Raising public awareness about special needs groups affected by disaster

Raising Public Awareness of Special Needs

The sudden calamitous event that results to destructions or loss and devastation to the life and property is defined as disaster. In most cases, the damage caused by disasters tends to be immeasurable as it varies within the geographical location and climatic conditions causing a great influence on socio-economic, political as well as, cultural state of the affected areas. The various examples of disasters includes; the floods, earthquakes, droughts and many others which are caused as a result of manmade. All these affect each and every individual in the societies. However, when such disasters arise, there are special needs that are supposed to be given to special group of people within the society to ensure that their lives are not at risk.

The groups that should be given the first priority when these occur are the aged group, the pregnant women, the disabled people, and the young children (Rao & Rao, 2008). Therefore this paper will analyze a group of people affected by disaster and the special needs they may require as well as proposing on activities to be done to help spreading awareness of the group's plight and needs.

In raising Public Awareness of Special needs, every country should ensure that it has the responsibility of identifying and, developing the basis response to any acts of a disaster whether it tends to be a natural disaster or a manmade disaster that at the end affects the country's growth. To create awareness of the group's plight and needs, the country should ensure that a disaster management plan is put in place to provide direction of actions when disaster occurs. A good management plan is updated at least once a year to ensure it meets its necessary requirements as well as, linked to the security management plan (Gupta, 2002).

When a natural disaster occurs, such as floods and earthquakes, there are special people who require special needs than others, and they should be taken care of as a priority over the able bodied people. For example, when there are floods and earthquakes, children should be helped first by giving them a first aid at the same time identifying those who are separated from their own parents and immediately starting to trace where their families could have been displaced to. This is so critical given that the children could be at risk of any abuses and exploitation in the first hours after the emergency.

Another aid to the children is by ensuring the quick normalcy return for the children who are affected by the floods, for example allowing the affected children to re-start education and recreation activities as soon as possible while providing them with any emergency equipments. Special needs should also be given to the aged and the disabled group who are affected by the flood. The government of the country should create an awareness of assessing the needs of those people by working with other partners to ensure that they have provided shelter to the affected groups (Gupta, 2002).