E M E R G E N C Y / D I S A S T E R
P R E P A R E D N E S S B E N E F I T S and
M Y T H S vs R E A L I T I E S
Why being emergency / disaster prepared in advance is important.
Excerpts and source from:
How to survive a disaster. In a catastrophic event, most people fail to do the one thing that would save their life, says Michael Bond.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150128-how-to-survive-a-disaster
“In emergencies, quite often events are happening faster than you can process them.”
The situation outruns our capacity to think our way out of it. “Being in a situation where your life is in danger increases your emotional arousal, and high arousal causes people to limit the number of alternatives they consider. That can be bad when trying to determine a course of action, since you may never consider the option most likely to result in escaping safely.”
People often fail to do things that under normal circumstances would seem obvious.
The only reliable way to shortcut this kind of impaired thinking, most survival experts agree, is by preparing for an emergency in advance.
“Practice makes actions automatic, without [the need for] detailed thinking.”
Examples of situational awareness:
Making a mental note of the fire exits when you go to the cinema (and imagining yourself using them). Reading the evacuation guidance on the back of the door when you stay in a hotel. (Count the number of doors to exits)
Listening to aircraft safety briefings however frequent a flyer you are. (Count seats to two exits.)
“Every time I go on a boat the first thing I do is find out where my lifeboat station is, because then if there is a problem I just have to respond, I don’t have to start thinking about it.”
Typically, survivors survive not because they are braver or more heroic than anyone else, but because they are better prepared.
Check exits beforehand - you may not have the sense to in a crisis.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
THE BLOG 12/16/2015 12:21 pm ET Updated Dec 16, 2016
Anthropology, Survival, and Emergency Preparation
By John Joseph Shea
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-joseph-shea/anthropology-survival-and_b_8819380.html
When something goes wrong in a disaster, it affects many people in the same way, at the same time, and in the same place.
How should we prepare for natural and man-made disasters?
Few people will ever need the advanced survival skills these television programs and survivalist literature showcase, such as stalking and killing wild animals, foraging for exotic plant foods, or fighting off starving hordes of their former neighbors. Worse, shows such as Doomsday Prepper’s misdirect people into preparing for the wrong things.
What are the highest-risk emergencies?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lists hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, major fires, and water/electric system failure. Crucial survival skills during such short-term emergencies include thermoregulation (coping with extreme heat and cold), managing fire, making water safe to drink, applying basic first aid, and knowing how to signal for help.
The most important survival skill of all?
Is being able to work well with other people. Cooperation is part of our evolutionary heritage.
We seek out opportunities to cooperate with strangers. Our ancestors were strong, smart people who observed nature closely, who experimented with technology, and who worked together to solve problems.
How better to build civic engagement than by enabling citizens to help neighbors in their hour of need? Learning survival skills will not prevent disasters, but doing so will help communities affected by high-risk disasters recover more quickly.
John J. Shea is Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
The World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/myths/en/
Myth: Things are back to normal within a few weeks.
Reality: The effects of a disaster last a long time.
Myth: Starving people can eat anything
Reality: Even someone well-nourished would fail to thrive on the monotonous diets of three or so commodities.
Myth: Energy adequacy means nutritional adequacy.
Reality: The diet needs to be adequate in both quantity and quality, meeting requirements for calories, protein, and micro-nutrients.
Myth: Disasters cause deaths at random.
Reality: Disasters tend to take a higher toll on the most vulnerable geographic areas (high-risk areas), generally those settled by the poorest people.
Myth: Foreign medical volunteers with any kind of medical background are needed.
Reality: The local population almost always covers immediate lifesaving needs.
Myth: Any kind of international assistance is needed, and it's needed now!
Reality: A hasty response that is not based on an impartial evaluation only contributes to the chaos. It is better to wait until genuine needs have been assessed.
Myth: Disasters bring out the worst in human behavior.
Reality: Although isolated cases of antisocial behavior exist, the majority of people respond spontaneously and generously.
Myth: The affected population is too shocked and helpless to take responsibility for their own survival.
Reality: On the contrary, many find new strength during an emergency, as evidenced by the thousands of volunteers who spontaneously unite to sift through the rubble in search of victims after an earthquake.
Myth: Disasters are random killers.
Reality: Disasters strike hardest at the most vulnerable group, the poor - especially women, children and the elderly.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
The Myths of Human Response In Disaster
http://www.cpbr.gov.au/disact/human-response.html
In the June edition on TMD* [1986], Ruth Wraith and Rob Gordon from the department of Child and Family Psychiatry at the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital.
Myth No. 1: People in danger, panic
The idea of panic involves two things. First, loss of control leading to unthinking, impulsive behaviors; second, selfish concern to save oneself even at the expense of others if necessary.
Experience and research show that panic is very rare in disasters.
Myth No. 2: In the face of personal danger, people only think of themselves.
This is a popular theme in fictional disaster stories, where the selfish behavior of most is a backdrop to the hero`s generosity. However the majority of people in disasters, behave with responsibility and concern for their neighbors.
Myth No. 3: Too much information is likely to scare people into behaving erratically.
The evidence is that the majority of people react responsibly to the information they are given.
Myth No. 4: People do not react with severe emotional disturbance when there is no effect from the disaster on them.
Serious mental disturbance occurs in only a very small number of cases. The majority of people employ the strengths and skills they have and meet the demands of the situation.
Myth No. 5: Children are not affected by disasters.
Their awareness of events is closely related to the way their parents and other adults experience them. If the adults become frightened of confused, but often tend to keep their distress to themselves, especially if they sense the adults are unsure of how to handle it. Children also `postpone' their responses until they get the `all clear.’
Myth No. 6: That a community affected by a disaster will fall apart or never recover.
Communities that are not completely obliterated by the disaster, reconstruct themselves and gradually assimilate the disaster into their history, and continue a process of development. Communities, like healthy people, have a capacity to adapt to dramatic events and go on with life.
Myth No. 7: Workers in the disaster situation are not affected by the disaster.
Anybody entering the disaster setting becomes involved in emotionally powerful experiences. Seeing the destruction, hearing people's stories, the stress and confusion of the situation, all place heavy demands, if not recognized and dealt with, can result in health problems in workers or their families, some of which may not show up until a considerable time after the event.
- more -
Further reading:
A Paradise Built In Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise In Disaster,
Rebecca Solnit
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - And Why
Amanda Ripley
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Laurence Gonzales
- list -
Excerpts and source from:
How to survive a disaster. In a catastrophic event, most people fail to do the one thing that would save their life, says Michael Bond.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150128-how-to-survive-a-disaster
“In emergencies, quite often events are happening faster than you can process them.”
The situation outruns our capacity to think our way out of it. “Being in a situation where your life is in danger increases your emotional arousal, and high arousal causes people to limit the number of alternatives they consider. That can be bad when trying to determine a course of action, since you may never consider the option most likely to result in escaping safely.”
People often fail to do things that under normal circumstances would seem obvious.
The only reliable way to shortcut this kind of impaired thinking, most survival experts agree, is by preparing for an emergency in advance.
“Practice makes actions automatic, without [the need for] detailed thinking.”
Examples of situational awareness:
Making a mental note of the fire exits when you go to the cinema (and imagining yourself using them). Reading the evacuation guidance on the back of the door when you stay in a hotel. (Count the number of doors to exits)
Listening to aircraft safety briefings however frequent a flyer you are. (Count seats to two exits.)
“Every time I go on a boat the first thing I do is find out where my lifeboat station is, because then if there is a problem I just have to respond, I don’t have to start thinking about it.”
Typically, survivors survive not because they are braver or more heroic than anyone else, but because they are better prepared.
Check exits beforehand - you may not have the sense to in a crisis.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
THE BLOG 12/16/2015 12:21 pm ET Updated Dec 16, 2016
Anthropology, Survival, and Emergency Preparation
By John Joseph Shea
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-joseph-shea/anthropology-survival-and_b_8819380.html
When something goes wrong in a disaster, it affects many people in the same way, at the same time, and in the same place.
How should we prepare for natural and man-made disasters?
Few people will ever need the advanced survival skills these television programs and survivalist literature showcase, such as stalking and killing wild animals, foraging for exotic plant foods, or fighting off starving hordes of their former neighbors. Worse, shows such as Doomsday Prepper’s misdirect people into preparing for the wrong things.
What are the highest-risk emergencies?
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) lists hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, major fires, and water/electric system failure. Crucial survival skills during such short-term emergencies include thermoregulation (coping with extreme heat and cold), managing fire, making water safe to drink, applying basic first aid, and knowing how to signal for help.
The most important survival skill of all?
Is being able to work well with other people. Cooperation is part of our evolutionary heritage.
We seek out opportunities to cooperate with strangers. Our ancestors were strong, smart people who observed nature closely, who experimented with technology, and who worked together to solve problems.
How better to build civic engagement than by enabling citizens to help neighbors in their hour of need? Learning survival skills will not prevent disasters, but doing so will help communities affected by high-risk disasters recover more quickly.
John J. Shea is Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
The World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/en/
http://www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/myths/en/
Myth: Things are back to normal within a few weeks.
Reality: The effects of a disaster last a long time.
Myth: Starving people can eat anything
Reality: Even someone well-nourished would fail to thrive on the monotonous diets of three or so commodities.
Myth: Energy adequacy means nutritional adequacy.
Reality: The diet needs to be adequate in both quantity and quality, meeting requirements for calories, protein, and micro-nutrients.
Myth: Disasters cause deaths at random.
Reality: Disasters tend to take a higher toll on the most vulnerable geographic areas (high-risk areas), generally those settled by the poorest people.
Myth: Foreign medical volunteers with any kind of medical background are needed.
Reality: The local population almost always covers immediate lifesaving needs.
Myth: Any kind of international assistance is needed, and it's needed now!
Reality: A hasty response that is not based on an impartial evaluation only contributes to the chaos. It is better to wait until genuine needs have been assessed.
Myth: Disasters bring out the worst in human behavior.
Reality: Although isolated cases of antisocial behavior exist, the majority of people respond spontaneously and generously.
Myth: The affected population is too shocked and helpless to take responsibility for their own survival.
Reality: On the contrary, many find new strength during an emergency, as evidenced by the thousands of volunteers who spontaneously unite to sift through the rubble in search of victims after an earthquake.
Myth: Disasters are random killers.
Reality: Disasters strike hardest at the most vulnerable group, the poor - especially women, children and the elderly.
- more -
Excerpts and source from:
The Myths of Human Response In Disaster
http://www.cpbr.gov.au/disact/human-response.html
In the June edition on TMD* [1986], Ruth Wraith and Rob Gordon from the department of Child and Family Psychiatry at the Melbourne Royal Children's Hospital.
Myth No. 1: People in danger, panic
The idea of panic involves two things. First, loss of control leading to unthinking, impulsive behaviors; second, selfish concern to save oneself even at the expense of others if necessary.
Experience and research show that panic is very rare in disasters.
Myth No. 2: In the face of personal danger, people only think of themselves.
This is a popular theme in fictional disaster stories, where the selfish behavior of most is a backdrop to the hero`s generosity. However the majority of people in disasters, behave with responsibility and concern for their neighbors.
Myth No. 3: Too much information is likely to scare people into behaving erratically.
The evidence is that the majority of people react responsibly to the information they are given.
Myth No. 4: People do not react with severe emotional disturbance when there is no effect from the disaster on them.
Serious mental disturbance occurs in only a very small number of cases. The majority of people employ the strengths and skills they have and meet the demands of the situation.
Myth No. 5: Children are not affected by disasters.
Their awareness of events is closely related to the way their parents and other adults experience them. If the adults become frightened of confused, but often tend to keep their distress to themselves, especially if they sense the adults are unsure of how to handle it. Children also `postpone' their responses until they get the `all clear.’
Myth No. 6: That a community affected by a disaster will fall apart or never recover.
Communities that are not completely obliterated by the disaster, reconstruct themselves and gradually assimilate the disaster into their history, and continue a process of development. Communities, like healthy people, have a capacity to adapt to dramatic events and go on with life.
Myth No. 7: Workers in the disaster situation are not affected by the disaster.
Anybody entering the disaster setting becomes involved in emotionally powerful experiences. Seeing the destruction, hearing people's stories, the stress and confusion of the situation, all place heavy demands, if not recognized and dealt with, can result in health problems in workers or their families, some of which may not show up until a considerable time after the event.
- more -
Further reading:
A Paradise Built In Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise In Disaster,
Rebecca Solnit
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - And Why
Amanda Ripley
Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why
Laurence Gonzales
- list -