The term disaster, which derives from the Occitan language, refers to a tragic, regrettable or unhappy event. A disaster is a disaster of great magnitude that greatly affects the victims or the injured.
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 made a disaster in the national economy” .
In general, the idea of disaster refers to an event that causes great harm to people or the environment, generating a forced change of negative characteristics. This type of event can have a natural cause or be caused by humans.
In January 2010, to cite one case, a natural disaster occurred that affected Haiti. At that time, an earthquake of enormous magnitude was registered in the Caribbean country that later had several aftershocks. It is estimated that the earthquake caused the death of some 316,000 people, in addition to destroying much of the nation's infrastructure.
The Second World War, on the other hand, was a disaster caused by man. Between 1939 and 1945, this warlike confrontation that involved numerous armies caused more than 50 million deaths.
The notion of disaster is also used to define those who have 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 match, the Spanish defender was a disaster ” ).
Measures to reduce the consequences of a natural disaster
First, it is recommended that citizens have at their disposal certain material means to protect themselves and cope with 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 others.
Another piece of advice offered by experts in this area is the creation of spatial planning plans, both for cities and municipalities, that take into account potential natural hazards. Through these, institutional officials should prohibit people from occupying high- risk areas, as well as provide effective reporting systems to inform authorities if someone violates this 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 could occur, among other natural disasters. The preparation of these maps is compulsory in many countries, as well as their free publication so that citizens have the possibility of consulting them whenever they wish.
The education is always the key to the growth of society, and in the specific case of natural disasters can give people the tools to proceed calmly. 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 knowledge to assist victims.