Response to Disaster

Public health is all about prevention, but it is equally essential to be well prepared for emergency/disaster situations since they cannot always be prevented. Airport security/safety is a great proponent of this prevention. The technology we have available allows for screening of explosives and other weapons. Something we face with increases in technologies is more advances threats. Bioterrorism and infectious disease outbreaks has become an issue that is difficult to control with the traditional methods. I recently heard about an Ozone machine that cleans the air in hospital rooms. One hospital that has used it for two years has not seen one case of staff infection since they started using the machines. Such machines also propose to be useful in killing/preventing the spread of infections on airplanes. With the potential of an avian flu outbreak, and the increased threat of bioterrorism, such machines that can detect viruses in the air and contain them in order to prevent a further, detrimental spread could be very cost-effective and beneficial in preparing/containing a disaster.

Controlling the financial issues associated with natural disasters seem to be just as important as the infrastructure system in place to react to the disaster. To take Katrina as an example… I was living in Houston around the time all the evacuees were sent to the area and directly witnessed the despair and inhumane conditions the victims of the hurricane encountered. The streets were filled with homeless evacuees and the shopping centers were surrounded with people asking for food, money, and housing for the night. The unemployment that followed the disaster, as is usually experienced in such cases did not have to reach such critical levels. The disaster itself created great job opportunities for people to rebuild their own community, both making it easier for them to sustain themselves as well as provide them with a feeling of ownership and ability to take back what they knew as home.