Disaster epidemiology

Question 1

What are the three types of disaster?

Answer 1

• Natural
• Man made
• Mixed (natural and man made)

Question 2

List the six subtypes of natural disasters

Answer 2

• Meteorological
• Hydrological
• Climatological
• Geophysical
• Biological
• Extra-terrestrial

Question 3

What causes a meteorological disaster?

Answer 3

Short-lived micro to meso scale extreme weather and atmospheric processes with a duration lasting from minutes to days

Question 4

Give six examples of meteorological disasters

Answer 4

• Tropical storms
• Cyclones
• Hurricanes
• Hail
• Snow
• Blizzards

Question 5

What causes a hydrological disaster?

Answer 5

Deviations in the normal water cycle, both fresh and salt water and/or overflow of bodies of water caused by wind set-up.

Question 6

Give five examples of hydrological disasters.

Answer 6

• Flood
• Storm surge
• Rock fall
• Avalanche
• Landslide

Question 7

What causes climatological disasters?

Answer 7

Long-lived/meso and macro scale processes (intra-seasonal to multi-decadal climate variability).

Question 8

Give three examples of climatological disasters.

Answer 8

• Extremes of temperature: heat/cold
• Wild fire
• Drought

Question 9

What is the source of geophysical disasters?

Answer 9

Solid earth.

Question 10

Give five examples of geophysical disasters.

Answer 10

• Earthquake
• Landslide
• Avalanche
• Subsidence
• Volcano

Question 11

What causes a biological disaster?

Answer 11

Exposure of living organisms to germs and toxic substances or vector-borne diseases that they may carry

Question 12

Give four examples of biological disasters.

Answer 12

• Venomous wildlife/insects
• Poisonous plants
• Disease-carrying mosquitoes
• Epidemic
  
  • Viral
  • Bacterial
  • Parasitic
  • Fungal

Question 13

What causes an extra-terrestrial disaster?

Answer 13

Asteroids, meteoroids, and comets as they pass near earth, enter earth’s atmosphere, and/or strike earth and changing the interplanetary conditions that affect the earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere.

Question 14

Give two examples of extra-terrestrial disasters.

Answer 14

• Meteoroids
• Space junk

Question 15

List some mixed (natural and man made) disasters

Answer 15

• Drought
• Desertification
• Floods
• Erosion
• Landslides/mudslides
• Fire
• Health related
  
  • Infectious disease
  • Genetic
  • Other

Question 16

List some man made disasters.

Answer 16

• Conflict
  
  • ​Armed conflict
    
    • Conventional war
    • Armed conflict/civil conflict
    • Complex human emergency
    • Terrorism
  • Unarmed conflict (sanctions, embargos)
• Technological
  
  • ​Release of substances (chemical, biological, radiological)
  • Transport
  • Structural failure
  • Explosions
  • Fire
  • Environmental interference

Question 17

What are the four categories of disaster costs?

Answer 17

• Human costs
  
  • Deaths
  • Injuries and illness
  • Loss and grief
• Economic costs
  
  • Actual costs
  • Intangible costs
• Environmental costs
• Social costs

Question 18

Human costs of disaster may be direct and/or indirect - list three examples of both.

Answer 18

• Direct
  
  • Illness
  • Injury
  • Mental health
• Indirect
  
  • Poverty related diseases
  • Mental health
  • Malnutrition

Question 19

Disasters are measured by the number of people ____, while the response to a disaster is determined by the number of people ____.

Answer 19

Killed; injured.

Question 20

Give four examples of environmental disaster impact.

Answer 20

• Land degradation
• Damage to historical artefacts
• Loss of species
• Pollution of air, water, and water sources

Question 21

What are some examples of social disaster impact?

Answer 21

• Civil disruption and conflict
• Loss of sustainable social infrastructure
• Loss of community support and cohesion
• Uncertainty
• Family stress and changes to work
• Dependants may no longer be able to attend school