10 of the world’s biggest man-made disasters

Some of the biggest, most significant, and most harmful man-made disasters in human history.

One of the biggest man-made disasters, Chernobyl nuclear plant

The Aberfan Colliery Slip

The seveso disaster, chernobyl meltdown, montana asbestos clouds, the deepwater horizon oil spill, the bhopal disaster, the sidoarjo mud volcano, the north pacific garbage patch, californian wildfires, the jilin chemical plant explosion, additional resources.

Human history is riddled with man-made disasters, from nuclear meltdowns and underwater oil spills to chemical explosions and mine collapses. We find out exactly what happened in some infamous cases – and how humanity played a pivotal role in these events.

Big man-made disasters don’t often happen in Britain , which made the Aberfan colliery slip even more shocking. The Welsh Valleys village of Aberfan grew up around the nearby coal mine that was established back in 1869. By 1966, the settlement had grown, and the village was surrounded by seven huge spoil piles – waste material from mining.

That’s not necessarily a problem, but in October 1966 the village of Aberfan was hit by more than six inches of rainfall, and caused the seventh spoil pile to subside. At 09.15 GMT on Oct. 21,1966 a vast quantity of saturated debris broke free from the pile and travelled towards the village at speeds between 11 and 21 miles-per-hour (approximately 17 and 34 kilometers)and in waves up to 30 feet (9meters) high, according to the Smithsonian magazine .

The result was devastating. 144 people lost their lives in the ensuing avalanche – tragically, 116 children were among the dead, according to the Independent . The fast-moving material demolished a primary school (elementary school) and damaged a nearby secondary school (high school), and 18 nearby houses were destroyed.

Thousands of volunteers travelled to Aberfan to aid rescue efforts, and the Prime Minister and Queen Elizabeth both visited in the days following the incident, according to the BBC . The Aberfan disaster remains one of the UK’s worst mining incidents. 

This industrial accident took place at a chemical plant north of Milan, Italy. On Saturday July 10 1976, the factory was producing a chemical called 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol, which has been used as a chemical weapon and in weedkillers, according to the journal Chemosphere .

On that daya chain reaction ruptured the reactor — and that, in turn, caused six tonnes of toxic chemicals to burst into the sky.

The cloud settled over 6 square miles (18 square kilometers) of the surrounding area, including the town of Seveso, according to the journal Environment international. Children were hospitalized with skin inflammations, hundreds of residents suffered from skin conditions, and huge areas of land were evacuated. Thousands of animals died or had to be slaughtered to prevent toxins entering the food chain.

The Seveso disaster has had a long-term impact, too. Since 1976, studies have found that more local residents died from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and certain types of cancer increased in frequency in the affected areas. 

The explosion at Chernobyl is one of the world’s most infamous man-made disasters — and with good reason. It started innocently enough, with engineers performing a routine experiment that was supposed to find out if the plant’s emergency water cooling would work during a power outage.

The test had been carried out previously, but on this occasion, there was a power surge and engineers couldn’t shut down Chernobyl’s nuclear reactors. Steam built up in one reactor, the roof was blown off, the nuclear core was exposed, and radioactive material was released into the atmosphere.

Workers and firefighters were hospitalised and 28 people quickly passed away from acute radiation exposure. It took nearly two weeks, and military intervention, to extinguish the fires. 

Crucially, it took more than a day for the 50,000 residents of nearby Pripyat to be evacuated. Following this, the government established a 19-mile (30km) "exclusion zone" and built a containment dome over the top of the site.

In the years following the incident, studies estimate that thousands of people have succumbed to cancer because of the radiation. It’s one of the most expensive disasters in history, too, and it’s estimated that containment and clean-up efforts will continue until 2065. 

The story of Libby, Montana, began when settlers arrived in the 1800s and the town expanded thanks to mine and railroad construction. In 1919the discovery of a mineral called Vermiculite changed Libby’s fate.

Vermiculite has loads of uses, from gardening to car parts, and the mine in Libby was producing 80% of the world’s supply by 1963. That’s great and lucrative, but some kinds of vermiculite contain asbestos, an exceptionally dangerous substance that can cause a huge range of lung issues.

The vermiculite in Libby, Montana, did contain asbestos, and the mining company knew about its dangerous side effects. But they didn’t tell anyone, and people in Libby used the mine’s waste products for building and landscaping, including in school projects and ice rinks.

As a result, nearly 10% of the town’s population died from asbestos-related illness, and the people who died weren’t always miners – the asbestos fibres that caused health problems are easy to pass to other people, according to the Mesothelioma Hope organization .

The town, effectively, had spent decades operating under a toxic cloud. The mine closed in 1990, but the town’s issues didn’t become well-known until 1999, and in 2009 the US government declared an emergency in Libby to clean up the town, according to the Guardian .

By then it was too late. Hundreds of people have passed away from asbestos-related health issues, thousands more have experienced illness, and new deaths and diseases were still being reported as late as 2018 due to the long-term effects of these poisonous substances.

The Risks of Asbestos

Deadly asbestos fibres can cause serious health problems for decades – including these five issues.

The US government’s Environmental Protection Agency investigated more than 8,000 properties in Libby and had to decontaminate more than 3,000 different sites where asbestos was used in construction. More than one million cubic yards of material was replaced over the course of the clean-up project, and more than half a billion dollars was spent to decontaminate the town. 

Contaminated material is now stored safely at the site of the former mine, and the project has only begun to slow down in the past couple of years – no wonder, as it’s been the biggest asbestos clean-up project in US history.

Oil spills are among the most visible man-made disasters of our times, and 2010’s Deepwater Horizon incident is reputed to be the largest marine oil spill in history.

The name comes from the drilling apparatus at the centre of the incident. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig was a floating platform that was drilling an exploratory oil well around 18,300 feet (5,600 meters) below sea level in the Gulf of Mexico, as Live Science has previously reported . That, in itself, was not a problem, and the rig was operating well within its limits. But on April 20t 2010, methane gas from the underwater well expanded and rose into the drilling rig, where it ignited and exploded.

The explosion quickly engulfed the entire drilling platform, killing eleven workers, and ninety-four crew members were evacuated. Two days later, the rig had sunk.

By that point, though, a vast oil slick had emerged from the underwater well and had begun to spread at the site. BP, the company that had contracted the Deepwater Horizon ship for exploratory drilling, tried to halt the leak with remote-controlled underwater vehicles, a 137-ton (125 metric tonnes) containment dome and by drilling a secondary well, but the oil flowed for 87 days. 

It’s estimated that 210 million gallons (around 954 million liters) of oil were leaked from the underwater well and that the spill directly affected 70,000 square miles (around 181, 000 square kilometers)of ocean in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mopping Up the Spill

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an unprecedented disaster. How do you clean it up?

Eventually, the oil was contained and either dispersed or cleaned up using several different methods and thousands of volunteers. By then, though, the environmental impact was being felt on a global scale: the Deepwater Horizon spill killed millions of animals, and the incident affected wildlife and ecosystems across several US states and beyond.

On December 2, 1984, there was a gas leak at a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, according to The Atlantic . It was caused by malfunctioning safety systems, and a runaway pressure increase saw 40 tonnes of a chemical called methyl isocyanate leak into the atmosphere. 

That’s a huge amount of toxic material, and the plant was surrounded by densely-packed housing – so more than 600,000 people were exposed to the deadly cloud.

The people living around the plant were not informed quickly, and hospital staff were given conflicting information about the situation. Innocent people suffered from coughing, eye irritation, burns, breathlessness and vomiting, and thousands of people died within hours, as Live Science has previously reported. Thousands of animals passed away, too. 

Longer-term studies since the accident have confirmed that many thousands of people are still affected by eye , lung, and psychological damage – and, even today, it’s hard to say exactly how many people have suffered.

Most people think of lava flowing from a volcano, but in Sidoarjo, Indonesia, you’ll find the world’s biggest mud volcano . It was created by an explosion at a gas well drilled by an energy company, although company officials claim that an earthquake around 155 miles (250km) away provoked the problem.

There are more than 1,000 mud volcanoes around the world, but this Indonesian example is probably the only one caused by human activity, according to the journal Mud Volcanoes, Geodynamics and Seismicity It all started on May 28 2006, when a borehole was drilled to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters). This caused water, steam, and gas to erupt from the ground nearby, and by the next day water, steam and mud began to emerge again – and it’s been there ever since. It’s officially called Lumpur Lapindo, and is commonly called the Lusi volcano. 

Initially, the volcano erupted with more than 6.3 million cubic foot (180,000 cubic meters) of mud per day, according to the BBC .

Eleven people were killed during a pipeline explosion, and 30,000 people were evacuated from the area. A dozen villages and more than 10,000 homes were destroyed, and metal from the mud flow has contaminated nearby rivers, according to the news site Boston.com . 

Birth of a Volcano

How the outflow of mud was triggered.

There aren’t many man-made disasters that are as large or as visible as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. There’s nothing particularly complicated about what’s gone on here: a huge amount of rubbish has made its way into the ocean over the past decades because of negligent humans.

The patch stretches from the Californian coast, all the way across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, and it’s actually compromised of two different tracts of trash – one on the western side of the ocean, and another on the east according to National Geographic . Currents combine to suck rubbish into a vortex, and these tiny objects can’t escape.

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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t just made up of crisp packets and drinks bottles. Most of the plastic in the patch has broken down into tiny pieces that simply make the water look cloudy, and ecologists estimate that 70% of ocean debris sinks to the bottom of the sea — so there could be far more below the surface.

The patch’s size varies: estimates range that it sits between around 270,000 and 5.8 million square miles (700,000 and 15,000,000km2) depending on sea movement. Some of the items in the patch are over 50 years old, because plastics just aren’t biodegradable. Scientists reckon that it’s becoming ten times bigger with every passing decade, despite attempts to tackle the problem, according to CBS News .

Unsurprisingly, the patch has a terrible effect on wildlife. Marine animals can get caught in bits of plastic or in abandoned fishing nets, which can quickly lead to death. Animals can die when they mistake plastic items for food.

The patch also has a huge and harmful impact on the ocean’s ecosystems and food chains, because plastic on the surface of the water can block sunlight from algae and plankton and pollutants can leak from different types of plastics.

Climate change has seen wildfires become a far more common threat around the world, and 2018 saw huge areas of California affected by some of the worst fires in recent memory,. More than 100 people died in more than 8,500 fires across California, and the fires destroyed more than 24,000 buildings and burned two million acres of land.

Most of the fires in California took place in July and August, and the government declared a national disaster. 

There’s no doubt that the fires were a man-made disaster. The years that preceded the fires saw an increase in temperatures due to climate change, and that killed plenty of trees in California — and those dead, dry trees provide ample fuel for fires to spread. 

Scientists predict that this kind of disaster is only going to become more common because of climate change, so California’s extreme weather may soon feel normal. Sadly, it has significant health effects on people too . 

This incident took place in the Chinese city of Jilin in November 2005, and saw a series of explosions at a petrochemical plant. In the immediate aftermath of the blasts more than 10,000 people were evacuated from the local area, according to the New York Times .

That’s bad enough, but it’s not the full story. The explosions released around 110 tons (100 metric tonnes) of pollutants into the Songhua River, and that was a big deal – because several large cities depend on that river for their water supply, according to the Environmental Emergencies Centre . 

Supplies were cut off for several days while the water supplies were cleaned up, and water had to be transported from unaffected cities to help people cope. Some cities dug deep-water wells to ensure that they won’t be totally dependent on rivers for their water supplies.

Toxins from the original explosions didn’t just affect Chinese water supplies, either. Chemicals were detected in Russian cities and in the Sea of Japan.  

For more examples of man-made disasters check out " A Century of Man-Made Disasters " by Nigel Blundell, " World's Worst Historical Disasters: Natural and Man-Made Catastrophes from the Ancient World to the Present Day " by Chris McNab and " Introduction to Natural and Man-made Disasters and Their Effects on Buildings " by Roxanna McDonald. 

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Mike Jennings

Mike is a freelance technology journalist and consultant who is fascinated with gaming, futuristic technology and motorsport. Previously, Mike has worked as a writer for PC Pro magazine writing and published articles on technology for many other media outlets, including TechRadar, Wired, PC Advisor, Stuff, The Inquirer and Red Bull Gaming. 

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  • v.43(10); 2014 Oct

Man-Made Major Hazards Like Earthquake or Explosion; Case Study, Turkish Mine Explosion (13 May 2014)

In all over the world, mining is considered as a high-risk activity that is pregnant with serious disasters not only for miners, engineers, and other people into it, but also for people who live near the mines. In this article, our main purpose is to examine some major mine disasters and safety in mines and the case study is a coal mine in Turkey. Safety in mines is one of the most important issues that need attention. Therefore, it is suggested that existing deficiencies in mines should be removed by continuous monitoring in all devices, equipments, control of Methane and safe separation of coal from a mine. Moreover, we recommend that early warning systems should be installed to alert some explosions, fires and other dangerous events to the fire departments, hospitals, Red Crescent and other major reliefs. Experiences from previous events in mines can help managers and miners. With some plans and projects related to disasters in mines and solution for them, some diseases such as black lung disease or other problems in mines such as carbon monoxide poisoning can forestall a danger. Before Mine owners begin their activity, they must research about the environmental and social effects of their activities. Therefore, they should identify some important hazards and determine some essential tasks to remove them or control risks via collaboration with other scientists.

Introduction

A disaster followed by fire and a strong explosion that led to the death of many workers because of carbon monoxide poisoning on May 13, 2014 at a coal mine in Soma, Manisa, Turkey ( 1 ). With nearly 12.3 billion tons of reserved coal, Turkey produces almost 22% of its electricity needs by burning their reserved fuels ( 2 ). The cause of the explosion was an underground mine fire that continued until 15 th of May. Its coordinate was 39°4’37.90”N 27°31’30.93”E ( 3 ). It is situated in western Turkey ( Fig.1 ). Unfortunately, from 787 workers that were underground, 301 people died in the disaster that is suspected to be caused by electrical equipment ( 4 ). In late 2013, miners expressed their opposition to dangerous mining conditions, but unfortunately, their demand to investigate the mine’s safety was rejected in the National Assembly of Turkey only weeks before the disaster ( 5 , 6 ).

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Location of the coal mine in Soma, Manisa, Turkey/ Source: http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/14/turkey-mine-disaster-kills-232-fate-of-more-than-100-miners-unknown/

Induced Seismicity

There are some threats like natural seismicity or sometimes human activities in the world that is called “induced seismicity”. The human activities include mining, deep quarrying, hydro-geological extraction or fluid disposal. Induced seismicity creates some earthquakes with different magnitudes. There are some published examples of induced earthquakes occurred since 1929 in the world. Davies et al. ( 7 ) subdivided the seismicity by likely trigger mechanism.

These magnitudes are:

1. Mining (M = 1.6 - 5.6), 2. Oil and gas field depletion (M = 1.0 - 3.8), 3. Water injection for secondary oil recovery (M = 1.9 — 5.1), 4. Reservoir impoundment (M = 2.0 — 7.9), 5. Waste disposal (M = 2.0 — 5.3), 6. Academic research boreholes investigating induced seismicity and stress (M = 2.8 — 3.1), 7. Solution mining (M = 1.0 — 5.2), 8. Geothermal operations (M = 1.0 — 4.6), 9. Hydraulic fracturing for recovery of gas and oil from lowpermeability sedimentary rocks (M = 1.0 — 3.8).

Some important earthquakes induced by mine subsidence that causes a collapse of mine workings (e.g., 8-10). These events range from 1.6 to 5.6. For the case study in Turkey, the fire was started by an explosion about 2 km under the surface. We obtained some information from TurkishPress.com on May 15, 2014 saying that this event is doubted to have been caused by electrical equipment. We believed that it needs essential and exact methods to identify the cause of the fire or explosion. It can help us to improve safety in mines, stopping some occurrences of similar events. There were other hazards for workers in the mines, especially underground coal mine such as repairable dust. The 1969 coal mine health and safety act was the most comprehensive occupational safety and health law ever performed in the world ( 11 ). The rate of coal fatalities decreased 37 percent after five years from passing of this law of the federal mine and health act in 1977.

Investigation of Explosion in Mines

There are several methods to investigate fire or explosion events. It needs a considerable time and a team consisting of various specialists in different fields. I believe that every mine needs some safety experts. This team should be comprised of doctors, mine and industry engineers, and some experts for everything that need to be checked in mines. Mines need an advanced and modern laboratory, which can provide different techniques for testing and designing of occurrence some actual events by examining some chemical and thermal analyses and electrical tools that may be prone to massive fire or explosions. These methods are called simulation of event. These days’ seismologists use simulation of event for major events in natural seismicity or earthquakes in different regions. Therefore, we can examine this procedure for fire, explosion in mines too. Results of such trial and error are a good method for taking control of hazards in mines. The results can be publishing in a form of an international report, so that the experiments can be used in other countries’ mining industry. An initial report on possible causes of the mine event in Turkey cited by prosecutor Bekir Sahiner showed that the fire may have been triggered by coal heating up after making contact with the air, sending harmful carbon monoxide through the mine ( 12 ).

The Mine’s elevator was stopped due to the explosion. Most of the workers died of carbon monoxide poisoning ( 13 ). The fire broke out after the explosion. Brnich and Kowalski-Trakofker ( 14 ) in 2011 presented some major coal mine disasters in U.S. Bureau of Mines, in three periods. They categorized causes into six cases that they have occurred in three periods: 1900-1909, 1910-1969 and 1970-present. They showed disasters by number of fatalities in Tables 1 , ​ ,2 2 and ​ and3, 3 , respectively. These causes are: 1) explosion; 2) fire; 3) haulage (transportation of personnel, materials, or equipment); 4) ground fall/bump (fall of roof rock or an outward, violent burst of a pillar); 5) inundation (the sudden inrush of water or toxic gases from old workings); and 6) other ( 15 ).

Number of underground coalmine worker fatalities by type of disaster 1900 through 2008

Major U.S. underground coal mine disasters, 1900-1909

Underground coal mine disasters, 1977-1999

Why do we need coal?

The most important fuel in the production of electricity is coal, which has been widely used since the 1880s. Coal is also one of the most abundant fuels in the world that is used in industry as well as in smelting and alloy. The United States has more coal reserves than any other country in the world. In fact, one-fourth of all the known coal in the world is in the United States. Coal mining developed during the industrial revolution, the most important application of which is as a fuel in energy production and in the process industry. Besides, one of the important sources of energy up until 1960s was coal. Moreover, coal is the most plentiful fuel in the fossil family. The Industrial Revolution in 18th century started in Britain and then spread to continental Europe, North America, and Japan, was due to the availability of coal to power steam engines. Coal was cheaper and much more efficient than wood fuel in most steam engines ( 16 ). Today, most of countries use a lot of coal, because they have a lot of it.

Environmental impact assessment of mining

We know that all mines should protect the environment from threats by their activities. Coal is the most accessible source of fossil energy in the world, but it contains natural radioactivity. Demir and Kursun, 2012 ( 17 ) find results of particle size analysis in the laboratory with coal samples from Manisa-Soma coal in Turkey. Their study concentrated on the radioactive elements in Manisa-Soma and Istanbul-Agaci coals, and thermal power plant ashes taken from Manisa-Soma were used. Their samples were analyzed with respect to air-polluting elements. They were obtained that As, Co and Mn were concentrated on floating coals; Be, Cd, Hg and Ni were concentrated on the ashes of these coals, and Se was concentrated on sinking coal and its ash. Because Istanbul-Agacli lignite is low in thermal value, they noticed in their analysis that trace element sedimentations settling in coal during geological formation of the area is higher than worldwide coal average. According to the major and trace element results of the Float and Sink Experiment made on Manisa-Soma coal in Turkey, whereas radioactive element content of Th is 3.26 ppm in the feeding coal, it is 1.00 ppm in floating coal and 5.30 ppm in sinking coal. Moreover, they examined post-combustion ashes of these coals. Therefore, these results show that Th element collects in the sinking part after coal dressing and gets concentrated in the ash after combustion ( 17 ). On the other hand, researchers believe that almost 40% more carbon dioxide exists in the atmosphere than before the Industrial Revolution. They believed that current CO 2 level is higher than at any point in the last 650000 years ( 18 ). Research has shown that mining causes widespread deforestation, soil erosion, water shortages and pollution, smouldering coal fires and the emission of greenhouse gases. Moreover, huge excavation operations strip land bare, lower water tables, generate great waste mountains surrounding communities with dust particles and debris.

Other environmental impacts are: the loss of fertile soils through the erosion and runoff into nearby water bodies clogs rivers that led to smothers aquatic life. According to the reports by World Health Organization in 2008 and environmental groups in 2004, coal particulates pollution ( Fig. 2a & b ) are assessed to shorten approximately 1000,000 lives annually worldwide, including nearly 24000 lives a year in the United States ( 19 , 20 ).

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Coal-fired power plants like the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Cumberland Fossil Plant near Clarksville, Tenn., are cited in a new report as contributing to thousands of premature deaths each year, Ron Schmitt / AP file ( 19 )

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Emissions from coal-fired power plants include sulfur dioxide, mercury, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, Phillip J. Redman / U.S. Geological Survey ( 19 )

How to avoid the risk of explosion or fire in mines?

We can reduce the risks in mines. We should identify some important hazards and determine some essential tasks to do that. Some scientists tried to control risks via some plans. A large number of casualties are related to mine workers. One of the most important plans for decreasing hazards in mines is to control the risk assessments by flammable materials. For example, we can identify some sources of fire and explosion (or man-made earthquakes) in mines, and continually control and monitor the electrical equipment and anything related to it that is prone to produce an explosion such as smoking by workers and managers. If the event in Turkey has been caused by electrical equipment, then it needs more attention in the future. All mine owners and managers in mines must permanently check and control electrical equipment to avoid future risks. Disregarding some minor flaws create a dangerous disaster and led to an ignition source.

Managers in mine should prepare suitable equipment. There are some regulations that introduce concepts and definitions: 1. The type of explosion protected equipment. 2. The groups of the explosion protected equipment. 3. The methods that these groups are to be used in explosive and potentially explosive atmospheres. 4. The explosive atmosphere being formed by gas, mist, vapor or flammable dust under normal atmospheric conditions. Moreover, the level of risk for each person in mines depends on some factors such as: 1. How each person is close to fire or explosion? 2. Are they on the intake side or downstream? 3. How far they are from the closest safe place? 4. How long it will take them to reach the nearest safe place? ( 21 ). Therefore, deployment and safety checking systems in mines should be considered as an important issue. I believe that some cases must be monitored and controlled permanently in mines, for example, instruments and equipments monitoring, the rate of flammable gas, etc. Early warning systems must be active for number of flammable gas, so that they can send warnings when number of flammable gas increase or it is suspected for explosion. Permanent monitoring can detect some problems in mines quickly, and workers, managers or other people in mine can save themselves from risks. Moreover, Vasheghani-Farahani and Zare, 2013 ( 22 ) believed that in order to improve the environmental safety and sustainable development, it is better to research on explosions based on the ground motion prediction model and soil effect to have a sufficient standard of explosives as a necessity. These researches led to the reduction of some destructive environmental hazards.

Lessons from Mine Disaster in Turkey

I believe that mine disaster in Turkey has lessons for other mining companies. They should adopt a stronger view for prevention of hazards. Perhaps, Turkey mine explosion could be a preventable incident. Some news from this disaster indicates that the accident victims died mostly from toxic gases ( 23 ). In this news, we studied that “a prosecutor said: a preliminary report shows that coal had been smoldering for days before the disaster, causing a roof collapse and releasing toxic gases that spread inside the mine”. Therefore, officials admitted that most of the victims died from toxic gases ( 23 ). If the mine event in Turkey have been caused by electrical equipment or if many of the dead in Manisa-Soma coal in Turkey died from toxic gases, our question is: whether this event was preventable or not? This accident in which 301 people lost their lives is very heartbreaking. Unfortunately, mining accidents occur frequently in Turkey. An explosion occurred at the Kozlu mine stemming from a methane gas leak and killed eight workers. Moreover, Turkey’s worst mining event occurred in 1992, too. Unfortunately, gas explosion killed about 263 workers in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak, and another event took place in Zonguldak province in May 2010. Between 1991 and 2008, 2554 miners died in work-related accidents, and more than 13000 people experienced working disability ( 24 ). Unfortunately, lessons not learned from previous mining disasters. Miner Erdal Bicak believed that Turkey mine disaster (May 2014) is due to the negligence on the part of the company. Bicack told that the company was guilty about that ( 25 ). He told the Associated Press that the managers had machines to measure methane gas levels. “The new gas levels had gotten too high and they didn’t tell us in time.” Akin Celik, the Soma mine’s operations manager, has said thick smoke from the underground fire killed many miners who had no gas masks. High levels of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been a problem for rescue workers as well ( 25 ).

An explosion and fire occurred in a coalmine in western Turkey that killed at least 301 workers. Plan and responses to problems in mines such as carbon monoxide poisoning can forestall a danger. Moreover, timely warnings to managers and workers can keep their lives from hazards. Mining kills workers by some events and diseases such as fire, explosion and black lung disease, respectively. In addition, people suffer from pollution emissions such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and methane. Perhaps, a solution for people that live near the mines is evacuation of villagers affected by mining to a more suitable location. Finally, simulation of events in laboratories is a good solution in mines.

Ethical considerations

Ethical issues (Including plagiarism, Informed Consent, misconduct, data fabrication and/or falsification, double publication and/or submission, redundancy, etc) have been completely observed by the authors.

Acknowledgements

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

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Man-made disasters: The case of Chernobyl and its impact on the local populations

You may hear about natural disasters often, but some of the deadliest disasters in world history have been caused by human activities. And, this is the case of Chernobyl.

Man-made disasters: The case of Chernobyl and its impact on the local populations

It has been 34 years since the worst accident in the history of the nuclear era occurred near Kyiv, at the Chernobyl power plant close to heavily populated urban areas. Thirty-one people died within a few weeks of the accident from the initial steam explosion, exposure to radiation and thermal burns, and one due to cardiac arrest.

Soviet authorities started 115,000 evacuating people from the area around Chernobyl almost 3 days after the accident. The government subsequently resettled another 220,000 people.

Before explaining the dramatic effects of this disaster to the local populations, especially to first-aid responders, workers and children, it is useful to introduce the term man-made disasters.

What does the term man-made disaster mean?

A  disaster  is a serious disruption occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

Man-made disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. These hazards can include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills, terrorist attacks, nuclear explosions/nuclear radiation.

War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category a well as scenarios of global warming, nuclear war, and bioterrorism.

Chernobyl and its consequences to local communities

Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident caused serious radioactive contamination in the region and health problems from radiation exposures to populations in Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation but also in Europe.

According to reports by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), three population groups were highly at risk and therefore they considered vulnerable.

  • The recovery operation workers
  • Evacuees from the contaminated zones
  • Inhabitants from these areas

In addition to these groups, it is estimated that 600 million residents living in the periphery and further away from the place of the accident were also found positive to radiation exposure.

The epidemiological studies showed that the health of those groups has been impacted severely. Clean-up workers suffered from  diseases such as leukaemia, cataracts and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), thus those children and adolescents who were exposed faced health issues such as thyroid cancer and non-malignant diseases.

In numbers, around 16 % of leukaemia cases among Chernobyl clean-up workers was caused by radiation exposure from clean-up activities in the Chernobyl 30-km zone. Also, there was an increasing number of clean-up workers suffering from cataracts problems.

Initial delays by the Soviet government to provide information to the affected populations created a climate of distrust and general frustration, thus it showed the absence of disaster preparedness plans, and resulted in chaotic evacuations in the months after the accident at the power plant.

The lack of a coherent disaster management plan affected mentally the inhabitants. Neuropsychological and psychological impairments associated with radiation exposure have been reported for those exposed as children, in particular, poor self-rated health as well as clinical and subclinical depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Many of these re-settled people have found it very difficult to adapt to their new circumstances and continued to suffer high levels of stress, in particular linked to unemployment and a feeling that they do not have adequate control over their lives. A great number of older re-settlers still express a desire to return to their old homes.

Recognising the long-term effects and severe consequences of this disaster in the local communities and neighbour countries, 30 years later, on 8 December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 26 April as International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day.

BuildERS case studies and its relevance with man-made disasters

During the BuildERS project, we will analyse two case studies which correspond to man-made disasters. The first case study is related to the poisonous chemical spill at railway marshalling yard in Tampere in Finland – an industrial chemical accident. In collaboration with our partners, we will test new tools for modelling, communication between vulnerable people and authorities, use of social media and simulation platforms.

The second case study refers to a cyber attack which deactivated the Estonian government and business operations systems and infrastructure. Our partners will apply mobile positioning data to develop precise rescue planning and emergency management for cyber- hazards in Estonia.

Do you work with vulnerable groups? Tell us which BuildERS materials could help you!

one case study of man made disaster

9 man-made disasters that had a big impact on our world

  • Humans have had a huge impact on our environment. 
  • Some of the deadliest disasters in world history were caused by human activity.
  • Chernobyl was considered the world's worst nuclear power accident.

The Union Carbide Cyanide gas leak caused a death toll in the thousands.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Insider Today

You may hear about natural disasters often, but some of the deadliest disasters in world history have been anthropogenic hazards (environmental disasters caused by human activity).

For this list, we're focusing on incidents (and accidents) involving nature that were caused or worsened by people and their machines. From oil spills and explosions to nuclear testing fallout, these are some ecological disasters that changed our world forever.

Many believe that The Dust Bowl was caused by ignorance about farming practices.

one case study of man made disaster

Before World War I, the land on the American Great Plains had mostly been used to raise cattle and other stock animals. Then, millions of acres were put under plow so that farmers could grow wheat. 

After a decade of healthy rainfall and intense plowing of virgin soil by people with little to no knowledge of the land or the environmental conditions, a severe drought hit the American plains. Dry eroded topsoil turned to dust, and when high winds went sweeping through it, created devastating storms. The worst of it occurred on April 14, 1935, a day nicknamed Black Sunday because of a "black blizzard" — or dust storm — hundreds of miles wide and thousands of feet high that seemed to turn day into night and lasted for several hours. Caused by a combination of nature and human error , the Dust Bowl is thought to have left an estimated 500,000 people homeless and caused an estimated 2.5 million to pack up and move elsewhere. Dust pneumonia, also called "brown plague," is also thought to have killed hundreds of people, many of whom were infants or elderly.

Chernobyl was considered the world's worst nuclear power accident.

one case study of man made disaster

On April 26, 1986, an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Kiev, Ukraine, caused high levels of radiation in the area. The information around the accident is still fairly hazy because, at the time, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union and the government initially tried to keep the explosion under wraps . 

Likely because of their downplay and the lack of knowledge, many plant workers and firefighters were exposed to radiation. Within three months, 30 people died of acute radiation sickness but thousands were affected, including the hundreds of thousands who were evacuated from nearby cities Kiev and Pripya t . 

Early nuclear testing in the United States had environmental and health impacts for those who lived near the sites.

one case study of man made disaster

The United States government conducted 200 nuclear tests at sites in several states in the American south and west including Nevada, Arizona, Washington, and New Mexico from 1945 to 1962.

It was later discovered that fallout from the tests severely compromised the health of those who worked directly with the hazardous materials, others who worked on-site, and even those who just lived in areas "downwind," later referred to as "downwinders."

Exposure from radiation from the tests was linked to thyroid cancer and leukemia and it's hard to know exactly how many people died as a result of the fallout from the tests.

Some early estimates had the death toll in the thousands, but one recent estimate by University of Arizona economist Keith Meyers put the number at 340,000 to 690,000 . Eltona Henderson, with Idaho Downwinders, told the Salt Lake City Tribune that she saw entire families "wiped out by cancer" believed to be linked to these tests. 

In 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to pay tens of thousands of sick Americans and their families between $50,000 and $100,000 each.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill had no human casualties but had an immense environmental impact.

one case study of man made disaster

No people were harmed when Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker owned by the company Exxon Shipping Company, struck Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound and spilled 11 million gallons of oil , but the loss of wildlife was huge.

The oil spill was spread across 1,300 miles of the coast , according to the AP, and effectively ruined the habitats of herring and pink salmon, two major profit drivers for the fishermen in that area. 

Experts calculated that some 302 seals, 2,800 otters, and "an unprecedented" number of birds had been killed. After 30 years, some animal populations , including birds and whales, have still not recovered. 

Though no one died directly from the oil spill, it also had huge impacts on the fishermen in the area, many of whom lost their livelihoods and reportedly saw a big impact on their families .

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused thousands of animal casualties.

one case study of man made disaster

While drilling a deep exploratory well in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, the rig known as Deepwater Horizon exploded.

Eleven of the 126 crew members died , while 17 others were treated for injuries . It sank on April 22 and began to spill oil. Over the course of 87 days, the rig's damaged wellhead spewed between 134 million and 206 million gallons of oil into the gulf.

Reports from five years after the disaster estimate that over 800,000 birds, 65,000 turtles, 12% of the area's brown pelican population, and four times as many dolphins than the previous historic rates had died. A reported 10% of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill sank to the seafloor, affecting the seafloor for years to come, according to experts.

The Flint Water Crisis was caused by a change in water source.

one case study of man made disaster

In 2013, officials in Michigan decided to switch the source of Flint's drinking water to the Flint River rather than Detroit City water. The move was apparently intended to be a temporary fix while they waited on the Karegnondi Water Authority's system, which would provide water from Lake Huron.

Residents raised concerns about the new water source almost immediately and a boil order went into effect just a few months later after the water tested positive for coliform bacteria which typically indicated that pathogens are present in the water. 

Though officials in the city insisted the water was safe after a few months, doctors from the Hurley Medical Center found high levels of lead in the blood of children in Flint using comparative blood tests from before and after the water source switch. The percentage of children with high lead levels in their blood doubled , Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who conducted the tests, told NPR.

Researchers from Virginia Tech found that the water from the Flint River likely corroded the lead in the pipes , which experts believe poisoned the residents for 18 months between 2014 and 2015.

The contaminated water has also been blamed for an increase in a severe type of pneumonia known as Legionnaires' disease thanks to the low levels of chlorine.

According to PBS in 2018, while the official record says that 90 people were made sick and 12 were killed, an investigation shows that as many as 119 deaths that year from pneumonia may have been caused by legionella bacteria in the water.

In addition, a study found that fetal death rates rose and fertility rates dropped following the water-source switch. 

Today, the water has been reported to be at acceptable levels of water quality, but many have expressed doubt over its safety. 

The Great Smog of London was a mystery for years.

one case study of man made disaster

On December 5, 1952, London was covered in a deep smog that stuck around for five days. It was so dense that it grounded air travel and all transportation except for the underground was halted. Experts estimate that 12,000 people died as a result and 150,000 were hospitalized, and thousands of animals died.

Though it was a mass-casualty incident, many were stumped as to the exact reason for the smog. Officials knew though that one of the causes was the pollution in the area and passed the Clean Air Act of 1956, which limited coal burning in cities in the UK. 

Years, later, a study by a group of scientists published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , found by comparing the incident with that of China, that sulfur likely mixed with the fumes of burning coal, creating the thick yellow smog that is thought to have poisoned thousands. 

one case study of man made disaster

On December 2, 1984, an explosion at the Union Carbide insecticide plant  in Bhopal, India, caused 45 tons of methyl isocyanate gas to leak out and reach the nearby towns, which killed more than 3,000 instantly . Later, the death toll was estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000 , according to Brittanica, with about 500,000 affected by the gas exposure.

After the incident, the gas leak was reportedly not dealt with properly and more than 300 metric tons of waste remained at the site decades later in 2016. Because of this, chemical runoff is believed to have contaminated the drinking water in the area and some experts say it has caused chronic health problems and birth defects. 

In 2004, the government of India was required to provide clean water to residents because of contamination in the groundwater and in 2010, seven former employees of Union Carbide were convicted of negligence in relation to the incident .  

Mercury poisoning affected thousands in Japan.

one case study of man made disaster

From 1932 to 1968, The Chisso Corporation, a Japanese fertilizer company, released wastewater into the bay off of Minamata City that contained an estimated 30 tons of methylmercury. 

That toxic chemical affected fish in the bay that were then eaten by humans who contracted mercury poisoning, also known as Minamata disease. The disease causes among other things, seizures and muscle spasms. About 3,000 people are certified victims of the disease , while 2,000 more have sought to be classified as such. 

Various legal actions have awarded money to certified victims of the disease and in 2017, the UN agreement the Minamata Convention on Mercury sought to limit the risk of mercury poisonings and pollution.

one case study of man made disaster

  • Main content

Book cover

Global Health Security pp 143–161 Cite as

Natural and Manmade Disasters: Vulnerable Populations

  • Jennifer Marshall 11 ,
  • Jacqueline Wiltshire 11 ,
  • Jennifer Delva 11 ,
  • Temitope Bello 11 &
  • Anthony J. Masys 11  
  • First Online: 02 January 2020

1253 Accesses

17 Citations

Part of the Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications book series (ASTSA)

In recent decades, the influence of natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, heat waves, droughts, floods and epidemics, on Global Health Security have become more prominent. In addition, disaster events stemming from civil unrest or natural disasters create humanitarian and refugee crisis thereby contributing to local, regional and global health security challenge. These disaster events also highlight the social, physical, psychological and economic vulnerabilities among population groups. Vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, families with children, older adults, disabled and low-income individuals suffer disproportionate harm in disasters. Vulnerable populations are less likely to undertake self-protective actions before, during or after disasters. They are also at greater risk for poor physical and psychological health outcomes after a disaster. This chapter focuses on the impact of disasters on the following vulnerable population groups: pregnant women and families with children, and older adults. It highlights the complex and unique needs of women, children, and older adults which can lead to catastrophic consequences during and after a disaster. Case studies are included to demonstrate the vulnerabilities and ensuing consequences for women and children and older adults during or after disasters.

  • Vulnerable populations
  • Complex disasters
  • Women and children, older adults, hurricanes
  • Public health
  • Global health security

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Marshall, J., Wiltshire, J., Delva, J., Bello, T., Masys, A.J. (2020). Natural and Manmade Disasters: Vulnerable Populations. In: Masys, A.J., Izurieta, R., Reina Ortiz, M. (eds) Global Health Security. Advanced Sciences and Technologies for Security Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23491-1_7

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THE CDC FIELD EPIDEMIOLOGY MANUAL

Natural and Human-Made Disasters

Ronald Waldman

  • Historical Highlights of the Use of Field Epidemiology in Humanitarian Emergencies
  • Role of Field Epidemiologists in Humanitarian Emergency Response
  • Common Issues

Every year, approximately 400 natural disasters occur worldwide. Added to these are 30–40 armed conflicts ( 1 ). Together, these and other emergencies imperil the health of hundreds of millions of people and substantially increase levels of morbidity and mortality. The future may bring more calamity to more places around the world; climate change is a scientific certainty, and with it comes an increased level of dangerous weather events in all coastal areas around the globe.

Natural events and human-made emergencies (e.g., armed conflict; climate change; and “development disasters,” such as those ensuing from flooding upstream of dam construction or excessive damage from earthquakes where structures have not been built to code) frequently occur in relatively remote, difficult-to-reach locations, often in the poorer countries of the world that are least able to cope. The tasks of field epidemiologists who participate in response efforts include (1) accurately determining the number of people affected, (2) calculating rates of morbidity and mortality, (3) assessing the health-related needs of the population, (4) establishing priorities for providing health services, (5) monitoring progress toward rehabilitation and recovery, (6) evaluating the results of emergency interventions, and (7) improving future responses by communicating the consequences of these emergencies.

The approach to the way supplies and services are delivered to emergency-affected populations has changed radically during the past 50 years. The application of epidemiologic principles to emergency response is generally considered to have begun during the massive international relief effort mounted during the civil war in Nigeria during the late 1960s. During that war, which resulted in widespread starvation, massive internal displacement, and high rates of mortality, epidemiologists developed methods to help determine the health status of the affected populations so that appropriate assistance could be delivered ( 2 ). Nutritional surveillance evolved over subsequent years, and, by the late 1970s, internationally approved guidelines for measuring nutritional status had been developed ( 3 ).

Toward the end of the 1970s, the genocidal practices of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia resulted in a massive exodus of survivors to Thailand, where hundreds of thousands of people were given refuge in several large camps. These so-called “death camps” quickly became the sites of numerous outbreaks of disease, but the extent and principal causes of morbidity and mortality were measured in quantifiable terms only when epidemiologists from the Center for Disease Control (later Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), working together with colleagues from the International Committee of the Red Cross and a group of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), instituted a formal disease surveillance system and conducted methodologically sound surveys ( 4 ).

Before the regular use of field epidemiology techniques, emergency response was guided mainly by the best intentions of relatively inexperienced medical and surgical teams with inappropriate skills and inadequate logistical support. Doctors would build makeshift clinics, throw open the doors, and provide services to people who were able to access them—in most instances, only a small proportion of the affected population. Available services frequently did not match the public health needs of the population. Planners and managers were in the unenviable position of directing major relief operations with little information to guide their efforts ( 5 ). However, as sound epidemiologic practices emerged and were more regularly applied, reasonably accurate denominators on which to calculate rates of illness and death were generated and a more disciplined approach to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the health sector evolved.

Unfortunately, disasters that have needed more honed epidemiologic approaches have continued to occur regularly. Examples include repeated famines and conflicts (the two are not unrelated) in the Horn of Africa; cyclones and tsunamis leading to massive flooding in countries bordering the Bay of Bengal and elsewhere in the Indian Ocean; earthquakes and hurricanes in the Caribbean and Central America; and wars in the Balkans, the Middle East, and Central Africa. All of these required distinct responses, but eventually, because of the development and application of epidemiologic techniques, including more formal approaches to rapid assessment, surveillance, and impact evaluation, patterns of morbidity and mortality emerged. In addition, training programs were established that resulted in an emergency response workforce that was more knowledgeable, more sophisticated, and more capable of reducing illness and saving more lives in less time ( Box 22.1 ) ( 6 ).

One notable watershed occurred in the wake of the Rwanda genocide of 1994, when more than 500,000 refugees fled that country to then-Zaire, with many settling in a few camps near the northern tip of Lake Kivu. Within weeks, an estimated 45,000 refugees had died of cholera, despite the presence of hundreds of nongovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies, military medical contingents from at least nine Western countries, and many other public health officials ( 7 ). The collective failure to respond effectively to this situation clearly underscored the need for the emergency relief community to develop indicators for a successful intervention and to work to achieve those indicators in every emergency. This need led to development of the Sphere Project and its accompanying Handbook ( Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response ) that remains obligatory reading for persons working in this field (8). In addition to establishing standards in key areas (shelter, food security, food aid and nutrition, water and sanitation, and health services, and the cross-cutting areas of gender and protection), the Sphere Project has provided opportunities for epidemiologists and other public health experts to agree on a relatively standardized approach to emergency relief. A fourth edition of this essential Handbook will be published in Fall, 2018.

More recently, notable humanitarian crises resulting from natural disasters have included a massive earthquake in Haiti (2010); flooding that displaced 20 million people in Pakistan (2010); several typhoons in the Philippines, including Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in 2013; and the ongoing (2017) severe drought in the Horn of Africa. Human-made emergencies commanding the attention of the international humanitarian community have included ongoing conflicts in South Sudan, Central African Republic, and throughout the Middle East. Although the peer-reviewed literature addressing responses to such disasters remains relatively sparse, field epidemiologists preparing to respond to future crises should be encouraged to learn from these case studies.

The principal objectives of epidemiologic field investigations and response in emergency settings are to

  • Establish the magnitude and distribution of the public health consequences of the event.
  • Assess the size and health needs of the affected population.
  • Help provide and promote epidemiologically derived data as the principal basis for resource allocation.
  • Help guide implementation of public health programs to minimize postemergency morbidity and mortality.
  • Monitor progress of the relief effort.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the relief effort.

The field epidemiologist is a core member of the emergency response team. Increasingly, the international response to emergencies is organized in a command-and-control manner, in accordance with the Incident Command System (see Chapter 16 ) or similar systems approaches ( 9 ). Knowledge of the organizational structure of the relief effort and identification of the decision-makers is important, as are being a team player and understanding the roles of other team members. In the face of tragedy, many unseasoned hands will adopt an “act first– think later” approach and view the methodical collection and analysis of data as a frivolous, time-wasting activity. In these instances, the field epidemiologist must be an affirmative voice of reason—strongly advancing an evidence-based approach to health interventions that maximizes benefit to the affected population.

Although no cookbook approach exists to emergency response, flexibility and sound judgment are hallmarks for the successful use of field epidemiology. Accordingly, a flexible framework of steps for the epidemiologist includes

  • Determining the impact of the event on the public’s health by establishing rates of illness and death with an optimal attainable level of accuracy (note: “the perfect should not be the enemy of the good”). In doing so, it is, of course, essential to focus on the determinations of both numerators (cases and deaths) and denominators (total population and, wherever possible, age and sex breakdowns).
  • Initiating disease surveillance as quickly as possible, beginning with a minimum amount of data to collect and augmenting as deemed appropriate and feasible.
  • Identifying personal, household, and environmental risk factors for elevated rates of illness and death.
  • Advocating for the early initiation of essential public health interventions and disease-control programs on the basis of knowledge of the actual and potential distribution of diseases in the population.
  • Arguing forcefully that health actions of lesser priority be deferred.
  • Becoming an essential member of the health response team by attending appropriate meetings; working with public health officials and other responders from different organizations, including government officials; and providing frequently updated reports about the situation to those who have a need to know.

This last point (i.e., providing situation reports) is critical; in emergency response, “consequential epidemiology” needs to be practiced ( 10 ). The contribution of epidemiologists reflects their ability to provide timely and accurate data in a way that decision-makers can easily understand, analyze, and use for action. The use of those data should enable effective implementation of appropriate public health measures. Conversely, collecting and providing potentially useful information that decision-makers do not act on might be viewed, in part, as a failure of field epidemiology, as is the implementation of health interventions that relevant data do not support. Thus, epidemiologic skills are necessary but not sufficient: equally critical are the abilities to communicate effectively, advocate successfully, and provide strong leadership in support of the policymakers directly responsible for consequential actions.

In its early stages, the emergency relief environment is always chaotic. However, every responder has the same essential needs: food, water, shelter, transportation, communication, and a place to sleep. Thus, the field epidemiologist’s first priority is to arrange to meet these basic needs. This is important because the more independent one can be, the less others will have to divert attention from their work to provide assistance.

Hiring staff is another early priority, especially in international emergency relief. Because field epidemiology is a population-based discipline, the epidemiology team should include members who know the local language, geography, and customs. Therefore, recruiting and retaining people who can be relied on to be effective liaisons with the local communities is a high priority. Although English-speaking translators are highly valued, because they do not always represent the community and are unlikely to be professionally trained, information they provide should be carefully assessed and verified.

Establishing Rates of Illness, Injury, and Death

In most emergency relief settings, accurate measurement of the size of the affected population and its current health status is missing and difficult to establish. For the field epidemiologist, though, it is critical to determine a reasonably precise denominator on which to base the calculation of rates, such as crude, age-, sex-, and disease-specific death; prevalence of moderate, severe, and global acute malnutrition in the affected community; incidence of high-priority conditions; and access to use of health services. Determining rates is essential for comparing population groups and prioritizing public health interventions. A variety of methodologic options can be used to calculate population size, ranging from the more basic, such as extrapolating from the number of people in a sample of dwelling units, to the more sophisticated, such as using aerial photography and/or satellite imagery. The field epidemiologist needs to consider the context in which the relief effort is occurring to select the best method—one that provides reasonably accurate numbers in a culturally and contextually sensitive way.

Rapid Assessment

In 1980, in one of the many emergencies on the Horn of Africa, women were observed to be wearing no jewelry, a sign that all valuables had been sold to purchase food that had become available at exorbitant prices. There was one exception, however: almost all women wore a thin string around their necks with a small, spoon-shaped pendant attached to it. The significance of this oddity eluded field epidemiologists assessing the health status of the population until a visiting ophthalmologist mentioned that this population suffered from an unusually high prevalence of trachoma. The spoon-shaped device, it was learned, was used to remove inverted eyelashes, an action that helped relieve the irritation and pain associated with the scratched and ulcerated cornea that are a feature of this disease. Their ubiquity was a testament to the importance of the disease—and keen observation was the key to diagnosing this public health problem.

__________ Source: R. Waldman, unpublished data.

Field epidemiologists play a key role in the earliest stages of any relief effort. In addition to an appreciation for quantifiable data and for how and when to collect it, the “shoe leather” component of epidemiology is valuable in and of itself for conducting an initial rapid assessment. A wealth of information can be gleaned from observation during a walk-through of the affected area if one knows what to look for and how to employ basic qualitative techniques.

  • If commodities are being sold or traded in the marketplace, then their price, compared with preemergency prices, indicates their availability or scarcity.
  • Black markets spring up quickly in postdisaster settings, and the willingness of people to make major sacrifices to pay for essential commodities indicates dire need.
  • Indicators such as the amount of and type of jewelry being worn can be meaningful ( Box 22.2 ). The absence of traditional adornment in a society in which it is customary might signify food insecurity and that everything of value already has been sold.

Interviews with community leaders, transect walks through affected areas, and results from a constellation of methods that frequently are grouped as participatory rapid appraisals can be useful even before the analysis of survey data that might provide more accurate information but at the cost of timeliness. Of paramount importance for the field epidemiologist is reaching the disaster location as quickly as possible, visiting all affected areas and population groups, and helping the relief community gather, collate, and assess the value of all information. Postemergency settings are dynamic, but ultimately decisions about public health and health service delivery must be made from day 1 on the basis of existing evidence ( 11 ).

As valuable as nonquantitative data might be, the lack of routinely collected health information means that, as soon as is feasible, surveys will need to be conducted. A precise sampling frame will be difficult to establish at first, and careful judgment is needed to ensure that samples drawn from the population are representative. However, in most circumstances, a less than optimally representative systematically chosen sample will be superior to a convenience sample, especially if the results are to guide the equitable distribution of commodities and services.

A commonly used survey method is two-stage cluster sampling , first developed by the World Health Organization to measure vaccination coverage rates ( 12 ). The logistical demands of this method are far less than for either simple random sampling or systematic random sampling because relatively few clusters need to be visited to obtain statistically valid results with a reasonable degree of precision. Although sample sizes can be relatively large, the advantages of using this method usually outweigh the disadvantages. Nonetheless, two distinct disadvantages should be noted:

  • Cluster sampling is not well suited for measuring characteristics that are not homogenously distributed in the population. For example, if malnutrition is clumped in certain areas, then cluster sampling might miss it entirely or, conversely, overidentify it, resulting in skewed, nonrepresentative values for the population as a whole.
  • Cluster sampling can be difficult to explain to decision-makers.

Finally, a frequently overlooked problem with surveys is that nonsampling error is likely to be more important than the disadvantages of any sampling method. Surveyors need to be carefully trained to understand the objectives of the survey and the importance of collecting accurate and unbiased information. When people affected by an emergency have lost their possessions or suffered other shocks, they can be eager to please those they perceive to be in a position to help them by providing answers they think the surveyors want to hear, resulting in a sincere, but inaccurate, picture of reality. For example, people might not report household deaths because they fear having their rations decreased. Therefore, the field epidemiologist needs to be aware of the many real and potential biases in obtaining accurate information from an emergency-affected population and must take steps to ensure that none of the epidemiologic activities inadvertently contributes to further deterioration of the situation. For epidemiologists, as for clinicians, “do no harm” is an important rule.

Organizing Priority Interventions

The main goals of emergency relief are to save lives and restore individuals and communities to their preemergency conditions. Although individual-and population-directed health interventions are important in many settings, other types of interventions might take precedence. In the book, Refugee Health , the medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders suggested 10 top priorities in disaster response ( 13 ). Of the top five, only one—measles vaccination—is a health-specific intervention, and its importance might have diminished since publication of that book as more countries have achieved high measles vaccine coverage rates through routine health services. (In situations of protracted conflict, however, where primary healthcare services have been unavailable to the population for some time, vaccination coverage levels can fall dramatically. As a result, measles outbreaks have occurred increasingly throughout the Middle East and in migrant populations in Europe.) The other priorities are initial assessment; water and sanitation; food and nutrition; and shelter and site planning. Although these are clearly related to public health, in most international emergency responses they are considered to be distinct from the health sector.

Some humanitarian interventions address basic needs of the emergency-affected population slowly and even inadequately. For example, in the area of nutrition, field epidemiologists have been called on to identify, diagnose, and design appropriate interventions for rare conditions (e.g., scurvy, pellagra, and beriberi) while simultaneously implementing surveillance for acute moderate and severe malnutrition. Although relief team members who are experts on specific problems understandably will focus on those problems, the field epidemiologist needs to address the overall spectrum of the relief effort and promote the most appropriate interventions, regardless of the sectors to which the interventions might belong.

Public health surveillance is a critical element of disaster response, and its establishment usually becomes the responsibility of the on-site epidemiology team. In humanitarian settings, epidemiologists attempting to implement effective surveillance might have to address several challenges, including

  • Balancing speed and accuracy in adverse conditions.
  • Integrating multiple sources of sometimes conflicting data while determining which are credible and which are not.
  • Soliciting others to participate in the surveillance effort when they might not assign it the same priority the epidemiologist does.
  • Assisting decision-makers in using surveillance data to take action.

Rapidly established, well-monitored, and widely used surveillance systems have been instrumental in preventing deaths as, for example, in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami of December 1994, when on-scene, experienced epidemiologists helped conduct effective surveillance.

Conditions targeted for surveillance vary in relation to specifics of the setting. In most developing countries, at the start it may be sufficient to target a simple surveillance system toward syndromic presentations and easily recognizable conditions, such as acute lower respiratory illness (a proxy for pneumonia), acute watery or bloody diarrhea (cholera, dysentery), fever with or without stiff neck (malaria, meningitis), and measles. In other settings—especially in middle-and higher income countries—the focus might be on measuring the needs of chronically ill persons who might be cut off from their medications or procedures; in these situations, such conditions might be more prevalent than common acute communicable diseases. In all settings, surveillance should focus on the most vulnerable segments of the population (e.g., infants, children, older persons, women, destitute and underserved persons, and persons with special needs). To ensure they are not neglected, epidemiologists should disaggregate data to facilitate identification of health problems in these groups.

Coordination

Emergency relief almost always occurs in emotionally charged environments. Although the need for highly coordinated action is universally recognized (some have suggested that “poor coordination” should be recorded as a cause of death on death certificates), many responders might want to coordinate but not “be coordinated.” The most common scenario is for a health cluster to be established at the onset of the relief effort. Government officials, representatives of the World Health Organization, and a designated person from a nongovernment organization usually are assigned joint responsibility for chairing cluster meetings and overseeing their functioning. In large disasters, such as the Haiti earthquake of 2010, several hundred responders regularly attended health cluster meetings, many seeking guidance on how to respond effectively ( 14 ).

The epidemiologist, for better or for worse, frequently is thrust into a position of responsibility and authority because most responders will not be familiar with the published medical and/or public health literature and few will be able to view the chaos through the objective lens of unbiased data. Epidemiologists responding to an emergency for the first time might be unfamiliar and even uncomfortable with the amount of respect they are accorded.

Humanitarian response settings are the emergency rooms of public health. Lifesaving, irreversible decisions frequently are made in the early phases of the relief effort. A fundamental task of the field epidemiologist is collection and circulation of essential data on the health and nutritional status of the affected population as accurately as possible in the shortest possible time. The purpose of these data is to help first responders prioritize the interventions most likely to limit excess preventable death. The environment is often chaotic, uncoordinated, and characterized by logistical and resource constraints, but the epidemiologist needs to be calm, assertive, and able to convey the power of accurately collected and analyzed data. Ultimately, however, successful contribution to a disaster response will be measured not on the basis of the elegance of the epidemiologic investigations, but rather as a function of how many lives are saved ( 15 ).

  • Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. http://www.cred.be
  • Brown RE, Mayer J. Famine and disease in Biafra: an assessment. Trop Geogr Med . 1969;21:348–52.
  • De Ville de Goyet C, Seaman J, Geijer U. The Management of Nutritional Emergencies in Large Populations . Geneva: World Health Organization; 1978.
  • Glass RI, Cates W Jr, Nieburg P, et al. Rapid assessment of health status and preventive-medicine needs of newly arrived Kampuchean refuges, Sakeo, Thailand. Lancet . 1980;1:868–72.
  • Sommer A, Mosley WH. East Bengal cyclone of November, 1970. Epidemiological approach to disaster assessment. Lancet . 1972;1:1029–36.
  • Toole MJ, Waldman RJ. Prevention of excess mortality in refugee and displaced populations in developing countries. JAMA . 1990;263:3296–302.
  • Goma Epidemiology Group. What happened in Goma, Zaire, in July 1994? Lancet . 1995;345:339–44.
  • The Sphere Project. Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response . 3rd ed. Geneva: The Sphere Project; 2011.
  • Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization. What is the incident command system? http://www.seapro.org/pdf_ docs/ICS.Overview.pdf
  • Field Epidemiology Manual Wiki. Field epidemiology manual. https://wiki.ecdc.europa.eu/fem/w/wiki/field-epidemiology
  • Checchi F, Warsame A, Treacy-Wong V et al. Public health information in crisis-affected populations: a review of methods and their use for advocacy and action. Lancet . 2017;390:2297–313.
  • Henderson RH, Sundaresan T. Cluster sampling to assess immunization coverage: a review of experience with a simplified sampling method. Bull World Health Org . 1982;60:253–60.
  • Médecins Sans Frontières. Refugee Health—An Approach to Emergency Situations . London: Macmillan; 1997.
  • World Health Organization. Global health cluster guide. http://www.who.int/hac/global_health_cluster/guide_glossary_of_key_terms/en/
  • Waldman RJ, Toole MJ. Where is the science in humanitarian health? Lancet . 2017;390:2224–6.

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Introduction to natural and man-made disasters and their effects on buildings

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one case study of man made disaster

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Creators/contributors, contents/summary.

  • Introduction: what constitutes a disaster, loss assessment, disaster management, preparedness, risk reduction, strategy trends
  • Natural Disasters: earthquakes
  • Case Studies: Romania, Turkey and Taiwan
  • Case Studies: France and UK
  • weather conditions
  • Case Studies: Florida, France, Alaska, UK
  • Manmade disasters: conflict
  • Case Studies: Northern Ireland, New York (WTC), and Romania
  • Case Study: UK
  • industrial accidents/pollution
  • Case Study: Romania
  • vandalism/neglect
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  • 1. 1 | P a g e SMT.CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL MANSUKHANI COLLEGE ULHASNAGAR- 421003 PROJECT REPORT ON STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Disaster Management & CASE STUDY SUBMITTED BY AKASH RANA (ROLL NO: 46) M.COM (SEM.II):. SUBMITED TO UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI 2015-16 PROJECT GUIDE Prof. kishore karia
  • 2. 2 | P a g e Department of Commerce Certificate This is to certify that, Mr. AKASH RANA of M.Com.-I, Sem.-I (Roll NO-46) has successfully completed the project titled “Disaster management & case study.” under my guidance for the Academic Year 2015-16. The information submitted is true and original as per my knowledge. Prof. kishore karia (Project Guide) Prof. Gopi Shamnani Dr. Manju Lalwani pathak (Coordinator, M. Com Course) ( I/C Principal)
  • 3. 3 | P a g e External Examiner ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge the valuableassistance providedby SMT.CHANDIBAIHIMATMAL MANSUKHANI COLLEGE, for twoyearsof degree course inM.Com. I specially thankthe principal Dr. Manju Lalwani pathak for Allowingusto use the facilities suchas library, computerlaboratory, internetetc. I sincerely thankthe M.Comco-ordinator Prof. Gopi Shamnani forGuidingusin the rightdirection go prepare the project. I thankmy guide Prof. kishore karia whohas givenhis/hervaluable time, knowledge andguidance to complete the projectsuccessfully intime. My family andpeerswere greatsource of inspiration throughoutmyprojecttheirsupportisdeeply acknowledged. Signature
  • 4. 4 | P a g e DECLARATION I, AKASH RANA OF SMT.CHANDIBAI HIMATMAL MANSUKHANICOLLEGE OF M.Com SEMESTER I, hereby declare thatIhave completed the projecton‘Disaster management & case study’ inthe academicyear2015-16. The information submittedistrue andoriginal tothe bestof myknowledge. (AKASH .P. RANA) M.Com part-1, ROLL NO: 46 SEMESTER II
  • 5. 5 | P a g e INDEX Sr.No Topic Name PAGE NO. 1. Introduction 7-8 2. TYPES OF DISASTER 9 3. Disaster management 10 4. Emergency planning ideas 11 5. Implementing ideas 12 6. Phases and personal activities 13-23 7. Response 24-25 8. Recovery 26 9 Indian Armed Force & Jammu & Kashmir Floods, 2014 27-28 10. Disaster Management in India 29 11. Command and control 30 12 Rescue Mission 31-33 13 Relief assistance 34-36 14 National disaster response force (NDFR) 37-38 15 CASE STUDY UTTARAKHAND DISASTER 39-49 16 Conclusion 50-51 17 Bibliography 52
  • 6. 6 | P a g e
  • 7. 7 | P a g e Introduction A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of a combination of both hazard/s and vulnerability. Hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability will never become disasters, as is the case in uninhabited regions. Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95 percent of all deaths caused by hazards occur in developing countries, and losses due to natural hazards are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized countries Classifications Researchers have been studying disasters for more than a century, and for more than forty years disaster research The studies reflect a common opinion when they argue that all disasters can be seen as being human-made, their reasoning being that human actions before the strike of the hazard can prevent it developing into a disaster. All disasters are hence the result of human failure to introduce appropriate disaster management measures. Hazards are routinely divided into natural or human-made, although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami, resulting in coastal flooding. Natural Hazard A Natural Hazard is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.
  • 8. 8 | P a g e Various phenomena like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, and cyclones are all natural hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year. However, the rapid growth of the world's population and its increased concentration often in hazardous environments has escalated both the frequency and severity of disasters. With the tropical climate and unstable land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation, non-engineered constructions which make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable, tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention, developing countries suffer more or less chronically by natural disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties caused by natural hazards. Airplane crashes and terrorist attacks are examples of man-made disasters: they cause pollution, kill people, and damage property. This example is the September 11 attacks in 2001 at the World Trade Center in New York. Human-Instigated Disasters Main article: Man-made disasters Human-Instigated disasters are the consequence of technological hazards. Examples include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills and nuclear explosions/radiation. War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category. As with natural hazards, man-made hazards are events that have not happened, for instance terrorism. Man-made disasters are examples of specific cases where man-made hazards have become reality in an event.
  • 9. 9 | P a g e Types of Disasters Disasters are simply defined as any over helming ecological disruption which disturbs environmental and economical positions. Disasters are mainly divided as two types:  Natural Disasters and  Artificial Disasters. Artificial Disasters are also called as Man Made Disasters. Natural Disasters: Disasters that are caused by Natural causes are called as Natural Disasters.  Earthquakes,  Landslides,  Floods,  River erosion,  Cyclones,  Tsunami,  Forest Fires etc… Artificial Disasters: These are the disasters that are occurred due to man made changes over the surface of the Earth.  Nuclear Disasters,  Chemical Disasters,  Mine Disasters,  Biological Disasters. These are an example of man-made disasters
  • 10. 10 | P a g e Disaster Management Disaster management is the process of addressing an event that has the potential to seriously disrupt the social fabric of the community. Disaster management is similar to disaster mitigation, however it implies a whole-of-government approach to using community resources to fight the effects of an event and assumes the community will be self-sufficient for periods of time until the situation can be stabilized. Through disaster management, we cannot completely counteract the damage but it is possible to minimize the risks through early warning, provide developmental plans for recuperation from the disaster, generate communication and medical resources, and aid in rehabilitation and post-disaster reconstruction. The exchange of correct information following the event is important, in order to ensure the resources necessary to support response and recovery activities. The 72 hours following a major event is the most difficult time because of a lack of coordination among relief organizations. Problems that interrupt rather than coordinate the rescue efforts of all groups involved often occur because of hasty decision-making under complicated circumstances and the large number of organizations, which are unsure of their roles during operations. The process of Disaster Management involves the following phases: Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and Recovery. Disaster management (or emergency management) is the creation of plans through which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters.Disaster management does not avert or eliminate the threats, instead it focuses on creating plans to decrease the impact of disasters. Failure to create a plan could lead to damage to assets, human mortality, and lost revenue. Currently in the United States 60% businesses do not have emergency management plans. Events covered by disaster management include acts of terrorism, industrial sabotage, fire, natural disasters (such as earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.), public disorder, industrial accidents, and communication failures
  • 11. 11 | P a g e Emergency planning ideas If possible, emergency planning should aim to prevent emergencies from occurring, and failing that, should develop a good action plan to mitigate the results and effects of any emergencies. As time goes on, and more data becomes available, usually through the study of emergencies as they occur, a plan should evolve. The development of emergency plans is a cyclical process, common to many risk management disciplines, such as Business Continuity and Security Risk Management, as set out below:  Recognition or identification of risks  Ranking or evaluation of risks o Responding to significant risks o Tolerate o Treat o Transfer o Terminate  Resourcing controls  Reaction Planning  Reporting & monitoring risk performance  Reviewing the Risk Management framework There are a number of guidelines and publications regarding Emergency Planning, published by various professional organizations such as ASIS, FEMA and the Emergency Planning College. There are very few Emergency Management specific standards, and emergency management as a discipline tends to fall under business resilience standards. In order to avoid, or reduce significant losses to a business, emergency managers should work to identify and anticipate potential risks, hopefully to reduce their probability of occurring. In the event that an emergency does occur, managers should have a plan prepared to mitigate the effects of that emergency, as well as to ensure Business Continuity of critical operations post-incident. It is essential for an organization to include procedures for determining whether an emergency situation has occurred and at what point an emergency management plan should be activated
  • 12. 12 | P a g e Implementations ideas An emergency plan must be regularly maintained, in a structured and methodical manner, ensure it is up-to-date in the event of an emergency. Emergency managers generally follow a common process to anticipate, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover from an incident. Pre-incident training and testing Emergency management plans and procedures should include the identification of appropriately trained staff members responsible for decision-making when an emergency occurs. Training plans should include internal people, contractors and civil protection partners, and should state the nature and frequency of training and testing. Testing of a plan's effectiveness should be carried out regularly. In instances where several business or organizations occupy the same space, joint emergency plans, formally agreed to by all parties, should be put into place. Communicating and assessing incidents. Communication is one of the key issues during any emergency, pre-planning of communications is critical. Miscommunication can easily result in events escalating unnecessarily. Once an emergency has been identified a comprehensive assessment evaluating the level of impact and its financial implications should be undertaken. Following assessment, the appropriate plan or response to be activated will depend on a specific pre-set criteria within the emergency plan. The steps necessary should be prioritized to ensure critical functions are operational as soon as possible.
  • 13. 13 | P a g e Phases and personal activities Emergency management consists of five phases: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Prevention Prevention was recently added to the phases of emergency management. It focuses on preventing the human hazard, primarily from potential natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Preventive measures are taken on both the domestic and international levels, designed to provide permanent protection from disasters. Not all disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental planning and design standards. In January 2005, 168 Governments adopted a 10-year global plan for natural disaster risk reduction called the Hyogo Framework.
  • 14. 14 | P a g e Mitigation Personal mitigation is a key to national preparedness. Individuals and families train to avoid unnecessary risks. This includes an assessment of possible risks to personal/family health and to personal property, and steps taken to minimize the effects of a disaster, or take procure insurance to protect them against effects of a disaster. Preventive or mitigation measures take different forms for different types of disasters. In earthquake prone areas, these preventive measures might include structural changes such as the installation of an Earthquake Valve to instantly shut off the natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of property, and the securing of items inside a building. The latter may include the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls, and the addition of cabinet latches. In flood prone areas, houses can be built on poles/stilts. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs installation of a generator. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigate actions. On a national level, governments might implement large scale mitigation measures. After the monsoon floods of 2010, the Punjab government subsequently constructed 22 'disaster-resilient' model villages, comprising 1885 single-stores homes, together with schools and health centers. Preparedness Airport emergency preparedness exercise.
  • 15. 15 | P a g e Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and procedures for use when a disaster occurs. This equipment and these procedures can be used to reduce vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a disaster or to respond more efficiently in an emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has set out a basic four-stage vision of preparedness flowing from mitigation to preparedness to response to recovery and back to mitigation in a circular planning process. This circular, overlapping model has been modified by other agencies, taught in emergency class and discussed in academic papers FEMA also operates a Building Science Branch that develops and produces multi-hazard mitigation guidance that focuses on creating disaster-resilient communities to reduce loss of life and property. Emergency Preparedness can be difficult to measure. CDC focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of its public health efforts through a variety of measurement and assessment programs. Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) are required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act to develop an emergency response plan, review the plan at least annually, and provide information about chemicals in the community to local citizens. This emergency preparedness effort focuses on hazards presented by use and storage of extremely hazardous, hazardous and toxic chemicals.Particular requirements of LEPCs include  Identification of facilities and transportation routes of extremely hazardous substances  Description of emergency response procedures, on and off site  Designation of a community coordinator and facility emergency coordinator(s) to implement the plan  Outline of emergency notification procedures  Description of how to determine the probable affected area and population by releases  Description of local emergency equipment and facilities and the persons responsible for them  Outline of evacuation plans  A training program for emergency responders (including schedules)  Methods and schedules for exercising emergency response plans
  • 16. 16 | P a g e According to the EPA, "Many LEPCs have expanded their activities beyond the requirements of EPCRA, encouraging accident prevention and risk reduction, and addressing homeland security in their communities" and the Agency offers advice on how to evaluate the effectiveness of these committees. Preparedness measures can take many forms ranging from focusing on individual people, locations or incidents to broader, government-based "all hazard" planning. There are a number of preparedness stages between "all hazard' and individual planning, generally involving some combination of both mitigation and response planning. Business continuity planning encourages businesses to have a Disaster Recovery Plan. Community- and faith-based organizations mitigation efforts promote field response teams and inter-agency planning. Classroom Response Kit School-based response teams cover everything from live shooters to gas leaks and nearby bank robberies. Educational institutions plan for cyber-attacks and windstorms. Industry specific guidance exists for horse farms, boat owners and more. Family preparedness for disaster is fairly unusual. A 2013 survey found that only 19% of American families felt that they were "very prepared" for a disaster. Still, there are many resources available for family disaster planning. The Department of Homeland Security's Ready.gov page includes a Family Emergency Plan Checklist, has a whole webpage devoted to readiness for kids, complete with cartoon-style superheroes, and ran a Thunderclap Campaign in 2014 The Center for Disease Control has a Zombie Apocalypse website
  • 17. 17 | P a g e Kitchen Fire Extinguisher Disasters take a variety of forms to include earthquakes, tsunamis or regular structure fires. That a disaster or emergency is not large scale in terms of population or acreage impacted or duration does not make it any less of a disaster for the people or area impacted and much can be learned about preparedness from so-called small disasters. The Red Cross states that it responds to nearly 70,000 disasters a year, the most common of which is a single family fire. Items on Shelves in Basement Preparedness starts with an individual's everyday life and involves items and training that would be useful in an emergency. What is useful in an emergency is often also useful in everyday life as well. From personal preparedness, preparedness continues on a continuum through family
  • 18. 18 | P a g e preparedness, community preparedness and then business, mom-profit and governmental preparedness. Some organizations blend these various levels. For example, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has a webpage on disaster training as well as offering training on basic preparedness such as Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and First Aid. Other non- profits such as Team Rubicon bring specific groups of people into disaster preparedness and response operations. FEMA breaks down preparedness into a pyramid, with citizens on the foundational bottom, on top of which rests local government, state government and federal government in that order. Non Perishable Food in cabinet The basic theme behind preparedness is to be ready for an emergency and there are a number of different variations of being ready based on an assessment of what sort of threats exist. Nonetheless, there is basic guidance for preparedness that is common despite an area's specific dangers. FEMA recommends that everyone have a three day survival kit for their household.Because individual household sizes and specific needs might vary, FEMA's recommendations are not item specific, but the list includes:  Three-day supply of non-perishable food.  Three-day supply of water – one gallon of water per person, per day.
  • 19. 19 | P a g e  Portable, battery-powered radio or television and extra batteries.  Flashlight and extra batteries.  First aid kit and manual.  Sanitation and hygiene items (moist towelettes and toilet paper).  Matches and waterproof container.  Whistle.  Extra clothing.  Kitchen accessories and cooking utensils, including a can opener.  Photocopies of credit and identification cards.  Cash and coins.  Special needs items, such as prescription medications, eyeglasses, contact lens  Solutions, and hearing aid batteries.  Items for infants, such as formula, diapers, bottles, and pacifiers.  Other items to meet unique family needs. Along similar lines, but not exactly the same, CDC has its own list for a proper disaster supply kit.  Water—one gallon per person, per day  Food—nonperishable, easy-to-prepare items  Flashlight  Battery powered or hand crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)  Extra batteries  First aid kit  Medications (7-day supply), other medical supplies, and medical paperwork (e.g., medication list and pertinent medical information)  Multipurpose tool (e.g., Swiss army knife)  Sanitation and personal hygiene items  Copies of personal documents (e.g., proof of address, deed/lease to home, passports, birth certificates, and insurance policies)  Cell phone with chargers  Family and emergency contact information
  • 20. 20 | P a g e  Extra cash  Emergency blanket  Map(s) of the area  Extra set of car keys and house keys  Manual can opener Children are a special population when considering Emergency Preparedness and many resources are directly focused on supporting them. SAMHSA has list of tips for talking to children during infectious disease outbreaks, to include being a good listener, encouraging children to ask questions and modeling self-care by setting routines, eating healthy meals, getting enough sleep and taking deep breaths to handle stress. FEMA has similar advice, noting that "Disasters can leave children feeling frightened, confused, and insecure" whether a child has experienced it first hand, had it happen to a friend or simply saw it on television. In the same publication, FEMA further notes, "Preparing for disaster helps everyone in the family accept the fact that disasters do happen, and provides an opportunity to identify and collect the resources needed to meet basic needs after disaster. Preparation helps; when people feel prepared, they cope better and so do children." To help people assess what threats might be in order to augment their emergency supplies or improve their disaster response skills, FEMA has published a booklet called the "Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide." (THIRA) This guide, which outlines the THIRA process, emphasizes "whole community involvement," not just governmental agencies, in preparedness efforts. In this guide, FEMA breaks down hazards into three categories: Natural, technological and human caused and notes that each hazard should be assessed for both its likelihood and its significance. According to FEMA, "Communities should consider only those threats and hazards that could plausibly occur" and "Communities should consider only those threats and hazards that would have a significant effect on them." To develop threat and hazard context descriptions, communities should take into account the time, place, and conditions in which threats or hazards might occur. Not all preparedness efforts and discussions involve the government or established NGOs like the Red Cross. Emergency preparation discussions are active on the internet, with many blogs
  • 21. 21 | P a g e and websites dedicated to discussing various aspects of preparedness. On-line sales of items such as survival food, medical supplies and heirloom seeds allow people to stock basements with cases of food and drinks with 25 year shelf lives, sophisticated medical kits and seeds that are guaranteed to sprout even after years of storage. One group of people who put a lot of effort in disaster preparations is called Doomsday Peppers. This subset of preparedness-minded people often share a belief that the FEMA or Red Cross emergency preparation suggestions and training are not extensive enough. Sometimes called survivalists, Doomsday Peppers are often preparing for The End of the World as We Know It, abbreviated as TEOTWAWKI. With a motto some have that "The Future Belongs to those who Prepare," this Preparedness subset has its own set of Murphy's Rules, including "Rule Number 1: Food, you still don't have enough" and "Rule Number 26: People who thought the Government would save them, found out that it didn't." Not all emergency preparation efforts revolve around food, guns and shelters, though these items help address the needs in the bottom two sections of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The American Peppers Network has an extensive list of items that might be useful in less apparent ways than a first aid kid or help add 'fun' to challenging times. These items include:  Books and magazines  Arts and crafts  Children's entertainment  Crayons and coloring books  Notebooks and writing supplies  Nuts, bolts, screws, nails, etc.  Religious material  Sporting equipment, card games and board games Emergency Preparedness goes beyond immediate family members. For many people, pets are an integral part of their families and emergency preparation advice includes them as well. It is not unknown for pet owners to die while trying to rescue their pets from a fire or from drowning.CDC's Disaster Supply Checklist for Pets includes:
  • 22. 22 | P a g e  Food and water for at least 3 days for each pet; bowls, and a manual can opener.  Depending on the pet you may need a litter box, paper towels, plastic trash bags, grooming items, and/or household bleach.  Medications and medical records stored in a waterproof container.  First aid kit with a pet first aid book.  Sturdy leash, harness, and carrier to transport pet safely. A carrier should be large enough for the animal to stand comfortably, turn around, and lie down. Your pet may have to stay in the carrier for several hours.  Pet toys and the pet's bed, if you can easily take it, to reduce stress.  Current photos and descriptions of your pets to help others identify them in case you and your pets become separated, and to prove that they are yours.  Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and telephone number of your veterinarian in case you have to board your pets or place them in foster care. FEMA cautions that emergencies happen while people are travelling as well and provides guidance around emergency preparedness for a range travelers to include commuters Commuter Emergency Plan and holiday travelers. In particular, Ready.gov has a number of emergency preparations specifically designed for people with cars. These preparations include having a full gas tank, maintaining adequate windshield wiper fluid and other basic car maintenance tips. Items specific to an emergency include:  Jumper cables: might want to include flares or reflective triangle  Flashlights, to include extra batteries (batteries have less power in colder weather)  First Aid Kit, to include any necessary medications, baby formula and diapers if caring for small children  Non-perishable food such as canned food (be alert to liquids freezing in colder weather), and protein rich foods like nuts and energy bars  Manual can opener  At least 1 gallon of water per person a day for at least 3 days (be alert to hazards of frozen water and resultant container rupture)
  • 23. 23 | P a g e  Basic toolkit: pliers, wrench, screwdriver  Pet supplies: food and water  Radio: battery or hand cranked  For snowy areas: cat litter or sand for better tire traction; shovel; ice scraper; warm clothes, gloves, hat, sturdy boots, jacket and an extra change of clothes  Blankets or sleeping bags  Charged Cell Phone: and car charger In addition to emergency supplies and training for various situations, FEMA offers advice on how to mitigate disasters. The Agency gives instructions on how to retrofit a home to minimize hazards from a Flood, to include installing a Backflow prevention device, anchoring fuel tanks and relocating electrical panels. Marked gas shutoff Given the explosive danger posed by natural gas leaks, Ready.gov states unequivocally that "It is vital that all household members know how to shut off natural gas" and that property owners must ensure they have any special tools needed for their particular gas hookups. Ready.gov also notes that "It is wise to teach all responsible household members where and how to shut off the electricity," cautioning that individual circuits should be shut off before the main circuit. Ready.gov further states that "It is vital that all household members learn how to shut off the water at the main house valve" and cautions that the possibility that rusty valves might require replacement.
  • 24. 24 | P a g e Response The response phase of an emergency may commence with Search and Rescue but in all cases the focus will quickly turn to fulfilling the basic humanitarian needs of the affected population. This assistance may be provided by national or international agencies and organizations. Effective coordination of disaster assistance is often crucial, particularly when many organizations respond and local emergency management agency (LEMA) capacity has been exceeded by the demand or diminished by the disaster itself. The National Response Framework is a United States government publication that explains responsibilities and expectations of government officials at the local, state, federal, and tribal levels. It provides guidance on Emergency Support Functions which may be integrated in whole or parts to aid in the response and recovery process. On a personal level the response can take the shape either of a shelter in place or an evacuation. Evacuation sign In a shelter-in-place scenario, a family would be prepared to fend for themselves in their home for many days without any form of outside support. In an evacuation, a family leaves the area by automobile or other mode of transportation, taking with them the maximum amount of supplies they can carry, possibly including a tent for shelter. If mechanical transportation is not available, evacuation on foot would ideally include carrying at least three days of supplies and rain-tight bedding, a tarpaulinand a bedroll of blankets. Donations are often sought during this period, especially for large disasters that overwhelm local capacity. Due to efficiencies of scale, money is often the most cost-effective donation if fraud is avoided. Money is also the most flexible, and if goods are sourced locally then transportation is minimized and the local economy is boosted. Some donors prefer to send gifts in kind, however these items can end up creating issues, rather than helping. One innovation by Occupy Sandy volunteers is to use a donation registry, where families and businesses impacted by the disaster can make specific requests, which remote donors can purchase directly via a web site.
  • 25. 25 | P a g e Medical considerations will vary greatly based on the type of disaster and secondary effects. Survivors may sustain a multitude of injuries to include lacerations, burns, near drowning, or crush syndrome.
  • 26. 26 | P a g e Recovery The recovery phase starts after the immediate threat to human life has subsided. The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to normalcy as quickly as possible. During reconstruction it is recommended to consider the location or construction material of the property. The most extreme home confinement scenarios include war, famine and severe epidemics and may last a year or more. Then recovery will take place inside the home. Planners for these events usually buy bulk foods and appropriate storage and preparation equipment, and eat the food as part of normal life. A simple balanced diet can be constructed from vitamin pills, whole-meal wheat, beans, dried milk, corn, and cooking oil one should add vegetables, fruits, spices and meats, both prepared and fresh-gardened, when possible
  • 27. 27 | P a g e Indian farmed forces and the Jammu and Kashmir floods, 2014 In the wake of heavy monsoon rain and flash floods in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K), which has killed over four hundred, and rendered hundreds of thousands homeless, the Indian Armed Forces were deployed in increasing numbers starting September 2, 2014 to conduct search, rescue, relief, relocation, humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation missions in J&K. By September 18, over 200,000 people were rescued from the various parts of Jammu and Kashmir by the Armed forces. The J and K floods, the worst in a century according to Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, paralyzed the state government. Omar Abdullah, responding to public criticism, told the media “I had no government” in the first few days following the floods, as “My secretariat, the police headquarters, the control room, fire services, hospitals, all the infrastructure was underwater.” Adding “I had no cell phone and no connectivity. I am now starting to track down ministers and officers.” The J and K Floods 2014 have been blamed on heavy rainfall, about 8 inches on 4 September alone, on climate change, unplanned and uncontrolled development, encroachment of river banks, lakes, ponds, and
  • 28. 28 | P a g e massive loss of wet lands, absence of local government flood forecasting system, and poor governance. The Armed Forces humanitarian assistance mission, in response to J and K floods 2014 was named Mission Sahayata (assistances). Norther Command humanitarian assistance in response to J&K floods 2014 to civil authorities in J&K was named 'Operation MEGH RAHAT'.The Indian Army, Air Force, and the Navy, committed large resources to the assistance mission including over 30,000 troops ( 21,000 in Srinagar, and 9000 in Jammu), 15 engineer task forces, 84 Indian Air Force and Army Aviation Corps fixed wing transport aircraft and helicopters, naval commandos and rescue specialists, and Base Hospital, four field hospitals, over 106 medical detachments. "Operation Megh Rahat", ended on 19 September 2014, but "Operation Sadbhavna", the relief and medical assistance support, according to government press release, will continue in "close synergy with the civil administration and the police"
  • 29. 29 | P a g e Disaster management in India The organization, structure, laws, protocol, and arrangements for disaster management at the Federal and State level are outlined in a manual titled Disaster Management in India, and the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which provides for "the effective management of disasters" in India. The Disaster Management Division (DM Division), under the Secretary, Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, is responsible for “response, relief and preparedness for natural calamities". The Head of Disaster Management Division is G.V.V. Sarma, Joint Secretary. The head of Border management is Ms Sneh Lata Kumar, Secretary, and Border Management. The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), is responsible for the preparation of the National Disaster Management Plan for the whole country and to ensure that it is "reviewed and updated annually". The Chief of the Integrated Defense Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is an ex officio member of the NEC. NEOC is mandated to function twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The NEOC is responsible for monitoring the disaster or disaster like situation, receive updates from federal Early Warning (EW) Agencies like the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Central Water Commission, and Snow & Avalanche Study Establishment. After processing the information NOEC submits its report and updates to affected States and concerned Central Ministries and organizations. During the monsoon period, it is required to issue daily situation reports. It is not known, whether the NEOC was functioning in prior to the J and K floods 2014, and whether it received the EW from IMD, and reported to the state government.
  • 30. 30 | P a g e Command and control Northern Command, along with the Advance Air HQ, located in Udhampur, is responsible for the armed forces humanitarian assistance mission, called Operation Megh [ (मेघ) in English Cloud] Rahat, in the entire J and K. General Officer Commanding in Chief ( GOC-in-C), Northern Command, is Lieutenant General DS Hooda, of 4th Gorkha Rifles. XV Corps also called the ChinarCorps, based in Srinagar, is responsible for the assistance mission in the Kashmir valley. General Officer Commanding (GOC) XV Corps is Lieutenant General Subrata Saha, of the Assam Regiment. XVI Corps also called White Knight Corps, based in Nagrota, is responsible for assistance mission in areas south of the Pir Panjal range. GOC XVI Corps is Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh of the Rajput Regiment. In Delhi, Air Marshal P.P. Reddy, Chief of Integrated DefenseStaff (IDS), who reports to chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is responsible for coordinating Mission Sahayata, the Armed Forces response to the J and K Floods 2014.
  • 31. 31 | P a g e Rescue mission The J and K Floods, described as a ‘tragedy’, by Lt Gen DS Hooda, Northern Army Commander, “became evident”, on 7 September, 14, the third day of incessant rains, when flood waters breached the banks of Jhelum, and submerged Srinagar, including the Badami Bagh Cantonment, disrupted “ electricity, water supply and civil communications” and flooded the headquarters of XV Corps, which was responsible for “coordinating all rescue operations” The flooding of headquarters XV Corps, and the Srinagar Cantonment, Hooda acknowledged, delayed the army’s rescue operations in Srinagar but “only for a few hours ”. The rescue operations however, did not affect rescue work in “South Kashmir”, the worst affected area in the first three days, and the Jammu region. In Srinagar, where the “Army does not operate” except in the “Badami Bagh Cantonment and the area of the airfield”, the General said the rescue operations were mainly conducted by “Kashmiris” from Srinagar based Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry Centre. Responding to media reports that locals were discriminated against, he said that it is hardly likely that soldier of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry would discriminate against the Kashmiris in carrying out the rescue mission
  • 32. 32 | P a g e During the first few days the search and rescue operation were hindered by shortage of boats and bad weather. Boats were airlifted from all corners of India, including from far away Tamil Nadu. In the absence of civil boats the army pressed into service its BAUTS, more appropriate for assault river crossings than rescue assistance during floods. By the 11 September, there were 224 army boats and 148 NDRF’s inflatable boats in the affected area conducting rescue and search operations for those who were stranded on roof tops as flood water menacingly swirled around them, Air Force helicopters with IAF Garud Commandos help winch the stranded people to safety. Several hundred were rescued from rood tops. In some cases the Indian Air Force (IAF) commandos had to break through the roof to rescue the trapped people. Social media in search and rescue They were just playing Facebook and twitter somewhere in Delhi. The Electricity and Internet Services were out in Kashmir during the flood. The Indian Army, for first time, used social media such as twitter, WhatsApp, a messaging service, and Facebook , in its search and rescue operations, and to collate and feed Person Finder provided by Google to the army’s public information office.According to Indian army’s Major General Shokin Chauhan, who is head of public information office, “a dedicated team of two young officers" are handling the social media “practically around the clock”. An estimated 12,000 people, according to the Indian army official, have been assisted on the basis of reports received over the social media. The Army Commander denied media reports that it had "embedded journalists", and that army has conducted its rescue according to “a hierarchy of importance and influence“, rather than “on the first-seen-first-saved basis”. On the incidents of stone throwing by some people, he said, “the incidents were very few” and “blown out of proportion. Most people rescued were extremely appreciative of the Army's effort”, and that the rescue mission was assisted by “local volunteers who have contributed immensely. Kashmir floods: Come 'hell' or rain, army won't stopuntil lastman is rescued From helicopter sorties to building bridges to tugging makeshift boats through muddied waters. Our jawans have done it all over the last one week to save tens of thousands marooned by the floods in Jammu and Kashmir.
  • 33. 33 | P a g e The jawans from the Indian Army, the Air Force and the National Disaster Relief Force braved hostile conditions to pull out 1.3 lakh survivors so far, while the state administration took a backseat. There are nearly four lakh more trapped by the waters in different areas, and the task is still by no means over.
  • 34. 34 | P a g e Relief assistance They only helped Indian and Foreign tourists in Kashmir. The numbers are just made up. Water and biscuits (expired in 2008) were dropped on the bridge via helicopter just for the purpose of shooting for news channels. From the start of Mission Sahayata till 10 September, the Armed Forces rescued 1,10,000 persons, and airlifted and distributed 2,24,000 liters of water, 31,500 food packets and ready to eat meals, 375 tons cooked food, 2.6 tons of biscuit, 7 tons baby food, water purifying tablets, 8,200 blankets, 650 tents, to the affected civilian population.Most of this food served was outdated as a result of which people threw stones on the rescue helicopters out of anger. As many as 224 boats of Army and 148 boats of NDRF have been pressed into service.Air transport Because of the massive damage to surface communication, the rescue and relief effort was largely dependent on air transport. Air transport support operations were conducted from air force stations and bases in Delhi, Bhatinda, Chandigarh, Jammu, Srinagar, and Avantipur. Helicopters support operation were conducted from Srinagar, Awantipur, Udhampur, Jammu, Pathankot and Sarsawa. Over 80 aircraft were deployed on the humanitarian assistance mission including 13 Chetak and 5 Advance Light Helicopters of the Army Aviation Corps. On 11 September, the IAF deployed its heavy duty MI-26, called Bheem, the largest helicopter in IAF
  • 35. 35 | P a g e inventory, from IAF 12 Wing, Chandigarh, to Avantipur Air Force base, Srinagar, with 12 tons of relief material, for Relief and Rescue Mission, in J and K. Wing Commander G S Tung of 12 Wing said that MI 26 was “ especially designed to meet the heavy lift requirements of the IAF and has a carrying capacity of 30 tonnes”. In the first seven days till the 10 September, the army and IAF flew 1081 sorties, 100 to 120 sorties every day, moving 1411 tons of relief materials. Air transport operations included delivery of six large water filtration plants with a capacity to filter 1,20,000 bottles per day, engineering stores like suction and submersible pumps, generator sets with mobile charging stations, communication equipment for Department of Tele communication and some of private companies like Aircel.It airlifted the Base Transmitting Station of BSNL from Kargil to Srinagar By 18 September 2014, over 80,000 affected people were airlifted including over 28,000 from Srinagar and 52,000 from other flood affected area of J and K, by the IAF, Army, and Civil aircrafts. Navy The Indian Navy Marine Commandos rescued 200 personnel at Haigaon on the Srinagar–Sopore highway, and assisted in rescue efforts near Pantha Chowk, Srinagar. In addition to search and rescue assistance, naval medical team, and Diving Teams were placed on alert, ready to move, at New Delhi, Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam. Medical The armed forces have deployed 80 medical teams. In addition it has set up four field hospitals, one each in Avantipur, Pattan, Anantnag and Old Airfield. Over 20,000 patients have received treated at these facilities. Repair and restoration of communication infrastructure The floods and rain ravaged the roads and road communication severing road communication between Jammu and Srinagar, and Jammu and Poonch, and host of other roads. Restoration of communication was urgent priority task. Initially five task forces of Border Roads Organization
  • 36. 36 | P a g e (BRO), which included 5700 personnel, were mobilized. By 10 September, the Jammu–Poonch road was cleared, and road traffic between Batote and Kishtwar and Kishtwar - Sinthan Pass was restored By 16 September, the strength of Army Engineers and BRO personnel on road building and bridge construction had increased to 10,0000. Heavy road construction equipment used included 400 bulldozers, excavators and JCBs, and 300 tippers and dumpers, to restore and repair roads damaged in over 1000 places.After opening of the national highway between Jammu and Srinagar, the army, on 16 September, restored communication between Rajouri and Budhal by constructing a 180 feet bailey bridge over Ans River at Kot Ranka on 16 September. Relief camps To complement the rescue work, the Army established 19 relief camps, where the rescued persons were provided food, shelter, and medical assistance. In Srinagar region, camps were at Badami Bagh Cantonment, Avantipur, Old Airfield, Sumbal, Chattargam and Jijamata Mandir.
  • 37. 37 | P a g e National disaster response force (NDRF) National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is a force of 12 battalions, organized on paramilitary lines, and manned by persons on deputation from the para-military forces of India. It is headed by O.P. Singh (IPS-1983), with the title of Director General (DG). He is from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, of the Indian Police Service (IPS). He took over as DG of the NDRF on 1 September 2014, a few days before the J and K floods 2014. OP Singh in addition to being DG NDRF is also Additional DG of the Central Industrial Security Force (Airport sector), his current responsibilities. The NDRF is a top heavy organization, which in addition to the DG has an Inspector Generals (IG) and several Deputy IGs. Till 2 September the Disaster Management Division, MHA, had no plans to deploy NDRF in J and K. It was surprised by the floods. A NDRF Officer told the media" We were all caught off guard because there was not a single warning issued by the weather office. The flash floods took us by surprise” NDRF started to arrive in J and K from 6 September on wards. By 9 September there were elements from 5,6, and 7 NDRF Battalions: 5 NDRF Battalion (1 team of 54 personnel), 6 NDRF Battalion (64 personnel )and 7 NDRF Battalion( 370). The total strength of NDRF committed to J and K was 488. On 7 September 7 NDRF battalion had 3 teams in Jammu, 6 teams (244 personnel) in Srinagar. The team in Jammu was engaged in responding to bus stuck under water, and on search and rescue mission in Gharkhal, and Abhor, in Jammu District. On 9 September, 86 personnel ( 3
  • 38. 38 | P a g e teams) from 4 NDRF Battalion( CISF), from Arakkonam, in Tamil Nadu, was airlifted from INS Rajali, to Srinagar, to conduct search-cum-rescue operations rescue operations in Nehru Park and Manaswal in Srinagar. The 4 NDRF Be detachment included 24 inflatable boats; with these additions the total of NDRF boats goes up to 148 boats. The NDRF is expected to stay in J and K for a period of 10 days.
  • 39. 39 | P a g e CASE STUDY ON UTTARAKHAND DISASTER Introduction The vulnerable nature of global tourism is one of the major concerns for contingency Management. Disaster management is an important aspect for any tourism destination (Especially in the face of a crisis). The specific contingencies such as war, terrorism, crime waves, epidemic and natural disasters have devastating impacts on any community, region, state or nation. Any potential destination is exposed to one or more of the above threats, which can question the safety of residents, tourists and can hamper the market perception of that destination. Consequently, it is crucial for all destination stakeholders to analyze and develop contingency plans to respond to varying levels of threats. Either a specific episode or a series of those may create a change in the perceptions towards a destination. There are a number of factors which can question the safety and security image of tourist destinations and result in a destination crisis. Some of them are: international war / prolonged demonstrations of internal conflict; terrorism which can affect the tourism sector of the state; crime wave, especially when tourists are targeted (murder, sexual exploitation, theft etc); natural disasters, such as an earthquake, storm or floods, causing damage to urban areas or the natural environment and consequently impacting on the
  • 40. 40 | P a g e tourism infrastructure and health concerns related to epidemics and diseases; these may be diseases which impact on humans directly or diseases affecting animals, which create constraints for tourism. These events can cause massive aftermaths, individually or in combination, to create a negative image on the safety, security or desirability of tourist destinations. Thereby, it poses challenges for the concerned authorities and local communities to examine the ingredients of disaster management strategies. The degrees to which emergency service is initiated to face crisis can always be critically examined when crisis overrules. Certainly, those factors do not represent the totality of issues which can impact negatively the destination image. However,the concern can extend to analyze how a destination and its tourism industry conduct a marketing campaign to restore its image and recover its market from the damage caused by these events (Varghese, 2012) This study envisages on the repercussions of Uttarakhand as a destination in the plight of a disaster and provides the various steps that make an effective disaster management plan and it seeks to provide a means of disaster recovery through a systematic approach which will help restoring the destinations success, the paper also goes a step ahead in discussing the marketing strategies and campaigns so as to restore the destinations image which would be tainted due to the devastation and finally recommends the importance if destination management by implementation of Destination Management Organizations(DMOs).
  • 41. 41 | P a g e A Case Study of Uttarakhand: At the peak of the monsoon season the northern state of Uttarakhand was face to face with floods caused due to the cloud burst that hit three of the four famous Char Dham pilgrim sites, “2013 North India floods” leaving tens and thousands of inhabitants as well as pilgrims stranded or swept away due to the floods, and not to mention the damage cause to life, property and business. The famous Char Dham pilgrimage is now discontinued for three years for repair and restoration ("Plan ahead", 2013).The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), in one of its first reports on the Uttarakhand floods, has blamed “climatic conditions combined with haphazard human intervention” in the hills for the disaster (“Down To Earth”, 2013).
  • 42. 42 | P a g e Besides the natural disaster various other factors have contributed to the downfall of this famous religious/ tourist site. Uttarakhand’s huge potential in tourism lead to the state intapping its potential towards becoming a major tourist and pilgrim destination, also has a hand in this disaster. The uncontrolled rise of tourism inflow into the sate of Uttarakhand, took a toll on the ecology of the state. With Uttarakhand’s proximity to the national capital, the weekend revelers soon found Uttarakhand to be the destination to beat the heat. Plus, the religious tourists found it much easier to travel to-not-so accessible Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and other shrines, all this lead to an unsustainable rise in the number of people traveling to Uttarakhand (Bisht, 2013). As stated by Jacob (2013) during a live television interview on CNN-IBN that, “the number of 'pilgrims' has been steadily increasing, with people from the plains interested in a quick guided tour of the hills in a vehicle...the local authorities have ignored the carrying capacity and cumulative impact of dams and illegal construction on the fragile Himalayas”. This steady rise in tourist inflow resulted in other detrimental issues such as heavy traffic and roadblocks, with tourists routinely complaining about the bad roads and how it affected their travel time, the government resorted to widen the roads so as to accommodate the tourist’s inflow. Considering the fragility of these mountains, Himalayas being the youngest of the mountain ranges in the world with very poor soil stability the roads would routinely cave in or get washed away during monsoons (Bisht, 2013). The rising tourism industry lured the land sharks and they erected multi-storied hotels, flouting all environmental norms. Thousands of such resorts and hotels have mushroomed in this eco-sensitive zone in the last few years. Some of these hotels were built on banks of several small and big rivers just to give the tourist a bird’s eye view of the pristine river flowing through the valley . The number of hotels has also seen a similar rise in the recent past. For example, Kedarnath Valley has hundreds of such hotels that were vulnerable to these natural calamities. So, when flash floods struck the valley, many of these hotels got swept away and so did the people staying in them (Bisht, 2013). As addressed by Jacob (2013), that “rampant illegal construction of buildings by locals had also contributed to the problems and made a bad situation worse. On top of it all, traffic in the hills has increased hugely, with the number of vehicles registered in the hills going up sharply. Remember the
  • 43. 43 | P a g e hills are delicate and unstable, so it takes little to set off landslides. More infrastructure has in fact worsened the situation since much of it is poorly made and constructed by people who have no idea of building in the hills”. All the above factors has had a crucial role to play in the disaster, but as the report provisioned by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) showed that not only was the disaster aggravated due to rise tourism but also blame lands in the faults of the State Disaster Management Authority which was formed in 2007, but never was a meeting convened nor were there any rules, regulations, policies or guidelines framed, "the state disaster management plan was under preparation and actionable programmes were not prepared for various disasters," the report says. Going to show that the state was unprepared to face a sudden crisis, furthermore as Varma (2013) stated, “citing examples of the mismanagement by the Uttarakhand government, the CAG said that although the Geological Survey of India had identified 101 villages as 'vulnerable' in June 2008, the state government did not take any measures for their rehabilitation till date”. Besides this there are also allegations against the government based on the construction of several dams along the river, which is as good as handing out an invitation to disasters, as Jacob (2013) reflects on the same, “illegal construction - of buildings and dams...the government has sanctioned an absurd number of hydro electric power projects that actually overlap with each other”. All this only goes to show the state and in turn the nation’s lack of competency, lack of planning and absences of political accountability is evidently seen through this extensive damage. To highlight the main factors that aggravated the disaster are as follows: the unregulated tourist inflow; the absence of an early warning mechanism as the CAG report mentions “The communication system was inadequate.”(As cited in "Plan ahead", 2013,); a lack of trained medical staff at hospitals; the climatic conditions the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued advance warnings predicting extreme weather conditions in Uttarakhand before the flash-floods though no appropriate action was taken ("Warning had been," 2013) and finally the fact that the state had no action plan in case a disaster struck. "Plan ahead" (2013), states that “Disasters are not learning processes. The authorities will have to do all they can to ensure against such recurrences...the starting point is for the
  • 44. 44 | P a g e State Disaster Management Authority to put place a disaster management plan”. Thus, unforeseen disasters calls for having an effective disaster management plan in place and for the State Disaster Management Authority to prepare actionable programmes to deal with disasters. One such action plan is as suggested below, will help in restoring the destinations success. Steps in DisasterManagement:- One of the many means of avoiding extensive damage caused by disasters is by being well prepared to face them. So as to ready the state of Uttarakhand with ways of combating unexpected disasters, an effective disaster management plan is to be implemented. The following are some of the steps that can be taken toward framing a disaster management plan. The Pre-Disaster Stage: This stage focuses on minimizing the damage to life, property and environment is that before the disaster strikes and at the prohibition stage, various schemes are drafted for controlling the losses to lives and property to minimize the effects of disaster. There are
  • 45. 45 | P a g e several techniques to embark upon this stage where the disaster has not occurred, wherein there is a call for being better prepared and to have an effective of warning mechanism prior to the disaster. Preparedness It refers to the readiness, on the governmental, social and personal levels, to effectively face the disaster that has already visited and it includes practical disaster-layouts. Here, the local residents along with the state officials need to be sensitized regarding the measures to be taken when faced by a crisis, such as landslides, floods, earthquakes etc. So in case of such emergencies they can take necessary action. The Warning of Disaster It is very crucial that immediately after receiving slightest hint of a disaster, the information about its advent reaches the entire danger-prone area. In the case of Uttarakhand it was seen that the State Disaster Management Authority did not have a scheme so as to curtail the disaster nor were the warnings issued by the meteorology department taken seriously. Responseand Relief Measures: This includes a wide range of activities including the erection of control booths, action according to the action-plan drafted, the broadcasting of danger notice. Post the disaster various relief measures were initiated by the authorities in forms of rescue missions by the Indian Armed Forces, so as to rescue victims and provide rehabilitation and in monetary terms to reconstruct the destination The Post– DisasterStage: While restoring the state to normalcy, it is also equally necessary to ensure that if, unfortunately, the disaster revisits, the extent of damage is lesser. Restoration includes assistance, rehabilitation and reconstruction. “In addition to this, many protective steps will be taken to prevent if same calamity recurs in any case. It is decided to keep a track of the pilgrims – Indian as well as foreigners. Moreover, this time efforts will be made to handle
  • 46. 46 | P a g e things thoroughly and systematically” returns ("Char Dham yatra", 2013, para.3). Revival / Resurrection: In revival, the focus is on the erection of facilities of greater competence than those built in pre-disaster stage. Erection of new buildings, taking ultra care of durability while erecting various essential facilities – are some illustrations of revival activities. During this stage care is to be taken to see to it that building do not encroach nature and that they are built in a sustainable manner. The government has curtailed the Char Dham yatra for three years for the purpose of repair and restoration as quoted by B.D. Singh, chief executive officer of the Badrinath - Kedarnath Temple Committee told IANS (2013), that the chances of reviving the pilgrimage "for the next few years" was grim, "what we are seeing is very painful and unbelievable," he said. "We don't expect the Char Dham Yatra to resume in the next three years." . A survivor claims that there is nothing left In Kedarnath except for the temple, which now will take these three years to restore, as from the building to the roads were washed away in the flood (IAN, 2013). Thus this stage will require this ample time to plan appropriately for the revival of this holy destination. Development: The reconstruction of the affected region and bringing back people’s lives to normalcy is a pretty long process – especially because of the existence of severe financial constraints. The government is taking initiative to raise fund from both the public and private fronts. To facilitate the above various funds and relief funds are raised throughout the country to mention a few the donations sent to Doctors For You, Uttaranchal Daivee Aapada Peedith Sahayata Samiti, Uttarakhand relief fund, individuals contributions and relief funds such as the Chief Ministers relief fund, Prime Ministers relief fund etc. all have come to aid the state of Uttarakhand.Besides this the chance of the Char Dham Yatra to resume excluding Kedarnath is also expected by the end of 30th September, 2013 so as to help the locals who survived solely on tourism returns ("Char Dham yatra," 2013). An apt means of ensuring that the destination thrives in spite of being in a crisis is through the adoption of an effective means to restore the destination post the disaster. The following approach showcases a step by step means in destination restoration. This can be an
  • 47. 47 | P a g e example of how Uttarakhand can be restored to its former glory. A Systematic Approach - Improves Destination Restoration Success To assist planners in conducting cost-effective monitoring for destination restoration, techniques can be developed consisting of four components, following which is the brief explanation regarding the four components: planning, construction and implementation, assessment of performance and management of the system. Planning: The key element in planning the restoration project would require: conceptual modeling, site assessments, and cost estimation. A conceptual model details the structural aspects of the system that must be developed to meet the goals. Whereas as site assessment is essential where the site lacks the characteristics necessary to reach performance goals, the restoration project will likely fail. Thus in the case of Kedarnath an assessment of the
  • 48. 48 | P a g e destination must be made prior to any constructions made. Also cost estimation is to be made to the end of the planning stage. Restoration managers must account for land acquisition, engineering design, and construction, among other factors. Constructionand Implementation: Projects that require less physical restructuring of the site are more likely to develop successfully without human intervention. Projects requiring more engineering to massively rework the site often have a higher degree of uncertainty. These factors are to address while restoring the disaster hit regions of Uttarakhand. AssessmentofPerformance: Post-implementation monitoring should focus on a parameter indicative of the original goal. There are numerous low-cost ways to effectively monitor a restoration project. Within the span of the three years there is a need for continuous assessment to see to it that the destination is being restored as per the action plan and no deviations occur. Management of the System: Restoration management plans should be modified according to the principles of adaptive management, which is nothing but decision making in times of uncertainty, where policies and practices are altered according to learning from outcomes. Thereby restoration policy can be understood well, depending on the application of alterations so as to accommodate changes if necessary. This is further explained through the means of the following diagram.
  • 49. 49 | P a g e “Applying the continual evaluation process of adaptive successful restoration projects” (Beirman, 2003)” ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN ACT MONITOR EVALUATE
  • 50. 50 | P a g e Conclusion Five days of heavy rain in the Kashmir valley has had a devastating impact. Almost 400 confirmed deaths so far across India and Pakistan, 600,000 people stranded and the number of roads, bridges, schools and buildings damaged too great even to start counting. For Jammu and Kashmir, this is their worst flood in 100 years, according to the chief minister Omar Abdullah. However for the rest of India, mega floods of this type are becoming ‘the new normal’. However, an extreme weather event only becomes a disaster when it hits assets and causes loss of life and livelihood. Even if climate change was not a factor, scientists tell us that disasters are getting more destructive as people are more exposed to floods and other such events Preparing for a disaster does not just mean putting in place early warning systems and protocols for evacuations. Preparedness is fundamental to the way we plan and do development. Development should protect against the risk of disasters, rather than increasing the risk. This requires understanding and acting upon disaster risk in plans and decisions. Identifying risk and mitigating it is not always straightforward. For example, in Leh district in Jammu and Kashmir, the planting of trees on the edge of streams –to tackle climate change — actually exacerbated the impact of the 2010 flash floods, because the trees fell into the streams forming dams which when they broke proved disastrous. This is a classic case of why addressing climate change and disaster risk cannot be separated. Rather than leaving it as theory, there are opportunities now to build the risk of flooding and other natural disasters into future development programs in the Himalayas and throughout India. Investing in development that also reduces disaster risk will help break the cycle of tragedy UTTARAKHAND DISASTER: The highlight is on the tourism disasters vulnerability of the tourist trade to unforeseen events which also signifies the principles of disaster management, the content also elaborates on how to pro-actively deal with the potential for future crisis related to tourism, steps in disaster management would give a brief overview about the various stages involved in disaster management. Further discussion in this paper leads to a systematic approach –
  • 51. 51 | P a g e which improves destination restoration techniques and also describes about the reasons for the collapse of tourism destination areas and enumerating on the aspects of an ideal area development, with relation to Uttarakhand. In terms the losses faced by the tourism industry, due to the disaster are extensive as said by an official to Madhav (2013) that, “speaking on the possible losses…the season accounted for 30 per cent (around Rs 3,500 crore) of the tourism sector's annual earnings. Due to the calamity, they were witnessing 99 per cent cancellations from the affected travelers and from pre-bookings.”. Thus when the Char Dham yatra has been cancelled for three year the possible losses can be imagined. So through the implementation of destination management and the several disaster management techniques, such losses can be avoided and the credibility of a destination restored.
  • 52. 52 | P a g e BIBLOGRAPHY Books:- M.comPart 1 S.M. book OXFORD dictionary Notes & journal:- Dr. BindiVarghese& Neha Itty Jose Paul case study On Uttarakhand Disaster Websites:- www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.slideshare.com www.hindustantimes.com www.economictimes.com www.blog.wsj.com

Recovery from natural disasters or man-made attacks begins with being prepared, researchers say

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A military truck driving down a flooded street in between lampposts.

It would be bad enough if severe river flooding washed out roads and train tracks leading to a U.S. military installation and interrupted transportation in and around the facility. 

What if a foreign adversary took advantage of that natural disaster and launched a cyberattack in the area? How quickly could recovery take place before national security was affected?

This is the sort of scenario Auroop Ganguly , director of AI for Climate and Sustainability and co-director of Northeastern’s Global Resilience Institute, and his interdisciplinary team are analyzing for a U.S. Department of Defense-funded study on recovery from disruptions to critical infrastructure, both military and civilian.

Ganguly says the focus is on mapping failure and recovery pathways and adapting to changing conditions, which include more extreme weather events as a result of climate change and evolving security challenges, including terrorism and cyberattacks.

The study will pay particular attention to compounded threats, when the pressure of one disaster is made worse by the co-occurrence of another.

“Recovery has to be efficient and effective. Not like what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Even now, the city is not what it used to be,” Ganguly says.

“Our technology is getting so complicated, if one thing fails in the power grid, it can have cascading effects. That has an impact on transportation, communication and water,” he says. 

“We have to make plans in advance for robustness and recovery,” Ganguly says.

Northeastern is the lead researcher on the $3 million, five-year DOD project being conducted in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley, the Pacific Northwest National Lab, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Naval Research Lab.

The team is using network science and engineering to develop a theoretical framework for recognizing system fragilities and putting recovery processes to work. 

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Members say the resilience of an installation depends on the interconnected components within the installation as well as the surrounding lifelines and ecosystems that support the installation. 

“We’re looking at different vulnerabilities in infrastructure systems,” says Jack Watson , an Ph.D. intern in Ganguly’s lab since 2021, who is currently funded by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory as a graduate fellow. 

Watson’s task is to analyze the resilience of train and subway systems in the Northeast corridor that stretches from Washington to Boston.

“When we talk about compound extremes, we mean a couple of different things,” he says. “If a storm hits a city and causes a huge storm surge at the same time it’s high tide, that damage will be worse than if it wasn’t high tide.”

“The other kind of compound extreme we’re talking about is human and natural hazards together. Things like floods or wildfires, and then opportunistic cyberattacks that take advantage of the already degraded network,” Watson says.

“That’s an especially timely challenge as climate change is getting worse, weather extremes are getting worse. And then all of our infrastructure is becoming more interdependent. It’s highly digitized. That increases the risk of cyberattacks,” he says, pointing to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in 2021.

The implications are global, says Robyn Anderson , Northeastern technical program development and operations manager for the DOD project.

Think about U.S. military bases in the South China Sea that are subject to typhoons and cyber terrorism or how Iranian-backed Houthi militants in the Red Sea affect national security and threaten to upset the global supply chain by attacking ships, she says.

“These compound events are happening globally, and affect the Department of Defense installations and our military families around the world,” Anderson says.

“National security extends to infrastructure beyond military installations,” Watson says.

He says the team members want their theoretical framework, which will be published in peer-reviewed venues or filed as inventions where appropriate, “to be as generalizable as possible.”

“This is just as important for things like airports, factories, supply chains and gas transportation networks as it is for DOD installations.”

Some of the recommendations for resilience will be short term, such as identifying a central transportation hub as a recovery priority, Watson says. Some recommendations will be long term, such as relocating a train or subway line due to rising sea levels.

Ganguly says the team is developing methods and processes which they have been calling Multiplex Network Science and Multiscale System Dynamics (MNS-MSD) to deal with the complex interactions between systems.

One major goal of the project, titled NICE for Networked Infrastructures Under Compound Extremes, is to preserve mission readiness for the Department of Defense so it can not only respond in wartime but also lend humanitarian aid, Ganguly says.

He says that when it is complete, the frameworks will be “useful more broadly to science, engineering and society. and help inform innovations that can save human lives and property, sustain economic progress, and ensure national and homeland security.”

The project team will hold their first in-person workshop April 25-26 on Northeastern University’s Boston campus to discuss the current state of the project and next steps.

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18 Types of Man-Made Disasters to Know

Photo of author

Diane Vuković

December 21, 2023

Oil spill and factory fire

The most destructive and deadly disasters are man-made. Here is what counts as a man-made disaster, the main categories, and a list of the types of man-made disasters.

What Is a Man-Made Disaster?

Man-made disasters can be intentional or accidental, but they are always caused by human actions or neglect.

However, there can be a lot of crossover between natural and man-made disasters. For example, deforestation (man-made) can lead to landslides (natural).

What Are the 3 Main Categories of Man-Made Disasters?

technological man made disaster

Man-made disasters can be divided into 3 categories:

  • Technological Disasters: Examples include industrial accidents like chemical spills and transportation and mining accidents.
  • Social Disasters: Examples include warfare, genocide, civil unrest, hyperinflation, and terrorism.
  • Environmental Disasters: Examples include deforestation and climate change.

Note that numerous organizations track disasters around the world. Not all of them use the same categories for man-made disasters.

For example, many groups do not include social disasters like warfare in their definitions of man-made disasters.

List of Man-Made Disasters by Type

1. chemical spill.

The Bhopal disaster in 1984 is considered the worst chemical spill in history. Forty-five tons of the chemical methyl isocyanate leaked from an insecticide plant owned by Union Carbide. Thousands of people were killed immediately from exposure to the gas, and panic ensued as people attempted to flee. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people died, and many more suffered long-term health complications.

2. Structural Collapse

Outside of the developing world, structural collapse disasters are rare. However, they still do happen. The recent collapse of the Surfside Condominium in Florida shows that these disasters can and do occur: 98 people died when the 12-story tower collapsed.

3. Drinking Water Contamination

The most significant case of drinking water contamination occurred in Bangladesh. The water sources were contaminated with arsenic, poisoning upwards of 100 million people in the region. The Flint Water Crisis exposed over 100,000 people in the USA to lead. Many children experienced brain damage as a result.

4. Transport Disasters

Transport disasters include air, rail, road, and water vehicle accidents. These accidents are often too minor to be considered disasters. However, there have been many situations where transport accidents led to mass fatalities. Often, these accidents are a byproduct of a natural disaster, such as foggy conditions or icy roads.

5. Mining Accidents

While mining has gotten safer, accidents still occur. Miners may get trapped in collapsed mining tunnels, poisonous gas leaks, dust explosions, and many other dangers.

6. Explosions and Fires

industrial fire disaster

The largest non-nuclear explosion disaster occurred recently. In 2020, improperly stored nitrate stored exploded at the Port of Beirut. More than 200 people died, and 6,000 people were injured.

7. Nuclear and Radiation Accidents

The Chornobyl accident is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. An explosion and fire occurred due to poorly-trained staff using unsafe practices. Massive amounts of radioactive material were released into the air. Approximately 350,000 people had to be resettled, and the entire area contained.

Read: Nuclear War Survival Kit and our guide to Geiger counters .

8. Grid Failure

When the grid fails, people can be left without power for heating, cooling, or life-saving medical devices. Road accidents are also more likely on dark streets without working traffic signals. The 2021 Texas grid outage is one of the recent largest and most notorious grid failures.

However, large-scale grid outages are common and frequently occur around the world.

Read: How to prepare for a long term power  outage

9. Oil Spills

oil spill man made disaster

Oil spills don’t usually cause direct human death but can have a massive environmental toll.

The largest accidental oil spill in history is the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Approximately 134 million gallons of oil were released and coated the Gulf Coast.

However, the largest oil spill was not an accident. In 1990, during their retreat from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein ordered Iraqi troops to release oil into Kuwait’s Sea Island terminal. An estimated 380 to 520 million gallons of oil were intentionally spilled.

10. Warfare

In the history of the United States, there have only been 15 years during which the country was not at war. Since WWII ended (the war to “end all wars”), there have been at least 285 armed conflicts.

11. Genocide

The UN defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious.” Some of the most recent genocides include:

  • Rohingya genocide
  • Yazidi genocide by ISIS
  • Darfur genocide
  • Effacer le tableau in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

12. Civil Unrest

Civil unrest disasters can include riots, strikes, and mass disobedience. Throughout US history, there have been many incidences of civil unrest, including many which resulted in massive property damage and death. The 1991 LA riots were one of the worst in US history: 53 people were killed, and thousands were injured.

  • What to Do If Caught in a Riot

13. Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation occurs when people lose faith in their currency, and it loses value. During the hyperinflation in Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the currency lost value so quickly that people used their worthless money as wallpaper.

Read: Prepper’s Guide to Money Security

14. Terrorism

Terrorism has many definitions but is generally used to instill fear in the population. There are many forms of terrorism. These include:

  • Mass shootings
  • Bioterrorism
  • Hostage-taking
  • Bomb attacks
  • Cyberattacks
  • Biological weapons

15. Panic, Overcrowding, and Stampedes

The combination of panic and overcrowding can lead to stampedes. Numerous stampede events have risen to the status of man-made disasters. For example, 100 people died in the Station nightclub in Rhode Island when a fire broke out, and people rushed to leave the building.

16. Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect

Climate change is considered the “biggest threat” to modern humanity. If climate change goals are not met, researchers predict the widespread displacement of people, famine, and warfare for resources. Climate change also intensifies natural disasters like drought, wildfires, and hurricanes.

17. Deforestation

Deforestation is not always considered a disaster in its own right. However, deforestation can cause other disasters like landslides, mudslides, and flooding. Deforestation also causes habitat loss and increases global warming.

18. Pollution

Pollution isn’t usually considered a natural disaster but has a very high death toll. Some reports say pollution kills more people yearly than war, natural disasters, and hunger. Pollution also has a massive economic cost.

Read: Guide to N95 Masks and Respirators

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What are Natural and Man-made disasters?

Answer: a disaster is an unexpected accident or natural disaster that can inflict significant damage and maybe death. a disaster is defined as a disruption on a massive scale, either natural or man-made, occurring in short or long periods. disasters can lead to human, material, economic or environmental hardships, which can be beyond the bearable capacity of the affected society. natural disaster.

A natural disaster is described as a major event caused by Earth’s natural processes that result in significant environmental harm and loss of life. The term natural has consequently been disputed because the events simply are not hazards or disasters without human involvement. Different types of natural disasters can be:

  • Earthquakes
  • Forest fires

Man-made disasters

Human-induced disasters are very dangerous catastrophes caused by humans. They are caused by human activity. The following are the examples:

one case study of man made disaster

‘A nightmare’: Special counsel’s assessment of Biden’s mental fitness triggers Democratic panic

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sidestepped any criminal charges as the investigation into his handling of classified documents concluded, but the political blowback from the special counsel’s report Thursday could prove even more devastating, reinforcing impressions that he is too old and impaired to hold the highest office.

Special counsel Robert Hur’s portrait of a man who couldn’t remember when he served as Barack Obama’s vice president, or the year when his beloved son Beau died, dealt a blow to Biden’s argument that he is still sharp and fit enough to serve another four-year term.

In deciding not to charge Biden with any crimes, the special counsel wrote that in a potential trial, “Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview with him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

It was tough enough for Biden to reassure voters about his health before Hur’s report hit like a thunderclap Thursday afternoon, prompting members of his own party to question whether he could remain the nominee in November.

“It’s a nightmare,” said a Democratic House member who asked to speak anonymously to provide a frank assessment, adding that “it weakens President Biden electorally, and Donald Trump would be a disaster and an authoritarian.”

“For Democrats, we’re in a grim situation.”

Biden wasted little time before attempting to minimize the fallout. He held an unexpected exchange with reporters in the White House on Thursday night, in which he disputed Hur's assessment of his mental acuity.

Biden grew emotional when invoking the part of the report addressing the date of his son's death.

"How in the hell dare you raise that?" Biden said. "Frankly, when I was asked the question I thought to myself, 'It wasn't any of their damn business.' "

‘Beyond devastating’

Polling has long shown that age looms as Biden’s greatest liability in his expected rematch with Trump. A January poll by NBC News found that 76% of voters have major or moderate concerns about Biden’s mental and physical health.

“It’s been a problem since way before this ever happened,” said a longtime Democratic operative who noted that when focus groups are asked to apply one word to Biden, it is often “old.”

Just this week, Biden twice referred to conversations he’s had as president with foreign leaders who’ve long since died. In his remarks Thursday night defending his competency, while talking about the war in Gaza, he referred to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi as being the head of Mexico. White House press aides have downplayed such lapses as the sort of mistake anyone in public life can make.

The Hur report strips away the defenses that Biden’s press operation has used to protect him and raises fresh doubts about whether Biden is up to the rigors of the presidency, Democratic strategists said in interviews.

“This is beyond devastating,” said another Democratic operative, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk candidly about Biden’s shortcomings. “It confirms every doubt and concern that voters have. If the only reason they didn’t charge him is because he’s too old to be charged, then how can he be president of the United States?”

Asked if Hur’s report changes the calculus for Democrats who expect Biden to be the party’s nominee, this person said: “How the f--- does it not?”

Another Biden ally called it “the worst day of his presidency.”

“I think he needs to show us this is a demonstrably false characterization of him and that he has what it takes to win and govern.”

Biden has overwhelmingly won the first primary contests — notching victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. It would be virtually impossible for anyone else to challenge him at this point; the deadline has passed in more than 30 states to get on primary ballots.

Some of the president’s allies were quick to defend him. They pointed to the timing of the interview with the special counsel — days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, which had captured much of the president’s focus. Others said that in their own dealings with Biden, he shows no sign of infirmity.

“He did so well in this discussion with members,” Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., told NBC News after seeing the president on Thursday. “He’s very sharp, no memory issues, and his only stumbling is when he trips over words consistent with his lifelong speech impediment.”

‘Prejudicial language’

Though Biden was fortunate to escape indictment, the special counsel report may give Trump additional fodder as he fights charges for allegedly mishandling classified records at his Mar-a-Lago social club. Republicans are already accusing Biden of benefiting from a double standard . Trump will likely brandish the Hur report as proof that Biden has “weaponized” the Justice Department for political advantage.

What’s more, Democrats will now be hard-pressed to capitalize on Trump’s indictment over retaining classified records. Before Hur’s report came out, Democrats argued that the two cases were very different. Whereas Trump failed to turn over classified records even after he was asked to do so, Biden willingly cooperated with authorities and relinquished all the material he had, Biden allies had argued.

“The public understands the essential difference between presidents or vice presidents like Joe Biden who occasionally behaved in sloppy ways with respect to where they were taking documents, and a president like Trump, who deliberately makes off with hundreds of classified government documents and then hides them and refuses to return them,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said on Wednesday, before the report was released. (Trump has denied any wrongdoing.)

Now, the distinctions may be harder for Biden allies to draw, given that Hur wrote that there was evidence Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified material after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

The report mentions an instance in February 2017, when he was no longer vice president, when Biden read notes containing classified information “nearly verbatim” to a ghostwriter helping him with his book, “Promise Me, Dad.”

Storage of sensitive government secrets was haphazard. The report describes certain classified records involving the war in Afghanistan in Biden’s Delaware garage inside a “badly damaged box surrounded by household detritus.”

Before the report was released, Biden aides had been bracing for a finding that he had simply been careless in his treatment of classified records, a person familiar with the White House’s thinking said.

The political fallout from the report, though, is likely to be “worse,” this person said. What will stick in people’s minds is what Hur said about Biden’s memory, the person added.

Biden’s lawyers disputed the report’s description of Biden’s forgetfulness.

“We do not believe that the report’s treatment of President Biden’s memory is accurate or appropriate,” two of his lawyers wrote in a letter to Hur. “The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events.”

In the hours after the report was released, people close to the Biden campaign rolled out a different rebuttal. Jim Messina, who ran Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that Hur is a Republican who “knew exactly how his swipes could hurt Biden politically.”

That’s a familiar argument. Trump has also claimed that law enforcement is trying to sway the election, meaning both sides are now claiming victimization at the hands of partisan prosecutors.

“Hur knew exactly what he was doing here,” Stephanie Cutter, a veteran Democratic operative, wrote on X. “To provide political cover for himself for not prosecuting, he gratuitously leveled a personal (not legal) charge against the president that he absolutely knows is a gift to Trump. And, guess what we are all talking about?”

one case study of man made disaster

Peter Nicholas is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.

COMMENTS

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    The idea of disaster is usually associated with human suffering from natural events. However, human-made disasters caused by deliberate actions represent an equally important dimension of disaster. This paper analyzes Iraq as a human-created disaster, and suggests that social work play a role in responding to policies that produce disaster.

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