Disaster and

mental health
Concepts and terminologies
Understanding disaster
DISASTER TERMINOLOGIES
Understanding Disaster
• Disaster- A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a
society involving widespread human, material, economic or
environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the
affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

• Disaster risk- The potential disaster losses, in lives, health status,

livelihoods, assets and services, which could occur to a particular
community or a society over some specified future time period.
Understanding Disaster
• Disaster risk reduction- The concept and practice of
reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze
and manage the causal factors of disasters.
• reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people
and property, wise management of land and the environment,
and improved preparedness for adverse events.
Understanding Disaster
• Disaster risk management- The systematic process of using
administrative directives, organizations, and operational
skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and
improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse
impacts of hazards and the possibility of disaster.
Understanding Disaster
• Disaster risk reduction plan- A document prepared by an authority, sector,
organization or enterprise that sets out goals and specific objectives for reducing
disaster risks together with related actions to accomplish these objectives.

• Capacity development- The process by which people, organizations and society

systematically stimulate and develop their capacities over time to achieve social
and economic goals, including through improvement of knowledge, skills,
systems, and institutions.
Understanding Disaster: Emergency Management
• The organization and management of resources and responsibilities for
addressing all aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and
initial recovery steps.
• Emergency management involves plans and institutional arrangements to engage
and guide the efforts of government, non-government, voluntary and private
agencies in comprehensive and coordinated ways to respond to the entire
spectrum of emergency needs.
• The expression “disaster management” is sometimes used instead of emergency
management.
Understanding Disaster
• Emergency services- The set of specialized agencies that have specific
responsibilities and objectives in serving and protecting people and
property in emergency situations.

• Natural hazard- Natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss

of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of
livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or
environmental damage.
Understanding Disaster
• Preparedness- The knowledge and capacities developed by
governments, professional response and recovery organizations,
communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and
recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events
or conditions.

• Prevention- The outright avoidance of adverse impacts of hazards and

related disasters.
Understanding Disaster
• Recovery- The restoration, and improvement of facilities, livelihoods
and living conditions of disaster-affected communities.

• Resilience- The ability of a system, community or society exposed to

hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects
of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the
preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and
functions.
Understanding Disaster
• Response- The provision of emergency services and public assistance
during or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce
health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence
needs of the people affected.
• Disaster response is predominantly focused on immediate and short-
term needs and is sometimes called “disaster relief”.
Understanding Disaster
• Risk assessment- A methodology to determine the nature and extent of risk by
analysing potential hazards and evaluating existing conditions of vulnerability that
together could potentially harm exposed people, property, services, livelihoods
and the environment on which they depend.

• Socio-natural hazard- The phenomenon of increased occurrence of certain

geophysical and hydrometeorological hazard events, such as landslides, flooding,
land subsidence and drought, that arise from the interaction of natural hazards
with overexploited or degraded land and environmental resources.
Understanding Disaster
• Vulnerability- The characteristics and circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a
hazard.
Types of Disasters: Natural Disasters
• Flood, tsunami
• Fallen tree, debris
• Earthquake, aftershock,
• Lightning strike, meteorite
• Hurricane, tornado, superstorm, cyclone,
typhoon • Famine
• Thunder, rainstorm, Snowstorm, ice storm,
blizzard, avalanche, landslide • Dust storm
• Fire, wildfire, forest fire • Disease, pestilence, pandemic, epidemic,
• Extreme temperature fatal illness
• Volcanic eruption
• Unexpected or unexplained death, injury
• Landslide, mud, rock
• Bridge, road damage
Types of Disasters: Human-Caused Disasters
• War, military conflict, political takeover, • Aircraft crash, hijacking
invasion
• Hostage taking • Contamination; exposure; poisoning of water,
• Terrorist attack food, medicine, air

• Riot, mob, stampede, mass violence • Nuclear, chemical, biological weapon attack
• Aggression, physical attack, shooting, • Technology, cyberweapon attack
stabbing, torture, homicide, genocide
• Assassination • Chemical, industrial accident, oil spill

• Bombing, explosion • Large train, ship, road accident

• Mass suicide, suicide pact
Types of Disasters: Disasters with Human
Influence
• Pollution, ecosystem impact,
deforestation
• Gas leak, explosion
• Dam, level breech or damage, with • Electrocution
flooding • Transportation accident with
• Bridge, road damage aircraft, bridge, ship, tunnel, train,
• Global warming auto
• Radiation leak, nuclear accident, • Building, structural collapse;
reactor meltdown power plant accident
• Fire by arson, accidental mine fire, • Exposure to toxin, toxic pollution
collapse
• Economic decline, collapse
• Lack of immunization
• Hazardous waste
Myths About Disasters
• Not all who experience a disaster will develop PTSD
• Post-disaster stressors are commonly experienced (fear, anger, grief)
• Most trauma survivors are resilient and bounce back after a disaster
• Trauma survivors work together with neighbors and community,
experiencing posttraumatic growth and a new sense of purpose, rather
than PTSD
Disaster Recovery
Disaster Recovery
• Phase 1 Impact Phase
- Begins when the disaster strikes, although the length of this phase varies from
1 day to several days according to the degree of advanced planning in the
preparation or threat stage before the disaster occurs.
Disaster Recovery
• Phase 2 Rescue Phase (or heroic)
- Follows the immediate impact and is also called the heroic phase when
people move from fear, disbelief, and shock to altruism and active
helping. Neighbors share stories of survival, heroism, and lifesaving
actions.
Disaster Recovery
• Phase 3 Remedy Phase (or honeymoon)
- When volunteers and organizations donate food, clothing, and supplies
in an extraordinary demonstration of generosity that lifts spirits and
builds hope.
Disaster Recovery
• Phase 4 Disillusion Phase
• Lasts from 8 weeks to 1 year, is often called the second disaster when
responders and federal agency personnel leave the area, and the work
of reconstruction has not yet begun or comes to a halt because of
paperwork and lack of funding.
• Survivors may remain in shelters and trailers, businesses stay closed or
remain destroyed, and many schools do not reopen quickly.
Resentment, anxiety, and disappointment increase, and people feel
abandoned and fatigued.
Disaster Recovery
• Phase 5 Recovery or Reconstruction Phase
• Begins after the 1-year anniversary when families and the community
reflect and unite in the process of rebuilding. This phase can be brief
or last for years.
Mental Health
• According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Mental
health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
• It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we
handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices.
• Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and
adolescence through adulthood.
Mental Health
• Although the terms are often used interchangeably, poor mental health
and mental illness are not the same things. A person can experience
poor mental health and not be diagnosed with a mental illness.
Likewise, a person diagnosed with a mental illness can experience
periods of physical, mental, and social well-being.
• Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes
his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can
work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her
community.
Key Facts about mental health
• Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders.
• Mental health is an integral part of health; indeed, there is no health
without mental health.
• Mental health is determined by a range of socioeconomic, biological
and environmental factors.
• Cost-effective public health and intersectoral strategies and
interventions exist to promote, protect and restore mental health.
References
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Learn about mental health.
https://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm
• Neria, Y., Galea, S., & Norris, F. H. (2009). Mental health and disasters.
Cambridge University Press.
• United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. (2009). 2009
UNISDR terminology on disaster risk reduction.
https://www.unisdr.org/files/7817_UNISDRTerminologyEnglish.pdf
• Webber, J., & Mascari, J. B. (2017). Disaster mental health counseling.
American Counseling Association
• World Health Organization. (2018). Mental health: strengthening our response.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengtheni
ng-our-response
• Thank you for listening!