Man-Made Disasters

Introduction

On Friday, 29 September 2017, a rush-hour stampede on a narrow footbridge connecting Prabhadevi (formerly Elphinstone) and Parel stations in Mumbai killed at least 22 people and injured more than 30.
The word disaster means "bad star" in Greek and Latin; the ancients called the destruction of a star a disaster.

Term	Meaning
Hazard	A potentially damaging physical event or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation
Disaster	A serious disruption of a society, with losses that exceed its ability to cope using its own resources
Disaster risk management	Structural and non-structural measures to avoid (prevention) or limit (mitigation and preparedness) adverse effects
Capacity	Assets, resources and skills within a community that reduce risks or effects of a disaster
Disaster risk reduction	Activities that minimise disaster-related losses of life and property

Disasters have affected 2.5 billion people and caused direct economic losses of 690 billion US dollars in the last 10 years.
Studies call for a shift from sole disaster response to disaster risk reduction, an important part of poverty reduction and development.

A community is a group of people living in the same place with homogenous characteristics.
Community-based DRR is a process within the community and for the community; it addresses root causes through local knowledge and expertise.
Awareness through street theatre, dramatic readings, skits, plays, puppet shows, poetry reading, dance, flash mobs, story-telling, music and mural-making.

Disasters induced by human beings: fire accident, transport accident, structure failure, mining accidents, explosions and stampede.

A sudden rush of a crowd, causing injuries and death from suffocation and trampling. A crowd shows homogeneity of thought and action and impulsive, irrational actions.
Causes: entertainment events, escalators and moving walkways, food distribution, processions, natural disasters, power failure, religious events, fires, riots, sports events and weather.
In India, 79 percent of stampedes have taken place at religious events (newspaper, 2013).
Crowd management: systematic planning and supervision of the orderly movement and assembly of people. Crowd control: restriction or limitation of group behaviour.

Rule of action	What to do
1. Notice alternate exit	Know the topography of the place and identify exits
2. Hands by your chest	Boxing position; protects ribs and lungs
3. Moving on your feet	Do not stand still or sit; move diagonally in a lull, towards exits, not walls
4. If you fall	Cover head, curl up in a fetal position, try to get up
5. Communicate smartly	Use sign language, wave hands one after another
6. Conserve energy	Keep calm; screaming increases panic
7. Set a meeting place	One inside and one outside

Child safety tip: take a photo of each child before an event, so the police can trace a lost child.

3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death; 7% of all injury-related deaths; about 3,72,000 drowning deaths a year.
Children, males and people with easy access to water are most at risk. Males have twice the mortality rate of females.
Drowning accounts for 75% of deaths in flood disasters. In Bangladesh 17,000 children drown every year, 46 a day.
About 90 percent of drownings occur in freshwater. Fresh water enters the blood by osmosis and cells burst in 2-3 minutes; ocean water takes 8-10 minutes.
Prevention: cover wells, doorway barriers, playpens, fence pools; supervised child care; teach swimming and safe rescue; safe boating and ferry rules; flood preparedness and early warning.

Forest fires start in hot, droughty weather from lightning or human carelessness. Low fire spreads at 1-3 m/sec; high fire up to 100 m/sec. Smoke kills more than fire.
Mock drill: stop, drop and roll.
Do's: raise the alarm, use sand and extinguishers, switch off the main switch, roll on the ground if clothes burn, crawl out under smoke, value life over belongings.
Preventive measures: safe zone around the house, cut branches below three metres, remove moss and dry branches, store flammables safely, keep an extinguisher.
During fire: use cooking soda, washing powder, sand or soil if there is no water; keep your head below 30 cm; signal from a window; do not run if clothes catch fire.
Extinguisher: pull the pin, aim at the base, squeeze, sweep side to side.
Never: pour water on live electrical equipment, jump from upper floors, panic, or fight the fire alone.
The Eternal Fire of Baba Gurgur in Iraq has burned for over 4,000 years.

Four principal hazards: fire (most frequent; toxic fumes like acrolein, carbon monoxide and cyanides), explosion (gas and dust explosions), toxic chemical release and environmental damage.
Means of reduction: process safety management, safety audits, emergency planning and training.
Bhopal, 3 December 1984: methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant.

1.34 million deaths a year; 8th leading cause of death; up to 50 million serious injuries.
Risk factors: speeding, drink-driving, no helmets, no seatbelts.
Rules for students: know road signals (green go, red stop, yellow slow down); stop, look and cross (check right, then left); listen; don't rush; use sidewalks; cross at crossings; hands inside the vehicle; never cross at bends; cycle safely; stay seated with seat belts; queue to board the bus.