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HOW BE HAVI ORAL HE AL T H SHOUL D RE ACT E T HI CAL L Y I N A DI SAST E R
Da vid J. Ca rte r, Ph.D. Unive rsity o f Ne b ra ska – Oma ha d c a rte r@ uno ma ha .e d u
P A C
Disa ste r Vig ne tte . A ma jo r e a rthq ua ke ro c ke d the c e ntra l re g io n o f the US e a rly this mo rning . T he US Ge o lo g ic a l Surve y re po rte d a ma g nitude o f 7.7, the la rg e st e ve r in tha t re g io n sinc e 1812. Do ze ns we re kille d insta ntly a nd hund re d s tra ppe d in the rub b le o f c o lla pse d b uild ing s. Mo me nts a fte r the q ua ke we ta lke d with Ma rk Withe rs, fro m a vo lunta ry re spo nse o rg a niza tio n who re po rte d , a ll c o mmunic a tio ns in the imme d ia te a nd surro und ing a re a we nt d o wn. T ra nspo rta tio n ro ute s we re a lso b lo c ke d. Ga s a nd wa te r ma ins rupture d ig niting ma ssive b la ze s. No o ne wa s the re to fig ht the fire s, b e c a use with ro a d wa ys c ripple d , the a re a wa s c ut o ff fro m me d ic a l supplie s a nd a id . In o ne a re a , e a rthq ua ke d a ma g e d le ve e s g a ve wa y a nd wa te r fro m the surro unding rive r rushe d into the b o rde ring c itie s. Hund re ds
- f re sid e nts in the c ity fle e ing fro m the fire s a nd c ha o s, e va c ua te d to
she lte rs se t up b y the lo c a l g o ve rnme nt.
T he re a re witne ss a c c o unts o f the g ro und o pe ning up a nd swa llo wing who le se c tio ns o f la nd, b uilding s to ppling , a nd po we r line s c ra shing to the g ro und. Pe o ple a re tra ppe d in the ir c o lla pse d ho me s; e a rly mo rning c o mmute rs we re c rushe d o n c rumb ling hig hwa ys. T he injure d a re po uring into me dic a l fa c ilitie s. T wo ma jo r ho spita ls c o lla pse d so injure d survivo rs a re lining the stre e ts o utside o f the fa c ilitie s tha t a re still func tio ning . We we re a b le to ma ke c o nta c t with o ne lo c a l o ffic ia l who is re po rting tha t a la rg e po we r pla nt a lso e xplo de d, c utting o ff po we r g rids. It is ha rd to de te rmine the e xte nt o f the da ma g e a t this po int. Do ze ns a re de a d. Hundre ds injure d a nd ma ny, ma ny mo re missing a nd fe a re d de a d. E T HICS AND DISAST E RS: A T OPIC OF E PIC PROPORT IONS
- Disa ste rs a nd e me rg e nc ie s a re :
Inte rna tio na l a nd lo c a l Multic ultura l, multi-e thnic , multi-re lig io us E
nviro nme nta l a nd ma n ma d e
Invo lve g o ve rnme nts, NGO’ s, c o rpo ra tio ns, vic tims,
wo rke rs, a nd the pre ss
E
thic s implic a tio ns a re a t the c o re o f pre pa ra tio n, po lic ie s, re spo nse a nd re c o ve ry
DI SAST E RS
Altho ug h the d e finitio n o f disa ste r c ha ng e s b e twe e n c o untrie s a nd the a c c ura c y o f c o lle c te d d a ta va rie s a c ro ss the g lo b e a nd thro ug h time , o ne tre nd is c le a r. E ve nts we la b e l “na tura l disa ste rs” a re o c c urring mo re fre q ue ntly tha n in the pa st.
WHAT I S A DI SAST E R?
“A disa ste r is a n e ve nt (o r se rie s o f e ve nts) tha t har
m or kills a signific ant numbe r
- f pe ople or
- the r
wise se ve r e ly impair s or inte r r upts the ir daily live s in c ivil so c ie ty.
Disa ste rs ma y b e natur
al or the r e sult of ac c ide ntal or de libe r ate human ac tion. Disa ste rs inc lude , b ut a re no t
limite d to , fire s; flo o ds; sto rms; e a rthq ua ke s; c he mic a l spills; le a ks o f, o r infiltra tio n b y, to xic sub sta nc e s; te rro rist a tta c ks b y c o nve ntio na l, nuc le a r o r b io lo g ic a l we a po ns; e pide mic s; pa nde mic s; ma ss fa ilure s in e le c tro nic c o mmunic a tio ns; a nd o the r e ve nts tha t o ffic ia ls a nd e xpe rts de sig na te “disa ste rs”