The term disaster, which derives from the Occitan language, refers to a tragic, unfortunate or unfortunate event. A disaster is a misfortune of great magnitude that greatly affects the victims or those affected.
For example: “Disaster in Southeast Asia: a tsunami left more than a thousand dead”, “The earthquake caused a disaster in the entire province”, “The government caused a disaster in the national economy”.
In general, the idea of disaster refers to an event that causes great damage to people or the environment, generating a forced change of negative characteristics. These types of events can have a natural cause or be caused by humans. See Abbreviation Finder for acronyms related to Disaster.
In January 2010, to cite one case, a natural disaster hit Haiti. At that time, an earthquake of enormous magnitude was recorded in the Caribbean country, which later had several aftershocks. The quake is estimated to have killed some 316,000 people, in addition to destroying much of the nation ‘s infrastructure.
World War II, on the other hand, was a man -made disaster. Between 1939 and 1945, this military confrontation involving numerous armies caused more than 50 million deaths.
The notion of disaster is also used to define that which has poor quality (“This hotel is a disaster: the bed is broken, the breakfast is horrible and the employees are rude”) and those whose actions go wrong (“In the last game, the Spanish defender was a disaster”).
Measures to reduce the consequences of a natural disaster
Those who have survived a natural disaster know that it is a real nightmare that can kill hundreds of people, destroy their homes and leave an indelible mark in its wake. But in the face of a phenomenon of this type we are not completely defenseless, especially if governments undertake to implement certain measures to reduce its impact on the population.
In the first place, it is recommended that citizens have at their disposal certain material means to protect themselves and face a natural disaster. This becomes especially necessary for people with reduced mobility, for the elderly and for children. The proof that this measure can make a difference is that the most developed countries, where they have already been applied on more than one occasion, always recover more easily than the others.
Another piece of advice offered by experts in this field is the creation of territorial planning plans, both for cities and municipalities, that take into account potential natural hazards. Through these, institutional managers should prohibit people from occupying high- risk areas , as well as provide effective reporting systems to inform the authorities if someone breaks said rule.
To indicate the degree of exposure of each territory, there are risk maps, where it is possible to capture the areas in which landslides, floods, storms, droughts, volcanism and seismicity, among other natural disasters, could occur. The preparation of these maps is mandatory in many countries, as well as their free publication so that citizens have the possibility of consulting them whenever they wish.
Education is always the key to the growth of society, and in the specific case of natural disasters, it can provide the population with the necessary tools to proceed without losing calm. Both professionals and volunteers must go through a training process that prepares them to deal with emergencies effectively, with a clear vision of priorities and the knowledge to assist victims.
