Psychosocial Effects

Abstract

According to the American Red Cross, a disaster is an occurrence, such as a hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, earthquake, drought, blizzard, pestilence, famine, fire, explosion, volcanic eruption, building collapse, transportation wreck, or other situation, that causes human suffering or creates human needs that the victims cannot alleviate without assistance. Basically, this definition covers all natural, conventional disasters. Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, terrorist-related threats or attacks represent a newly realized danger to the public. For example, before September 11, 2001, Americans did not worry much about terrorism; after the attacks, they worried intensely. In this context, we define a disaster as an occurrence that threatens a society, causes human suffering, or damages goods such as buildings, communication systems, infrastructures, living environments, and so forth. In this definition, society, humans, and goods are called affected entities, and the force behind the occurrence is the causer or source of the disaster. The causer can be human-made or a natural force.