Disaster Planning for Public Health

Disaster Planning for Public Health

Section 1: The Disaster

I live in Central Kentucky, specifically Lexington County. A significant natural disaster likely to affect Lexington County would be severe storms and thunderstorms which cause flash flooding, tornadoes, hail, excess wind, and lightning, all which, are hazardous for human health. These severe storms are often common in the spring season and sometimes in the summer months, caused by the various changes in climate that have disrupted weather patterns. The United States National Weather Service classifies thunderstorms as a natural disaster if they produce hail that is at least 1 inch in its diameter, produces wind moving at more than 58 miles/hour, and when the lightning strikes lead to fatalities. While the lightning fatalities in Lexington County have reduced over the years, lightning is a dangerous and hazardous product of thunderstorms that residents in the county must be aware of, and learn how to prevent the strikes. Another reason why the severe storms are considered natural disasters is the flash floods they cause in the county. Flash floods are hazardous because they lead to deaths and property destruction. Based on the various effects of the severe storms, it is critical that the residents in the county engage in disaster preparedness, at county and personal level, to reduce the devastating impacts of the disaster.Disaster Planning for Public Health

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   A possible disease that could arise from the flash floods is cholera because of the contaminated water. In most cases, flash floods tend to tear out trees, gutter pipes, bridges, and destroy the buildings. This debris contaminates the water, and due to the limited services provided, water in running taps could be contaminated, leading to cholera infection. Flash floods could also lead to a rise in malaria infection because of the stagnant water that attracts the infecting vectors, the mosquitoes. While malaria is not common in the United States, it is a threat to the health of Lexington residents.

Lightning strikes on human beings leads to health complications such as broken bones, hearing loss, muscle pain, seizures, confusion, and burns, among other complications, according to an article by Tadler et al., (2017). The heavy thunderstorms cause frequent and strong lightning, which when it strikes a person, causes grave effects, including death. Lastly, the natural disasters associated with thunderstorms and heavy storms in Lexington could be physical injuries caused by the hail that drops from the skies onto the ground. If a person happens to be outside during a hailstorm, chances of hail injuries are high, which could lead to deep head injuries from the impact caused by the hail on the head.

Lastly, this natural disaster exposes Lexington County residents to the possibility of developing communicable diseases such as the common cold o tuberculosis. Storms tend to lead to flash flooding, which could displace people from their homes, exposing them to communal shelters when seeking refuge. The clustering of the people within relief and shelter facilities increases the chances of developing the communicable diseases because of the close proximity in which people live. Other diseases that could affect the residents in the relief shelters is dysentery because such living arrangement often have unhygienic conditions, which means that the people are at risk of developing dysentery from contaminated food and water.Disaster Planning for Public Health

Section 2: The Nursing Response

The disaster response in Lexington County involves all community members, as the county authorities provides the preparedness information on its site. Therefore, the level of community intervention in high, as people are well aware of the ever-changing and unpredictable weather in Kentucky. The following is an appropriate response plan for the severe storms in the event they happen:

  • The first step is to designate shelters for those displaced in the event of a tornado or flash floods. The shelter should be well equipped with beds, bedding, warm blankets and clothing, heating systems, generators, first aid kits, and food, among other basic needs during disasters. Those inside the shelter should stay away from the windows and avoid using electrical equipment during the floods and tornadoes.
  • The second step is to communicate the designated shelters and their location to the locals. The communication should be on websites, done on text messaging, radio, and television, before the storms. The weather forecasts always provide information on the likelihoods of storms. Therefore, the county management should communicate this information to the locals.
  • The third step is to have the healthcare facilities prepare their emergency rooms with adequate resources and staff members to receive any casualties from the storm. The hospitals should also have emergency responders on standby in case the services are required.

The community nurses should engage in community education on managing the disasters whenever they hit, to enhance health outcomes. As such, communication on how to prepare for these disasters is the most important aspect of the preparation. The community members should know the actions to take when disaster strikes, according to Torani et al. (2019). For instance, through community forums and sending out posters during storm season on what to do when there is lightning, the community nurses educate the public on actions to take to prevent lightning strikes which can be fatal (Tadler et al., 2019) For example, the poster could direct the residents to find the lowest surface, lie down flat, and avoid metal objects if a person is outside during lightning strikes. Therefore, community education is the most important part of the disaster preparedness plan. These instructions are on the Be Ready website by Lexington County, which agree with the professional and academic disaster management recommendations from Tadler et al. (2017) and Torani et al. (2019).

Section 3: Is My Community Prepared for a Disaster?

            From the website titled Be Ready, it appears that the Lexington County is properly prepared for disaster, especially with the severe storms. One of the steps that the community has taken for the management of natural disasters such as tornadoes. The county has installed outdoor warning sirens in parks to warn citizens of the imminent storms or hazardous weather. The authorities instruct the locals to heed to the sirens by seeking shelter indoors. The amenities such as golf courses also have storm shelters, and the county tests their sirens every first Wednesday of the month, expect when there is likely to be a weather incident.Disaster Planning for Public Health

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            Another way that the community in Lexington is prepared for the storm disasters is through the LexAlerts, which is messaging system that residents can sign up for to receive weather updates and news (Be Ready, 2020). There are also volunteers prepared to work in the radio stations to provide point-to-point communications should the radio signals fail during storms.

References

Be Ready. (2020). Be Aware – Be Ready Lexington. Bereadylexington.com. Retrieved 28 October 2020, from http://bereadylexington.com/be-aware/.

Khorram-Manesh, A., Lupesco, O., Friedl, T., Arnim, G., Kaptan, K., & Djalali, A. et al. (2016). Education in Disaster Management: What Do We Offer and What Do We Need? Proposing a New Global Program. Disaster Medicine And Public Health Preparedness, 10(6), 854-873. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2016.88

Tadler, M., Rüegg, E., Niquille, M., Gencer, B., Gautschi, O., Pittet-Cuénod, B., & Modarressi, A. (2017). Multi-organ injuries due to a lightning strike: a case report highlighting the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach. Case Reports In Plastic Surgery And Hand Surgery, 4(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/23320885.2016.1275646

Torani, S., Majd, P. M., Maroufi, S. S., Dowlati, M., & Sheikhi, R. A. (2019). The importance of education on disasters and emergencies: A review article. Journal of education and health promotion, 8, 85. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_262_18 Disaster Planning for Public Health