Food and Nutrition Surveillance and Response in Emergencies Session 6 Types, Trends and Consequences of Disasters/Emergencies

Session overview Overview of disasters Types and trends of disasters Consequences of disasters Phases of disasters

Definition of Disaster Disaster –A serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own reseources ---unusual events, not part of ‘normal life’. Disasters happen when the forces of a hazard exceed theability of a community to cope on its own ==> not all communities are at risk of every disaster though every community is at risk of some particular disaster. –Regardless of the cause, disasters have the following characteristics Agreat or sudden misfortune Beyond the normal capacity of the affected community to cope, unaided The interface between vulnerable human conditions and a natural hazard.

Classification of Disasters Natural disastersMan-made Disasters Sudden Impact: -- earthquakes, tropical storms, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, etc. Industrial/Technological: -- pollution, fires, spillages, explosions, etc. Slow-Onset: -- drought, famine, pest infestation, deforestation, etc. Complex Emergencies: -- wars, civil strife, armed aggression, etc. Epidemic Diseases: -- water-borne, food-borne, vector-borne, etc Others: -- transportation accidents, material shortages.

Consequences of disasters Consequenc es FloodsEarthquakesDroughtsComplex emergencies DeathsFewMany May be many Severe injuries FewOverwhelmingFewMay be many Disease Outbreaks Possible (water-borne) PossiblePossible (due to malnutrition) Common Food shortages CommonRareoverwhelmingCommon Mass displacement CommonNot commonCommon

History of food and nutrition in emergency relief Food & Nutrition in Emergencies– thru’out history The Old Testament (Joseph) Europe’s famine of 1817 –Protracted conflict  columns of refugees eastwards into Russia or westwards to the Americas 000s of death from typhus, exposure and starvation. –Multiple harvest failures + rapid erosion of purchasing power among the poor (1813 –16). + weather changes (El Nino “warm event”  droughts and floods (volcanic dust (Indonesia) => 1816 – summerless yr.  “unmanageable proportions” of beggars

Public interventions –Explained divergence in mortality rates Poor public health conditions (Switzerland, Ireland) –Irish famine arose from “low conditions of bodily health arising from the deficiency and bad quality of the food”. –Lower epidemic disease and related famine mortality I countries with established public health investments and local administration (Netherlands, England). creative approaches to famine relief intervention –Mixture of food supply and price control policies coupled with various direct transfer-based interventions  stabilized food prices when imports were adequate. –Food supply control (prohibited grain exports) –Injection of public food stocks into key markets at subsidized prices. –Labor-intensive public works (development projects)  workers paid in kind (food) --- UK (Poor Employment Act of 1817 => New Poor Law of 1842 institutionalized public works as welfare assistance).

Phases of disasters There are 6 phases of disasters each with distinct characteristics: –Pre-emergency phase –Impact and flight phase –Acute emergency phase –Post-emergency phase –Repatriation phase –Rehabilitation or Reconstruction phase