Discussion Questions: Critical Incidents

A natural disaster has the capability to cause large scale damage and destruction to an area. Seismic events have been known to alter landscapes and affect the livelihoods, health and development of communities. No two earthquake events are the same and the level of threat posed by an earthquake can vary due to both the human and physical factors of an area. The 2010 magnitude - 7.0 earthquake that occurred in Haiti is an example of where a natural disaster caused a previously vulnerable area to suffer tremendous loss and debilitating socio-economic impacts, to an already poverty-stricken nation.

When I learnt that I was going to be shadowing at a clinic for service users with drug and alcohol problems I was quite worried and intrigued as to what would take place. Then I realised I had to be holistic and also realistic, and although I am not close to anyone that has a heroin, crack cocaine or even an alcohol addiction I have been surrounded by people that have used certain drugs such as cannabis or cocaine. I also feel that I will not always know that this is the case as not everyone demonstrates through their behaviour that this is an issue for them, also some individuals feel ashamed as drug and alcohol use is frowned upon and individuals will deny using drugs. Some individuals explain that they use drugs as a way of numbing their problems or to gain confidence and self esteem. Beliefs about oneself and about the role of drugs or alcohol in one's life are sometimes called existential models (Greaves, 1980). Khantzian (1985) has proposed that addicts use drugs to offset

Even after we have seen the devastating effects of earthquakes in other countries, we don't take earthquakes seriously, Even the big one that is predicted to happen in the next couple of years.Preparedness is a term which is often used to show the capacity of the communities to respond to disasters.

Portfolio – A description and analysis of up to 3 critical incidents encountered on school Experience A that you consider to be teaching dilemmas

Contemporary Challenges in Mental Health Care Provision and Management 2 B73M20 Cohort 09/09 Student ID: 20328

Tragic events that cause damage to property and life may destroy the social, cultural and economic life of a community. Communities must be engaged in the various phases from prevention to recovery to build disaster resilient communities. In order to do this, there must be a disaster preparedness plan in place that involves multiple people in various roles.

Most emergency plans anticipate the exodus of people from a calamity; few anticipate a flood into its epicenter.

According to Grand Canyon University (2011), disaster preparation can be a high stress activity. One reason for this is the fact that there are many disasters to take into consideration during planning. Some disasters are unique to geographic areas, such as hurricanes, and tornadoes. Yet, other disasters occur regardless of geography such as fires, or pandemic outbreaks (Grand Canyon University, 2011).

After the tornado outbreak in the US during April 2011, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published in 2012 a report where it was assessed the risk if such an event were to occur at this magnitude in the future. As tornado outbreaks go this one was quite spectacular in its severity causing tremendous property damage and hundreds of casualties (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2011). The event was not unexpected in the area in which it took place, but its scale was surprising to all. The point of the report was to evaluate the damage and advise on plans for both the private and public sector to protect infrastructure and lives from the observations of the team working on the assessment (FEMA, 2012).

Data obtained by assessing social vulnerability must be implemented within each phase of the emergency management process; mitigation, response, and recovery. First, to effectively respond and recover from incidents emergency management agencies must concentrate on the mitigation phase to prevent incidents from happening in the first place. This is achieved through a thorough hazard/vulnerability analysis (HVA). This type of analysis assesses the risk of physical, economic, and social vulnerability within all communities of a given jurisdiction (Lindell et al., 2006, p. 165). Additionally, the basis of the HVA allows emergency managers to effectively plan for disaster by creating pre-planned responses to disasters (rather than improvised response) and staging resources to locations with the highest probability of risk; ultimately contributing to the mitigation and response phases.

Another human factor is the earthquake mitigation through education and community awareness. Schemes such as the one in Sichuan, China helped to save thousands of lives. The weekly intervals of training in case of an earthquake, educated children and adults of what to do when the quake struck. Evacuation schemes such as the window slides or hiding under tables was reported to have saved thousands when the magnitude 8.0 hit the area in 2008. However, some were not saved due to their unwillingness to move and evacuate the area. Some people of the village, notably the poorer and elderly refused to leave as they didn’t want to leave all they owned behind.

Although she does not have an endorsement policy for earthquakes or floods she does not feel she is in an area that would warrant her to add this additional coverage to her home. It is not impossible for this type of catastrophe to affect her it is just highly unlikely in her opinion. The one thing the writer did realize after her textbook reading is that she must do a household inventory, which is a list or other documentation such as pictures of all her personal belongings with the dates and costs of each item. This will help her to get her valuable items replaced in the event of a loss or theft of such items (Bethel University, 2010).

Disasters, whether natural or manmade, can happen anytime and anywhere, without warning. An earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fire, or hazardous material spill or even an act of terrorism can happen

There are a few ways to approach this inevitable problem of natural disasters that we face all around the globe. Megastorm Sandy ran across the Caribbean and the East Coast killing many and causing billions of dollars in damage. As a nation, we are not as nearly as prepared as we need to be. No one was truly prepared for the disaster Sandy left. Before another Megastorm hits the United States, we have to be ready for whatever mother nature throws our way.

Millions of people are affected by natural disasters every year, and their impact can be catastrophic. From the destruction of buildings to the spread of disease, natural disasters can devastate entire countries overnight. Tsunamis, earthquakes and typhoons do not just wreak havoc on land; they also disrupt people's lives in both densely populated cities and remote villages. The definition of natural disasters is any catastrophic event that is caused by nature or the natural processes of the earth. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and volcano eruptions are all types of natural hazards, but when do they become natural disasters? The severity of a disaster is measured in lives lost, economic loss, and the ability of the population to rebuild. Events that occur in unpopulated areas are not considered disasters. People living in poverty are even more vulnerable to natural disasters because they have fewer resources or people to turn to when trying to rebuild their homes and livelihoods. So a flood on an uninhabited island would not count as a disaster, but a flood in a populated area is called a natural disaster. All natural disasters cause loss in some way. Depending on the severity, lives can be lost in any number of disasters. Falling buildings or trees, freezing to death, being washed away, or heat stroke are just some of the deadly effects. Some disasters cause more loss of life than others, and population density affects the death count as well. Natural disasters fall into three broad groups. 1. Those caused by movements of the Earth. These occur with the minimum amount of warning and include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. They are difficult to predict and impossible to stop. All that can be done is to take appropriate action to limit damage and loss of life after they occur. 2. Weather related disasters. These will include hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat and extreme cold weather. There will usually be some degree of advanced warning, but since weather is unpredictable, nothing can be done to stop these disasters from developing once the weather system develops. Again, in areas prone to this sort of disaster, some provision can be made