An analysis of disaster medical assistance team deployments in the United States

Abstract

Study objectives: We determine the prevalence and types of disasters on which disaster medical assistance teams (DMAT) have been deployed. Methods: This descriptive study utilized the Web sites of the 43 DMAT teams in the United States with information confirmed by Federal Emergency Management Agency Web sites for a historical analysis of DMAT team deployment. All 43 DMAT teams were included in the analysis from 1985 to 2002. One DMAT team did not have a Web site so they were contacted by telephone. Results: From 1985 to 2002, a DMAT team was deployed for 47 disasters: 39 natural (39/47, 83.0%) and 8 manmade disasters (8/47, 17.0%). Of the 39 natural disasters, there were 17 hurricanes/tropical storms (17/39, 43.6%), 10 floods (10/39, 25.6%), 7 earthquakes (7/39, 17.9%), 2 blizzards/ice storms (2/39, 5.1%), 2 fires (2/39, 5.1%), and 1 tornado (1/39, 2.6%). Of the 8 manmade disasters, there were 3 bombings (terrorism) (3/8, 37.5%), 2 epidemics (2/8, 25%), 2 plane crashes (2/8, 25%), and 1 relief mission (1/8, 12.5%). Of the 7 disasters outside of the United States, there were 4 earthquakes (4/7, 57.1%), 2 tropical storms (2/7, 28.6%), and 1 fire (1/7, 14.3%). There were also 24 “stand-by” deployments. Conclusion: The majority (>80%) of DMAT team deployments from 1985 to 2003 were for natural disasters, with almost half the disasters for hurricanes followed by floods. However, more recently there has been an increase in “manmade” disasters with bombings/terrorism being the most frequent manmade disaster. DMAT teams have also been deployed on missions outside the United States, most often responding to earthquakes and secondly for hurricanes/tropical storms. In the future, DMAT teams need to be prepared to function in a variety of disasters, both natural and manmade.