conditions are often provided with minimal waste management facilities. Burn pits are widely used to dispose of mixed wastes, including plastics. Air pollution can lead to respiratory and other illnesses. For example, Sahrawi refugees have been living in five camps near Tindouf, Algeria for nearly 45 years. As waste collection services are underfunded and there

8190-475: Was the European Heat Wave of 2003 . The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer resulted in severe heat waves which killed over 2,000 people. The heat caused hundreds of wildfires which led to widespread air pollution and burned thousands of square kilometers of forest. Well-known historical droughts include the 1997–2009 Millennium Drought in Australia which led to a water supply crisis across much of

8281-542: Was the 1985 Armero tragedy in which the town of Armero was buried and an estimated 23,000 people were killed. Volcanoes rated at 8 (the highest level) on the volcanic explosivity index are known as supervolcanoes . According to the Toba catastrophe theory , 75,000 to 80,000 years ago, a supervolcanic eruption at what is now Lake Toba in Sumatra reduced the human population to 10,000 or even 1,000 breeding pairs, creating

#381618