Week 1

Question 1

What is a mass fatality incident?

Answer 1

A mass disaster is any event which overwhelms the ability of the LOCAL services to manage it.
* An unexpected event of serious magnitude.
* Severe damage to life and property.
* Local emergency services are overwhelmed and/or destroyed by the event.

Question 2

What is a mass casualty incident?

Answer 2

• Generally considered to include many injured people but no deceased.
• Number of casualties exceeds the local resources for transport and care.
• Multiple victims requiring intervention by medical responders.

Question 3

What are the 2 different types of mass fatality incidents?

Answer 3

1- Closed Events
* Exact injury and death toll likely to be known.
* e.g. aircraft crash - passenger list, ID, antemortem data.
2- Open events
* Injury and death toll unknown.
* e.g. tsunami – limited or no prior identification descriptive data available.

Question 4

What are the 2 causes of a mass fatality incident?

Answer 4

1- Natural disaster
* Caused by nature and people have no control over it.
* E.g. Earthquakes, flooding, natural fires, volcanic activity, tornadoes.
* Causes major loss of life and property.
* Death toll is usually unknown.
* Effects of natural forces can be minimised with careful planning.

2- Man-Made Disaster
* Caused by man or originated from man-made technology.
* E.g. hazardous spillage, chemicals and biological contaminations, terroristic attack.
* Loss of life and property is limited/controlled.
* Can be intentional or accidental.
* Effects can be avoided by careful planning.