DISASTER NURSING

• Concepts of Disaster

  • Disruption of function of a large number of people
  • Impact involves human, material, monetary, and ecological losses
  • Sudden devastating and unexpected event
  • Affect different levels of society: household level, community level, and provincial level
  • Safekeeping measures are the utmost concern
  • Total damages to life, limb, and property are appalling
  • Exceed the capacity of a neighborhood or the general public to manage by means of its own resources
  • Recovery takes months or years
• Disaster is any destructive event that disrupts the normal functioning of a community
• Major effects of disaster

  • Premature death
  • Impaired quality of life
  • Altered health status
  • Damage to properties
• WHO defines Disaster as any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services, on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area
• Kofi Annan: 'It is no accident that 90% of disasters worldwide are in developing countries. Poverty and population pressures are forcing a great number of people to live in Harm’s way - flood plains, earthquake-prone areas, and unstable slopes and hills. Their extraordinary vulnerability is perhaps the single most important cause of disaster casualties'
• Phases of a disaster

  1. Pre-Impact Phase

  2. Impact Phase

  3. Post-Impact Phase
• R – recovery


  Takes months or years
• Disaster classification: Onset, Impact, Duration


  • Rapid-onset events – short durations but with a sudden impact
  • Sudden Impact
  • Rapid-onset with unanticipated and prolonged impact
  • Creeping disasters
• Disaster according to Landesman et al. (2001); Al-Madhari and Zeller (1997): 'Ecologic Disruptions, or Emergencies Varying Severity and Magnitude<|>Results in Illness, Deaths, Injuries, and Property Damage<|>Cannot be managed by routine procedures<|>Requires Extraordinary Efforts beyond what is needed to respond to every day'
• Post-Impact Phase is when recovery begins and ends with the return of normal community order and functioning
• Types of disaster: Man-made

  • Complex Emergencies
  • Technologic Disasters
  • Disasters that Occur in Human Settlements
• Key components of disaster preparedness


  • Definition and classification system for disasters
  • Disaster epidemiology and measures of health consequences
  • Essentials of Disaster Management Planning
  • Nursing Care During Disasters
• Disaster classification: External Disasters

  • Exhaustion of health care/hospital resources due to large volume of patients with varying types of injuries being admitted
• Impact Phase occurs when the disaster actually happens
• Types of disaster: Natural

  • Tornado
  • Wildfire
  • Flood
  • Earthquake
  • Volcano eruption
  • Drought
• Disaster classification: Internal Disasters

  • Caused by disruption of normal hospital function due to injuries or deaths of hospital personnel or damage to health care facility
• Pre-Impact Phase is the initial phase of disaster, prior to the actual occurrence
• Major effects of disaster

  • Premature death
  • Impaired quality of life
  • Altered health status
  • Damage to properties
• Disaster Continuum

  1. Pre-impact (0-24 HOURS)

  2. Impact (24-72 HOURS)

  3. Post Impact (more than 72 HOURS)
• Health-related effects of disaster include premature deaths, illness, injuries, exceeding the capacity of local health care systems, destruction of local health care infrastructure, environmental imbalances, psychological, emotional, and social well-being impacts, shortage of food and water, severe nutritional deficiencies, large population movements, and health consequences of crowded living conditions
• Emotional response stages of disaster victims


  1. Denial

  2. Strong Emotional Response

  3. Acceptance

  4. Recovery
• Disaster management involves Disease surveillance and control, matching available resources to the needs of disaster-affected populations, preventing further adverse effects, and evaluating program effectiveness
• Disaster Epidemiology involves health-related determinants, distribution of states or events, adverse health effects of disasters, contributory factors to the effects of disaster, and the needs of disaster-affected populations