Notice to Readers
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
Since 1975, natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, floods,
tropical cyclones, and volcanic eruptions) have caused
approximately 3 million deaths worldwide, adversely affected the
lives of at least 800 million additional persons (of whom 47
million were left homeless {1}), and caused more than $50 billion
in property damage (2). To promote internationally coordinated
efforts to reduce material losses and social and economic
disruption caused by natural disasters, especially in developing
countries (3), on December 11, 1987, a United Nations General
Assembly Resolution declared the 1990s as the "International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduction" (IDNDR). The goal of the IDNDR is
to improve each country's capacity to prevent or diminish adverse
effects from natural disasters and to establish guidelines for the
application of existing science and technology to reduce the impact
of natural disasters. During May 23-27, 1994, the United Nations
will convene the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in
Yokohama, Japan, to review progress toward reducing the adverse
effects of disasters during the IDNDR.
Many efforts to minimize the consequences of natural disasters
have emphasized scientific and technologic advances unrelated to
public health (e.g., development of satellite-based warning systems
that predict hurricane landfall, design of buildings to withstand
earthquake-related ground shaking, and improvement of radar systems
to detect newly formed tornadoes). However, findings from
epidemiologic studies following disasters are helping to establish
strategies to decrease morbidity and mortality from such events
(4,5). For example, during the past 15-20 years, the number of
tornado-related deaths in the United States has declined, in part,
because of the findings of epidemiologic studies used to develop
effective tornado safety guidelines (6). In addition, since 1985,
the frequency and magnitude of disaster-related measles outbreaks
in refugee camps in Africa and Asia have declined as a result of
effective measles vaccination campaigns (7). These findings
demonstrate the role of public health in reducing the impact of
natural disasters.
Objectives of the IDNDR related to preventing or reducing the
public health impact of natural disasters in each country include
strengthening human resources and building institutional
capacity (e.g., incorporating key principles of emergency
preparedness and response into the curricula of institutions such
as schools of medicine and public health); 2) integrating key
emergency preparedness principles and procedures into ongoing
public and primary health programs (e.g., environmental health,
public health surveillance, and vaccination programs); 3) improving
collaboration on preparedness and response (e.g., strengthening
relations between health programs and other sectors involved in
emergency preparation); 4) conducting community-based epidemiologic
research immediately following natural disasters on the public
health consequences of such events (e.g., developing models that
predict the public's vulnerability to different types of natural
disasters or identifying populations at increased risk from
disasters); 5) improving technology- and information-transfer
strategies; 6) improving communication between communities at risk
before, during, and after a disaster (e.g., coordinating between
public health agencies and other key response organizations to
streamline communication procedures, exploring technologic
alternatives for improved data retrieval, and developing databases
about natural hazards specific to each country and information
about regional and international resources available for immediate
emergency assistance); and 7) developing early-warning systems.
Reported by: Disaster Assessment and Epidemiology Section, Health
Studies Br, Div of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects,
National Center for Environmental Health, CDC.
References
International Red Cross. International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent societies: world disasters report. Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1993.
National Research Council. Confronting natural disasters: an
International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. Washington,
DC: National Academy Press, 1987.
United Nations. The International Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction. New York: United Nations, December 1987. (United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 42/160.A/RES/ 42/169.11).
Binder S, Sanderson LM. The role of the epidemiologist in
natural disasters. Ann Emerg Med 1987;16:1081-4.
Noji EK. The role of epidemiology in natural disaster reduction.
In: Proceedings of the U.S.-Japan natural disaster reduction
workshop. Tokyo: Japan Science & Technology Agency, 1992:327-45.
Glass RI, Craven RB, Bregman DJ, et al. Injuries from the
Wichita Falls tornado: implications for prevention. Science
1980;207:734-8.
Toole MJ, Waldman RJ. Prevention of excess mortality in refugee
and displaced populations in developing countries. JAMA
1990;263:3296-302.
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