Earthquake Emergency Management Natural Disasters

Introduction

The natural disaster selected for this discussion happens to be earthquake. Like many other disasters, earthquakes happen to be not only destruction to property, but also detrimental to the health and wellbeing of those who live in affected areas. Routinely, they also result in multiple fatalities. In the subsequent sections of this text, various natural disaster and emergency management concepts will be addressed from the perspective of earthquakes.

Discussion

1. Fundamental Principles

From the onset, it would be prudent to note that in efforts to manage disasters in an effective manner, the relevance of taking into consideration and incorporating the various healthcare incident management principles cannot be overstated. Some of the fundamental principles that would come in handy in the context of an earthquake disaster are inclusive of, but they are not limited to; mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. In as far as mitigation is concerned, there would be need for stakeholders at the federal, state, as well as local levels to, amongst other things, collaborate in efforts to educate persons on how to minimize injuries and fatalities during an earthquake. Stakeholders on this front are inclusive of government agencies, emergency services, charitable organizations, healthcare institutions, etc. Next, preparedness in this case would be in relation to the handling of an earthquake disaster when it does occur – and would likely focus on preparedness undertakings and plans, i.e. training of staff members on the key procedural methodologies.

When it comes to response, the focus would be on the actual courses of action taken to secure the wellbeing and lives of all those persons affected by the earthquake. Thus, on this front, we could think of this as the stage at which preparedness plans are operationalized. Lastly, we have recovery which largely relates to the resumption to normalcy – i.e. in relation to offering additional long-term assistance to those who have been affected in one way or another by the earthquake, i.e. by connecting them to key resources for mental health or financial assistance.

2. Triaging of Victims

In the case of an earthquake, efforts to triage victims could be hampered by a number of factors. One such factor is the sheer number of victims involved. Owing to the nature of an earthquake in terms destructive capability and possibility of impacting an extensive area, the number of victims presenting with various injuries is likely to be high, negatively affecting patient care prioritization efforts. This is especially the case given that as Lyons, Brown and Wears (2007) point out, staff “must spend adequate time collecting information from the current patient to make the best possible triage decision” (79).

The other factor that could affect triaging happens to be the unavailability of resources, i.e. in terms of adequate staff or facilities and resources to handle triage operations during a disaster of this magnitude (Bazyar, Farrokhi, and Khankeh, 2019). This is more so the case given that other organizational resources are likely to be strained and overstretched during an earthquake disaster. Third, triaging of victims could also be hampered by inadequate information shared by casualties, or found on casualties, because the said casualties are likely to be brought in unconscious and/or confused.

3. Kinds of Injuries

There are diverse injuries that those affected by the earthquake are likely to present with. It is important to note that in this particular case, one way of identifying such injuries would be via an assessment of other earthquake scenarios that have been experienced in the past and the kinds of injuries that most persons presented with. For instance, in the 2010 Haiti earthquake more than 300,000 presented with many types of injuries as a consequence of the said earthquake whose magnitude was rated at 7.0. The fatalities are estimated to have exceeded 200,000. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC (2011), in this particular disaster, “the most common injury diagnoses were fractures/dislocations, wound infections, and head, face, and brain injuries”. In essence, these would most likely be the kind of injuries to be experienced on this front.

4. Vulnerable Populations in an Earthquake

In an earthquake, the vulnerable populations would be inclusive of all those persons, families, and groups that happen to be disadvantaged in one way or another, and whose ability to respond appropriately or adapt adequately following an earthquake could be severely limited. Thus, the said vulnerable populations could in this case be inclusive of; the homeless, the disabled, the elderly, children, persons living in localities that have an extremely high population density etc.

One of the issues that would likely affect such populations is mobility impairment. Due to physical frailties, for instance, the elderly and the disabled would likely be unable to get out of harm’s way. The other issue that could affect the said populations would be continued sustenance going forward. For instance, as a consequence of being economically disadvantaged, the homeless may be unable to gain access to certain basic needs. Third, it should also be noted that those living in areas that have a high population density would likely be more severely impacted in terms of fatalities and injuries. This is more so the case given that as Doocy, Damiels, Packer, Dick, and Kirsch (2013) observe, the higher the number of persons there is within an area hit by an earthquake, the higher the possibility of fatalities as well as multiple injuries.

5. Public Health Issues

Being aware of the various public health issues that could arise in this case is critical so as to ensure that the most effective approaches are developed to mitigate the events. One such health issue is destruction of safe drinking water systems (Zhao, et al., 2018). This could happen as a result of disconnection or damage to water pipes which essentially means that in addition to lack of safe drinking water, sanitation would be poorly managed – effectively placing people at the risk of contracting water-borne diseases. This is a public health concern that could be addressed by ensuring that affected persons are aware of the danger of using water that could be contaminated, and offering specific recommendations on water treatment, boiling of water prior to drinking it, etc. Next, the other public health concern which also ought to be highlighted on this front is crowding, which could be witnessed at certain points because of massive population displacement following an earthquake. The said crowding could result in the spread of infectious illnesses. This is especially the case during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It would also be prudent to note that some of the other illnesses that could be spread as a consequence of overcrowding are inclusive of, but they are not limited to, rheumatic fever, meningococcal disease, pneumonia, tuberculosis, etc. To mitigate the events, there would be need for effective crowd control measures, i.e. by setting up multiple facilities to house victims as well as ensuring that facilities housing victims are well-ventilated.

6. Interagency Cooperation and Local Collaboration

Collaboration and effective cooperation between stakeholders would be instrumental in efforts to effectively manage the earthquake disaster. This is more so the case given the need to pool resources and the fact that each stakeholder possesses certain capabilities or abilities that would be of great relevance on this front. With this in mind, there would be need to ensure effective flow of information between the relevant agencies and partners. This would ideally involve the establishment of a standard communication framework so as to ensure that communication flows in a smooth and seamless manner. There would also be need to put measures in place to facilitate information sharing. This is especially crucial given the need to ensure coordinated approach and see to it that functions are not being duplicated. Agencies at the local level would be especially instrumental in the provision of access to crucial data, i.e. in relation to availability and integrity of infrastructure deemed crucial on the rescue front.

7. Possible Pitfalls

There are a number of pre- and post-incident pitfalls that ought to be highlighted in this case. Knowledge of these pitfalls is important as measures can be put in place to ensure that disaster management and response efforts are not limited or curtailed. One key pitfall happens to be failure to allocate response resources in a timely and adequate manner. In the healthcare realm, such resources could be inclusive of manpower (i.e. properly trained staff to address the needs of casualties presenting with blunt force trauma, fractures, etc.) and equipment (i.e. patient mobility apparatus, etc.).