International Disaster Research Articles

The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS): an electronic medical records and health information management system for the red cross red crescent emergency response units

BackgroundThe Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) utilizes specialized Emergency Response Units (ERUs) for international disaster response. However, data collection and reporting within ERUs have been time-consuming and paper-based. The Red Cross Red Crescent Health Information System (RCHIS) was developed to improve clinical documentation and reporting, ensuring accuracy and ease of use while increasing compliance with reporting standards.Case presentationRCHIS is an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Health Information System (HIS) designed for RCRC ERUs. It can be accessed on Android tablets or Windows laptops, both online and offline. The system securely stores data on Microsoft Azure cloud, with synchronization facilitated through a local ERU server. The functional architecture covers all clinical functions of ERU clinics and hospitals, incorporating user-friendly features. A pilot study was conducted with the Portuguese Red Cross (PRC) during a large-scale event. Thirteen super users were trained and subsequently trained the staff. During the four-day pilot, 77 user accounts were created, and 243 patient files were documented. Feedback indicated that RCHIS was easy to use, requiring minimal training time, and had sufficient training for full utilization. Real-time reporting facilitated coordination with the civil defense authority.ConclusionsThe development and pilot use of RCHIS demonstrated its feasibility and efficacy within RCRC ERUs. The system addressed the need for an EMR and HIS solution, enabling comprehensive clinical documentation and supporting administrative reporting functions. The pilot study validated the training of trainers’ approach and paved the way for further domestic use of RCHIS. RCHIS has the potential to improve patient safety, quality of care, and reporting efficiency within ERUs. Automated reporting reduces the burden on ERU leadership, while electronic compilation enhances record completeness and correctness. Ongoing feedback collection and feature development continue to enhance RCHIS’s functionality. Further trainings took place in 2023 and preparations for international deployments are under way. RCHIS represents a significant step toward improved emergency medical care and coordination within the RCRC and has implications for similar systems in other Emergency Medical Teams.

The “Disaster Business”: Natural Disasters and Human Trafficking

This article explores the relationship between natural disasters and an enduring security issue: human trafficking. Natural disasters and human trafficking deserve attention from scholars and practitioners as both human security issues and potential threats to traditional conceptions of state and international security. We argue that “disaster business” dynamics—the financial and political incentives of reconstruction—create conditions for human trafficking by increasing demand for trafficking, increasing perceived economic opportunity for trafficked individuals, and easing the ability of traffickers to operate. Analysis of data from the EM-DAT International Disaster Database and Human Trafficking Indicators Dataset supports this argument. Natural disaster increases the likelihood of a state being a trafficking destination, especially after more damaging disasters, where the government has political incentives to rebuild, and where anti-trafficking capacity is weak. Research and practice already demonstrate that natural disasters can make individuals more vulnerable to trafficking, increasing the likelihood of a state being a source of trafficking to other locations. This article demonstrates that disasters can also serve as a magnet for trafficking and points to policy options to disrupt this relationship.

Impact of oil price volatility and economic policy uncertainty on business investment - Insights from the energy sector

This research employs a worldwide sample of 4017 energy sector companies from 1996 to 2022 to examine the effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and oil price uncertainty (OPU) on corporate investment in oil/energy sector and this study analyze how market instability and international economic disasters shape the connection between OPU and business assets. GLM regression with firms-years fixed effects and firm-based clustering indicate that both OPU and EPU had a detrimental influence on corporate investment in energy sector. Generalized linear models provide a universal method for addressing various response modeling issues. It is also revealed that oil-producing nations experience OPU and EPU's negative effects more severely than oil-consuming nations. This paper also demonstrates that the link between corporate investment, OPU and EPU is influenced by nations that produce oil, market volatility, and global financial crises. Strong evidence was found supporting the notion that OPU and EPU had a statistically significant detrimental impact on business assets. The findings of the paper are consistent under a variety of robustness tests and show that the association between OPU and EPU and business assets still holds. The results have significant bearing on the asset strategies that company managers and governments should adopt in light of the volatility of oil prices and EPU and this study provide valuable insights for policymakers who are focused on achieving energy transition, enhancing energy security, and meeting environmental goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Women in Disaster Policy: A Bibliometric Mapping of the Research Literature 2015-2023

The research regarding women in disaster policy discourse received attention from scholars and policymakers as the current leading international disaster policy had a shortfall in mentioning women’s rights. Although many studies have deliberated how women engage with disaster, research that systematically maps how the literature regarding women in disaster policy develops has not yet been conducted. Per the result through the bibliometric mapping, the 58 pieces of literature included by the PRISMA (Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework are clustered into health, environment, economic, and socio-political contexts. The discourse discussion revolves around women’s vulnerability, capacity and capability, and strategy and policy initiatives. The study contributes to the literature by mapping the research trajectory regarding women in the disaster risk reduction policy framework following the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 establishment. A recommendation model of the disaster policy framework and prospective research agenda is developed through the study.

Changing Urban Temperature and Rainfall Patterns in Jakarta: A Comprehensive Historical Analysis

The increasing global population and in-country migration have a significant impact on global land use land cover (LULC) change, which reduces green spaces and increases built-up areas altering the near-surface radiation and energy budgets, as well as the hydrological cycle over an urban area. The LULC change can lead to a combination of hazards such as increasing urban temperatures and intensified rainfall, ultimately resulting in increased flooding. This present study aims to discuss the changing pattern in urban temperature, daily rainfall, and flooding in Jakarta. The daily urban temperature and daily rainfall were based on a 30-year dataset from three meteorological stations of Jakarta in the period between 1987 and 2013. The changing trend was analyzed by using the Mann–Kendall and the Pettitt’s tests. The relation between daily rainfall and flooding was analyzed using a 30-year flooding dataset collected from several sources including the international disaster database, research, and newspaper. The results show that there was an increasing trend in the daily temperature and the daily rainfall in Jakarta. The annual maximum daily temperature showed that an increasing trend started in 2001 at the KMY station, and in 1996 at the SHIA station. In general, the highest annual maximum daily temperature was about 37 °C, while the lowest was about 33 °C. Moreover, the maximum daily rainfall started increasing from 2001. An increase in the maximum daily rainfall was observed mainly in January and February, which coincided with the flood events recorded in these months in Jakarta. This indicates that Jakarta is not only vulnerable to high urban temperature but also to flooding. While these two hazards occur in distinct timeframes, there is potential for their convergence in the same geographical area. This study provides new and essential insights to enhance urban resilience and climate adaptation, advocating a holistic approach required to tackle these combined hazards.

Trauma Clearance Concept of PTSD Help Disaster Victims Avoid from PTSD by volunteering

As we know that trauma means experience that cause intense physical and psychological stress reaction in a big disaster or unfortunate encounter . After disaster, the victims engage in volunteer will get more opportunities to take part in the society and interact with more people. Especially the victims will get a new valuable experience with delight. These experiences will cover-up and clear the trauma experience. Actually through inviting victims involved in volunteer , we can find they re-get the value of life and start a new life career. This article practically shares diverse experiences regarding a lot victims Tzu Chi domestic and international disaster relief activities which include 921 Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake in 1999, Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004, Sichuan (Wenchuan) earthquake of Mainland China in 2008, Morake typhoon of southern Taiwan in 2009, Typhoon Haiyan of Philippine in 2013. We accumulated some examples of victim volunteers how did they quit the invasion of PTSD through the involve of volunteering, Thousands of the victims get a lot of valuable and delightful experiences will invite the other victims to participate the volunteer. This positive action will gradually be spread by victims and set into impetus to the whole disaster area. Except the group type example of disaster victims’ volunteer, there is also the example that a lady who lost husband and two children. How she walked out from the biggest tragedy of her life through volunteering as the interpreter.

Drought and Human Mobility in Africa

AbstractHuman mobility from droughts is multifaceted and depends on environmental, political, social, demographic and economic factors. Although droughts cannot be considered as the single trigger, they significantly influence people's decision to move. Yet, the ways in which droughts influence patterns of human settlements have remained poorly understood. Here we explore the relationships between drought occurrences and changes in the spatial distribution of human settlements across 50 African countries for the period 1992–2013. For each country, we extract annual drought occurrences from two indicators, the international disaster database EM‐DAT and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI‐12) records, and we evaluate human settlement patterns by considering urban population data and human distance to rivers, as derived from nighttime lights. We then compute human displacements as variations in human distribution between adjacent years, which are then associated with drought (or non‐drought) years. Our results show that drought occurrences across Africa are often associated with (other things being equal) human mobility toward rivers or cities. In particular, we found that human settlements tend to get closer to water bodies or urban areas during drought conditions, as compared to non‐drought periods, in 70%–81% of African countries. We interpret this tendency as a physical manifestation of drought adaptation, and discuss how this may result into increasing flood risk or overcrowding urban areas. As such, our results shed light on the interplay between human mobility and climate change, bolstering the analysis on the spatiotemporal dynamics of drought risks in a warming world.

Pengukuran Prestasi Belajar Mahasiswa Berdasarkan Prediksi Nilai Menggunakan General Linear Model

The Covid-19 pandemic is an international disaster experienced by almost all countries in the world. Several research results reveal the special impact of the pandemic on the education sector. Not only lecturers and students, but higher education providers also experience the same thing. Various adjustments were made so that all parties involved were able to adapt properly. It's been two years since the pandemic among us and during that time the learning process has continued. Based on this, several institutions began to take steps that raised questions about whether the learning achievement targets in each subject could still be achieved. This study aims to predict student grades using several machine-learning algorithms. The prediction results are a measure to find out whether learning outcomes have been achieved or not, if not achieved then additional steps need to be taken to help students. The results of this research are expected to help UNIS to prepare appropriate learning models for its students and ensure that all learning achievement targets are achieved. The research method used is a technique of machine learning. The results of this study indicate that the General Linear Model is a classification model with the best accuracy, which can be used to predict student achievement in certain classes based on the evaluation scores of the first structured activity (EKT1), midterm exams, grades (UTS), and second structured activity evaluation scores (EKT2). And it turns out that the UTS score has the greatest influence between EKT1 and EKT.

Geography curriculum in türkiye according to international disaster risk reduction education standards: A content analysis

Bu araştırmanın amacı, 2018 yılında güncellenerek uygulanmaya başlanan coğrafya dersi öğretim programının uluslararası standartlara göre afet risklerini azaltma eğitimi bağlamında analizini yapmak ve sözkonusu programda afet risklerini azaltma eğitimine yer verilme düzeyini tespit etmektir. Nitel bir araştırma olan bu çalışmada doküman analizi tekniği kullanılarak elde edilen veriler araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen kontrol listesine göre değerlendirilerek yorumlanmıştır. 2018 coğrafya dersi öğretim programının afet risklerini azaltma eğitimi bağlamında analiz edilmesinde kullanılan kontrol listesi, araştırmacılar tarafından UNICEF ve UNESCO iş birliğinde yürütülen okul müfredatında afet riskinin azaltılması çalışmasında önerilen kontrol listesinden uyarlanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgulara göre 2018 coğrafya dersi öğretim programının afet risklerini azaltma eğitimi bağlamında öğrencilere afet bilinci kazandırmada ve öğretmenlerin sınıflarda etkili afet riskini azaltma eğitimi yapmalarında rehberlik edebilme düzeyi az bulunmuştur. Buna göre coğrafya öğretim programının afet eğitimi ve afet risklerini azaltma bağlamında söz konusu uluslararası standartlara göre güncellenmesi önerilmektedir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre uygulanmakta olan 2018 coğrafya öğretim programında yer alan içerik ve açıklamalar coğrafya dersini alan öğrencilerde afet ve afetlere ilişkin yeterli bilgi, beceri, değer ve tutum oluşturmayı sağlayacak nicelik ve nitelik düzeyinde değildir.

Governing disaster risk in Myanmar: Institutions and policy pathways during 1885–2015

Unlike many disaster-prone countries in Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, there is a lack of study on Myanmar's long-term evolution of disaster policy, governance and institutions. A substantial increase in the Myanmar disaster management policy literature can be observed after Cyclone Nargis 2008. Most researchers treated Myanmar's pre-Nargis period as a monolithic period when disaster policy measures were either a full set of reactive responses or nothing. Furthermore, there is a lack of an appreciative approach to understanding Myanmar's disaster risk management policy, for example, from a historical overview. Using a descriptive research and content analysis, this paper explores the evolution of institutions and policies related to disaster and emergency planning in Myanmar since 1885. This paper employs secondary data collection methods, including historical archives, policies, reports and other documents, to establish a historical trajectory of the evolution of Myanmar disaster and emergency management-related policies in Myanmar from 1885 to 2015. The researchers found that the policy narrative has incrementally shifted from a state-centric and top-down approach (pre-Hyogo period) to a whole-of-government approach (Hyogo period) to a polycentric model where “whole of society” can be involved. However, the research shows that path-dependency theory remains the best predictor for long-term policy pathways: (1) pure endogenous disaster policy-making is often trapped in endless trial and error; (2) Large-scale disasters such as Cyclone Nargis can facilitate disaster policy change provided that there is productive engagement to allow exogenous policy transfers including more opportunity to adopt international disaster governance frameworks.

STUDY OF THE AWARENESS AND READINESS TO ACT IN DISASTERS OF FOREIGN CITIZENS TEMPORARILY RESIDING IN THE CITY OF PLEVEN

According to official data from EM-DAT (the International Disaster Database for Disaster Epidemiology) in 2021, the number of catastrophic events related to natural disasters worldwide was 432, exceeding the average annual number of 347 from 2001 – 2020. In this context, a study involving 240 citizens from 31 different countries who were temporarily residing in the city of Pleven was conducted. This study aimed to gauge their willingness to take adequate action and provide medical assistance in various disasters. All foreign citizens temporarily residing in Pleven had experienced a disaster situation, with over half having experienced more than one. However, the awareness among these two analyzed groups about potential disaster threats was found to be very low. Our study revealed low awareness and a lack of willingness to act during disasters. Only 20% were familiar with early warning sirens; more than half did not have home or property insurance; 88% did not possess an evacuation backpack; and only 15% were knowledgeable about collective remedies. The study's results highlight the need for systematic, in-depth work from responsible institutions to prepare foreigners for potential disasters and accidents.

Disaster Response and Management: The Integral Role of Rehabilitation.

With the increasing frequency of disasters and the significant upsurge of survivors with severe impairments and long-term disabling conditions, there is a greater focus on the importance of rehabilitation in disaster management. During disasters, rehabilitation services confront a greater load due to the influx of victims, management of persons with pre-existing disabilities and chronic conditions, and longer-term care continuum. Despite robust consensus amongst the international disaster response and management community for the rehabilitation-inclusive disaster management process, rehabilitation is still less prioritised. Evidence supports the early involvement of rehabilitation professionals in disaster response and management for minimising mortality and disability, and improving clinical outcomes and participation in disaster survivors. In the last two decades, there have been substantial developments in disaster response/management processes including the World Health Organization Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative, which provides a standardized structured plan to provide effective and coordinated care during disasters. However, rehabilitation-inclusive disaster management plans are yet to be developed and/or implemented in many disaster-prone countries. Strong leadership and effective action from national and international bodies are required to strengthen national rehabilitation capacity (services and skilled workforce) and empower international and local EMTs and health services for comprehensive disaster management in future calamities. This narrative review highlights the role of rehabilitation and current developments in disaster rehabilitation; challenges and key future perspectives in this area.

Assessing vulnerability in ethnic Munda community: A study on a cyclone-prone area of Bangladesh

Despite the much research on cyclone vulnerability in Bangladesh, few papers have addressed the assessment of cyclone vulnerability. Furthermore, there has been no study of the vulnerability of the Munda minority in the Southwestern part of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans, the Gorai River, the Rupsa-Pasur River, and the coastline region are visible in Bangladesh's Southwest. It is often referred to as the Ganges Tidal Plain and consists of a delta that is only partially active. Numerous creeks and canals run through it. This study assesses the vulnerability of the Munda community to cyclones using 28 social, economic, physical, institutional, and cultural indicators. After the cyclone Aila, the education level of 84 Munda households in Gabura and Munshiganj Unions of Shyamnagar Upazila, Satkhira District, increased. Many members of the Munda community live in poverty (less than US$100 monthly income). About 70% of them rely on agriculture and fishing as their primary source of income. They also have alternative sources of income, such as daily labor. However, they were physically vulnerable. Only 7% of Munda houses were semi-pucca (partially concrete houses). Additionally, 85% of Munda houses were built over a decade ago. Cyclones severely damaged approximately 89% of houses in the past. Many (88%) did not have access to proper sanitation. The physical vulnerability was also found to be significantly greater (P < 0.05) in Gabura Union (0.54 ± 0.09) than in Munshiganj Union (0.48 ± 0.13). However, they reported strong institutional support for disseminating cyclone warning messages, information on cyclone shelters, and evacuation procedures during cyclone emergencies. National and international disaster risk reduction strategies should encompass all people of all races, ethnicities, and nationalities.

Decision Support System for Selecting Rescuer Candidates for Basarnas Special Group Using SMART And BORDA

The National Search and Rescue Agency (also known as BASARNAS) is a government agency responsible for offering search and rescue services in the event of an accident or disaster. At BASARNAS there is a special team, the BASARNAS Special Group (BSG). BSG performs rescues during national and international disasters or accidents. BSG itself consists of selected people, namely BSG candidates from all search and rescue office rescuers in Indonesia. BSG candidates themselves are still calculated manually so that it can affect the time efficiency of SAR personnel in making selections, this research was conducted at the Medan Class A Search and Rescue Office. To ensure that BSG candidates are accurate and processed quickly, a decision support system is needed. This time the researchers utilized the Simple Multi Attribute Rating Technique (SMART) and BORDA methods to determine BSG candidates. With the criteria used, namely fitness (K1), physical health (K2), mental health (K3) and creativity (K4). Then the alternatives used are 25 alternatives which include 20 skilled rescuers and 5 beginner rescuers. and the results can be saved in the form of a PDF file. The results of calculations using the SMART and BORDA methods found that among skilled rescuers, Rescuer-T15 is a suitable candidate to become a BSG candidate by obtaining a total score of 6049.25 and among novice rescuers, Rescuer-P5 obtained the highest score of 756.00.

Updated Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies

Introduction:The Comprehensive Framework for Disaster Evaluation Typologies (CFDET) was originally developed in 2017 with minor updates in 2018 (CFDET2.0). CFDET was created to unify and provide agreement on the identification, structure and relationships between multiple evaluation typologies found in the disaster setting. Since the publication of this framework, the world has witnessed unprecedented disaster-related events including two (2) Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC): COVID-19 and Monkey Pox as well as the emergence and continuation of armed conflict in various countries around the world. This work presents CFDET3.0 which incorporates updates on international disaster frameworks, disaster health updates and evaluation guidelines.Method:A scoping literature review on international disaster frameworks, disaster health updates and evaluation guidelines has been undertaken and included reviewing peer-reviewed and grey literature.Results:The scoping literature review revealed updates on the following important publications:World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergency Disaster Risk Management (H-EDRM) (2019); International Health Regulations;Universal Health Coverage (UHC);Climate Change Conference (COP27);Fragile and Conflict-affected Contexts (FCAC);Public Health Emergencies of International Concern, andUpdated evaluation standards, guidelines, evidence-based reviews and knowledge management. Conclusion:Incorporation of these international updates into CFDET2.0, strengthens global health and international disaster health responses with a focus on disaster health evaluation. The updated framework will be referred to as CFDET3.0. Future research is scheduled to develop a series of toolkits that will support an improved disaster evaluation process.

Quantitative Analysis of United States National Guard COVID-19 Disaster Relief Activities April-June 2020

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity for the United States National Guard (NG) to assist in an infectious disease disaster. This study aims to interpret data from NG situation reports (SITREPS) given to the National Guard Bureau (NGB) by each state national guard headquarters regarding their relief efforts from April to June 2020. This is the first published study about NG disaster relief utilizing quantitative data provided by the US military.Method:The SITREPS of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands are available for the dates of April 10, May 6, May 16, and June 3, 2020 through a NG website that requires government level access. These were examined to evaluate and analyze the activities directed by each state NG headquarters as part of COVID-19 response efforts. No other dates were available for analysis.Results:During the COVID-19 pandemic, the NG primarily provided security, tested for COVID-19, ran COVID-19 shelters, assisted foodbanks, delivered meals, provided transportation services, aided mortuaries, supported protective equipment warehouses, and deployed medical personnel to cover hospital shortages. They provided services to children, homeless persons, residents of skilled nursing facilities, and Native Americans living on tribal lands. Service members (SM) sewed masks, provided translation services, and cooked in prison kitchens. All state NGs participated in COVID-19 relief to varying degrees. Numerical data about the services provided such as quantity was rare but is included as available.Conclusion:The United States National Guard provided a wide variety of services through activation of its service men and women that impacted COVID-19 response throughout all states and territories. This elucidation of the uses of the National Guard should be considered during future governmental disaster preparedness planning efforts, and can be extrapolated to international military disaster relief.

Integration of Simulation-Based Exercises and Practical Skills into a Public Health Emergency Management Curriculum

Introduction:As public health emergency management (PHEM) is a growing field, so is the development of its workforce. Ensuring workforce readiness from graduate-level education and courses can be challenging given the limitations of the traditional classroom environment. This presentation highlights a novel curriculum created and taught by first responders consisting of simulation and application of practical skills developed within a public health graduate certificate program.Method:The semester-long course reviews foundations of PHEM and students progress through a sequence of increasingly complex discussions and operation-based exercises for both domestic and international disaster preparedness and response. Students progress through case studies, tabletops, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises with practical skills interspersed. This includes creation of SMART objectives and incident action planning, crisis communication and public messaging drills, use of radios, personal protective donning and doffing, and Geiger counter use.During the COVID-19 pandemic, the curriculum was adapted for asynchronous and live virtual sessions with further offerings including various online trainings that are required for most employments in the field and guest speakers with national recognition for their experiences in public health and healthcare emergency management and subject matter expertise in various fields related to preparedness and response.Results:Since commencing in 2016, approximately 100 students have completed the course and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive even with limitations of in-person activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Student feedback has noted that the majority of students feel that the knowledge and skills from the coursework is applicable to future employment and that their ability to think critically about the subject matter increased as a result of taking the course.Conclusion:Implementation of this innovative graduate level course can serve as a model to enrich students’ education through practical activities and hands-on simulations.

Health and Social Implications of Potential Indo-Pacific Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Proliferation Driven by Adaptation to Population, Climate Change and Geopolitical Upheaval

Introduction:Future strategic pressures in the Indo-Pacific region will present major policy and strategic challenges driven by rapidly increasing populations, resource depletion and contests, and forced adaptation to a changing climate. While regional countries remain likely to continue on a high growth trajectory, there is growing concern that nations will face difficulty to sustain economic gains in the face of strategic resource depletion and availability, population growth, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. This mismatch could result in strategic miscalculation and reformulation, driving CBRN proliferation choices that fall outside of historical norms or standards. Such societal stressors are already occurring in the region and themselves may suddenly impact on health and social systems in unpredictable and complex ways.Method:Three tabletop exercises called the Boxwood Scenarios were conducted utilizing the Avalanche TTX system, including participants from key intelligence, military, and academic experts. Participants were invited to a Delphi study examining positive and negative drivers, shaping factors, motivators, and consequences of CBRNE proliferation in the Indo-Pacific region. Two rounds of result review were conducted by the group. These results underwent a systematic mixed methods analysis (quantitative and qualitative methods) and interpretation.Results:Climate change, demographic and geopolitical pressures were highlighted as key to future potential CBRN proliferation risks, with this nexus resulting in major proliferation concerns as early as 2040. Proliferation decisions driven by, and occurring in parallel to, climate and demographic pressures were identified as of major concern. Such decisions would have profound multi-layered social, health and broader implications for Indo-Pacific countries with declining determinants of national power.Conclusion:Climate change and demographic and geopolitical pressures could drive future Indo-Pacific CBRN proliferation. The consequences to human populations, the viability of ongoing international disaster risk reduction and capacity-building efforts, and the increased future risk of major CBRN events cannot be overstated.

Utilization of Physiotherapy in Prehospital Care During Emergency and Disaster: Improving Care and Increasing Capacity

Introduction:Emergency medical teams (EMT) are utilized during national and international disasters to improve the response capabilities and provision of quality of care to those impacted. The inclusion of rehabilitation professionals on EMTs is slowly increasing but still has not become standard on Type I teams. The goal of rehabilitation is to optimize function and reduce disability for patients of all ages and in all treatment locations. SPHERE humanitarian standards mandate country emergency response frameworks should include rehabilitation in disaster starting at the acute phase of the incident, but services are typically not provided at the right time or the right place, if at all. After an injury, early education and intervention by rehabilitation can reduce long term injury and improve function. Rehabilitation services continue to be limited to post-acute care and available only to those who have required hospitalization or long-term rehabilitation services. There is a growing body of evidence for the use of physiotherapy in prehospital medical management of acute urgent and emergency injuries and within the emergency department to improve access to care, reduce imaging, reduce use of opioid use.Method:Literature review was conducted regarding prehospital injuries and rehabilitation services using Google Scholar and University of South Florida library access services.Results:No reports or documentation for prehospital or emergency department care during natural disasters or conflict response are available from the World Health Organization or other NGOs.Conclusion:There is a recognition from the medical community of the value and necessity of rehabilitation services across the disaster continuum but remains an under-utilized resource for improving patient care. Conclusion: Rehabilitation should not be available to only those with the most severe long-term injury but should be included at all levels of response with integration into all EMTs.

Another side of industrial growth in India: Environmental damage from industrial accidents

Environmental damages from man-made hazards like industrial accidents in India have increased in the last decade (2010–2020) which poses a risk to the sustainable industrial development of the nation. This study examines industrial accidents with collateral damage to the environment over a ten-year period from 2010 to 2020. The objective is to understand whether India is normalizing environmental damage from industrial accidents as a side-effect of economic growth. This paper seeks to understand the characteristics and response to industrial accidents with adverse impact on the environment. Using content analysis, we created a unique database of industrial accidents with reported environmental damage using multiple data sources like international disaster database: EM-DAT, Indian media reports, independent disaster reports, Indian government evaluation reports of accidents and company reports. Industrial accidents are categorised by their year of occurrence, the state in India where the accident occurred, accident type, human impact, environmental impact, industry type, ownership of the organisation and the response from society stakeholders. We use the concept of risk society to understand the complex ways the discourse on industrial disasters is shaped and contextualise the findings in the broader development narrative. Our results suggest 560 industrial accidents have occurred with reported environmental damage from 2010 to 2020. Environmental damage was mostly in form of air pollution and water pollution. About 2,500 human lives have been lost and another 8,500 injured during the said period. Based on qualititive and quantitive analysis, we find that Indian states’ industrial profile is related to the number of industrial accidents but find no relationship between the number of accidents and the society’s response. The way forward is to encourage policymakers to ensure that companies, as part of their investment criteria, do the following: spell out appropriate safety measures; take concrete steps to engage in community awareness of the risks involved in the organizations’ operations; and, take responsibility for human and environmental damage in the event of an accident. To reduce the build-up of risk from industrial growth, maintaining and updating a national level database on the environmental damage from industrial accidents is essential. Such a database will also help signal India’s efforts to ensure sustainable manufacturing growth.