Who r4r Tier1 Unit1a en

Tier 1: Ready4Response
Module 1: All-hazards emergency response

The nature of emergencies
Unit 1A
Photo: WHO / R. Ofrin
INTRODUCTION
It is important for us to have a
common understanding of what an
emergency is. Although each
emergency is unique, there are
commonalities among these events
that we can learn from.
Hi. I’m your facilitator –

Andrew Black
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
• explain what causes emergencies;

• define what is meant by an emergency;
• list common terms used in emergency response;
• describe characteristics common to all types of emergency;
• define a hazard; and
• describe the challenges of working in emergencies.
AN EMERGENCY
WHO / R. Ofrin
is a serious, often Emergencies are life-threatening

situations which put people at risk
unexpected, and of death or severe deterioration in
usually dangerous their health status or living
situation requiring conditions, and which have the
immediate action. potential to outstrip the normal
local coping capacity.
TYPES OF EMERGENCIES
Natural emergencies: Man-made emergencies:
• Environmental: • Armed conflict:

▪ Earthquake ▪ Complex emergencies.
▪ Volcano
▪ Landslide
• Deliberate acts and terrorism
▪ Flood
▪ Tsunami
▪ Storm • Industrial accidents:
▪ Drought ▪ Chemical
▪ Wildfire. ▪ Radiological
• Biological: ▪ Poisoning (food or environment).
▪ Diseases: Human, • Transport:
Epizootic or Zoonotic
transmission. ▪ Air, rail, road and shipping
accidents.
https://www.desinventar.net/disasterclassification.html https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-
sanitation-and-health
EMERGENCIES ARE CAUSED BY A WIDE RANGE OF FACTORS, NOT JUST DISEASE OUTBREAK
21st century trends

Global travel and trade – pathogens can travel with people and
goods around the world
Urbanization – for the first time in human history, more people

are living crowded into urban settings than in villages
Climate change – resulting in increased hydrometeorological

disasters
Increased contact with farmed and wild animals – farming,

livestock and encroaching on forests
EMERGENCIES ARE CAUSED BY A WIDE RANGE OF FACTORS, NOT JUST DISEASE OUTBREAK
21st century trends

Technology – the risk from chemical and radio-nuclear hazards
Movement of people – migration and refugees
Increase in underlying health conditions (such as non-communicable

diseases) which increase vulnerability in many emergencies
Political instability and conflict
“What else can you think of?”

Who is affected by emergencies?
INDIVIDUALS AND
HOUSEHOLDS Emergencies have effects that can range from
local emergencies with limited consequences
to wide-area disasters with catastrophic
LOCAL consequences; this also includes pandemics
COMMUNITY which can affect the entire planet.
NATIONAL Emergencies are first and most acutely

LEVEL experienced at the individual and local levels.
GLOBAL
LEVEL
ALL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS
WHO / S. Saporito
work to prevent Emergencies require people from many

different disciplines to work together.
AVOIDABLE deaths,
Communities are at the front line of
disease, disability and emergencies. They must be
damage to economies considered and included as part of the
response.
and societies.
Local communities have local
knowledge that response teams will not.
These are common terms used in health to
describe emergencies:
A disaster: An occurrence disrupting the normal conditions
of existence and causing a level of suffering that exceeds the
capacity of adjustment of the affected community.
Health emergency: A type of event or imminent threat that

produces or has the potential to produce a range of health
consequences, and which requires coordinated action,
usually urgent and often non-routine.
Public Health Emergency of International Concern

(PHEIC): An extraordinary event which is determined, as
provided in the International Health Regulations, (i) to
constitute a public health risk to other States through the
international spread of disease and (ii) to potentially require a
coordinated response.
Outbreak: Often used synonymously with “epidemic,”
usually to indicate localized as opposed to generalized
epidemics. Typically defined as 2 or more people with the
same health condition, at the same time and in the same
place.
Epidemic: The occurrence in a community or region of

cases of an illness, specific health-related behaviour or
other health-related events clearly in excess of normal
expectancy.
Pandemic: Worldwide spread of a new disease or a

worldwide outbreak of a disease in humans in numbers
clearly in excess of normal.
5-MINUTE REFLECTION
It is unusual that a single person or
organization will be able to respond to an
emergency alone because an emergency
is a situation which pushes us beyond our
normal coping mechanisms.
To manage emergencies, we must work as
interdisciplinary teams. Think about the most recent emergency
you worked in or experienced. Write in
Individuals, communities, all sectors of your journal:
local and national government, and the • What was the hazard?
international community can work together • Where did it take place? Who was
to provide mutual support, such as most affected?
information, resources and expertise. • How did “your” emergency meet the
definitions we learned here?
• Which different disciplines were
involved in resolving the emergency?
A HAZARD
WHO / S. Volkov
is a process, phenomenon or
human activity that may
cause loss of life, injury or If left unmanaged, a hazard
other health impacts, can become a source of
property damage, social and potential damage, leading
economic disruption or to an emergency.
environmental degradation.
ANTHROPOGENIC
HAZARD: caused
Factors determining the effect of a hazard
by human activity
A hazard becomes a risk when we are exposed to it.
BIOLOGICAL,
CHEMICAL, 1. The greater the size of the hazard, the greater
RADIO-NUCLEAR, the potential impact.
ENVIRONMENTAL
HAZARD 2. People or their property must be exposed to a
hazard for it to become a risk.
GEOLOGICAL
HAZARD: 3. Exposure is directly proportional to people’s
earthquakes vulnerabilities.
HYDRO- 4. Exposure is inversely proportional to people’s
METEOROLOGICAL coping capacities.
HAZARD:
floods, hurricanes
All of these determine the effect of a hazard on a
ZOONOSES: population. When we can no longer cope with the
diseases transmitted effects of the hazard and need help, we call the
by animals situation an emergency.
The challenge of working in emergencies
• Emergencies are dynamic and unpredictable, so staff
have to constantly adapt to a changing situation.
• We often have to make fast decisions with incomplete,
inconsistent or ambiguous information under time
pressure.
• We can be required to work long hours, perhaps in poor
conditions, with communities and affected people who
WHO/Aleppo team
may be injured, traumatized or distressed by the events.
However, effective health response will save lives and

reduce suffering. It is rewarding and important work.
WHO / L. Pezzoli
Owen, C (ed). 2014. Human factors challenges in Emergency Management: Enhancing Individual and Team
Performance in Fire and Emergency. Ashgate. United Kingdom
SUMMARY
• Emergencies can be on any scale,
from local to global, and can impact
many different aspects of life.
• Emergencies can be natural or
man-made and caused by a variety
of hazards.
• Working in emergencies presents
us with unique challenges, as well
as opportunities to save lives.
FOLLOW-UP TASK
Every emergency is
unique, but we can use 1. In your journal, list all the
common knowledge and emergencies you have
skills to respond. By
understanding different experienced or worked in.
hazards and their potential
impacts, we can prepare 2. Next, select a hazard or type of
ourselves to respond to
any emergency.
emergency you know very little
about.
3. Spend at least 10 minutes finding

out as much as you can about it
from a colleague, book or the
internet.
Additional resources
• UNDRR - Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: Disaster classification

https://www.desinventar.net/disasterclassification.html
• WHO - Environmental health in emergencies and disasters: A practical guide

https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-sanitation-and-health
• WHO - Glossary of health emergency and disaster risk management terminology

https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/glossary-of-health-emergency-and-disaster-risk-
management-terminology

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Tier 1: Ready4Response

Module 1: All-hazards emergency response

Hi. I’m your facilitator –

• explain what causes emergencies;

is a serious, often Emergencies are life-threatening

• Environmental: • Armed conflict:

21st century trends

Urbanization – for the first time in human history, more people

Climate change – resulting in increased hydrometeorological

Increased contact with farmed and wild animals – farming,

21st century trends

Movement of people – migration and refugees

Increase in underlying health conditions (such as non-communicable

Political instability and conflict

“What else can you think of?”

NATIONAL Emergencies are first and most acutely

work to prevent Emergencies require people from many

Health emergency: A type of event or imminent threat that

Public Health Emergency of International Concern

Epidemic: The occurrence in a community or region of

Pandemic: Worldwide spread of a new disease or a

However, effective health response will save lives and

3. Spend at least 10 minutes finding

• UNDRR - Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: Disaster classification

• WHO - Environmental health in emergencies and disasters: A practical guide

• WHO - Glossary of health emergency and disaster risk management terminology

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