Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology Report (Assessment)

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda

Introduction

Nowadays, epidemiology is an interdisciplinary science that studies the “occurrence and distribution of health-related events” and applies the gained knowledge to manage related issues (Porta, 2014, p. 76). Disaster epidemiology uses epidemiologic tools to gain knowledge that can help to control disasters (Bissell, 2013; Guha-Sapir, Santos, & Borde, 2013). The present paper discusses the disaster epidemiology of Australia and three countries that are located in the Asian region (Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Israel).

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Assessment on Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology
808 writers online

According to Subanthore (2011), the region is prone to natural disasters, but the specifics differ for its diverse areas due to their “varied landscape and human geography” (p. 22). Therefore, it appears improbable that the epidemiology of Australia can be compared to that of the whole region. For this paper, the Asian countries were chosen randomly in an attempt to represent different areas. The data was retrieved from the CRED (2016) database (the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters).

Australia

Australia has been very prone to cases of natural disasters, and CRED (2016) provides the data on 228 of them that happened between 1990 and 2016 (see Table 1). The deadliest of the disasters include droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and floods; apart from that, floods were occurring most often and caused the greatest total damage.

The second most “common” disaster was storm followed by wildfire and drought. The cases of extreme temperatures were relatively rare, but they affected great numbers of people and caused many deaths; earthquakes caused relatively few deaths but result in significant damage. The relatively “safe” disasters included the epidemic and two infestations: none of them resulted in deaths, but the infestation caused noticeable damage. The landslides resulted in deaths.

Table 1
Natural Disasters in Australia. Source: CRED (2016).
DisasterCountTotal DeathsTotal AffectedTotal Damage (‘000 US$)
Drought10600708000010573000
Earthquake412114301009675
Epidemic1060
Extreme temperature650946027840
Flood95337384498315230172
Insect infestation200120000
Landslide2281010
Storm7121257322018487832
Wildfire37501909313494394

Saudi Arabia

The information that CRED (2016) offers concerning Saudi Arabia includes a total of 26 natural disasters with two of them being epidemics. While the latter did not result in any financial damage, they led to the deaths of four people; the rest of the disasters were floods that took over 2,000 lives and were extremely costly for the country (see Table 2).

Table 2
Natural Disasters in Saudi Arabia. Source: CRED (2016).
DisasterCountTotal DeathsTotal AffectedTotal Damage (‘000 US$)
Epidemic243200
Flood2420561234794817542800

Israel

As can be seen from Israel’s example, the countries of the Asian region may have a more diverse history of natural disasters than Saudi Arabia. CRED (2016) reports fourteen natural disasters in Israel, including a drought, an epidemic, a case of extreme temperatures (a cold wave), two floods, a case of a landslide, five storms, and three forest fires (see Table 4). The latter has resulted in the greatest total number of deaths (forty people), but it is noteworthy that one landslide caused almost half as many deaths as three wildfires (twenty people). The wildfires were also very costly, but the cold wave resulted in greater damages.

Table 4
Natural Disasters in Israel. Source: CRED (2016).
DisasterCountTotal DeathsTotal AffectedTotal Damage (‘000 US$)
Drought10075000
Epidemic1121390
Extreme temperature100550000
Flood2210000
Landslide120130
Storm527200361042750
Wildfire34420262315000

Turkmenistan

CRED (2016) reports only two disaster cases that took place in Turkmenistan: an earthquake that cost eleven lives, which made it the most deadly event of the two, and a flood, which affected over 400 people and resulted in significant damage but, fortunately, did not cause any deaths (see Table 3).

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper
Table 3
Natural Disasters in Turkmenistan. Source: CRED (2016).
DisasterCountTotal DeathsTotal AffectedTotal Damage (‘000 US$)
Earthquake11100
Flood1042099870

Comparison

The four countries differ in the total number of disaster cases with Australia having the biggest number followed by Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Turkmenistan. The data was available for the years 1900-2016, and it is noteworthy that Australia was founded in the year 1901 while Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932, Israel in 1948, and Turkmenistan was a part of the USSR until 1991 (Dalal, 2012).

The comparative “age” of the countries corresponds to the decreasing number of their total disaster count, but other factors (especially the geography) must also be taken into account when attempting to explain the difference. In general, the presented paper along with the CRED (2016) database demonstrates that the epidemiology of different countries represents their unique history of being prone to particular natural disasters, which does not allow finding meaningful similarities between them. Even the countries located in the same region (Asia) do not exhibit the same or similar patterns.

As stated earlier, this phenomenon is explained by the size of the region that encompasses diverse landscapes, climates, and countries (Subanthore, 2011). Despite these dissimilarities, all the data has one similar characteristic: since the information represents the specific, unique history of disasters of a particular country, it can help to make conclusions on disaster proneness, which is of interest for disaster management.

Conclusion

The presented paper used CRED (2016) data to analyse the epidemiology of four countries: three Asian region countries and Australia. The results of the comparison demonstrate notable diversity, which implies that the disaster history of particular countries and regions is unique to a certain extent. It can be concluded that the analysis of the data that is similar to that of CRED (2016), but which is more detailed and region-specific is likely to inform predictions and decisions in disaster preparedness and management.

References

Bissell, R. (2013). Preparedness and response for catastrophic disasters. Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis.

Commonwealth of Australia. (2011). National Strategy for Disaster Resilience.

CRED. (2016). Country Profile.

Remember! This is just a sample
You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers

Dalal, R. (2012). The illustrated timeline of the history of the world. New York: Rosen.

Guha-Sapir, D., Santos, I., & Borde, A. (2013). The economic impacts of natural disasters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hart, P. & Sundelius, B. (2013). . Cooperation And Conflict, 48(3), 444-461.

Mpofu, E. (2014). Community-oriented health services. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.

Norman, S. (2006). . The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 21(4), 16-20.

Ostadtaghizadeh, A., Ardalan, A., Paton, D., Jabbari, H., & Khankeh, H. R. (2015). PLoS currents, 7, 1-24.

Porta, M. (2014). A dictionary of epidemiology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Queensland Government. (2016). .

We will write
a custom essay
specifically for you
Get your first paper with
15% OFF

Rogers, P. (2011). . The Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 26(1), 54-58.

Subanthore, A. (2011). Asia, West, Central, and South. In K. Penuel & M. Statler (Eds.), Encyclopedia of disaster relief (pp. 22-24). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Templeman, D., & Bergin, A. (2008). Taking a punch: Building a more resilient Australia.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. (2013). .

Print
This assessment, "Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology" is published exclusively on IvyPanda's free essay examples database. You can use it for research and reference purposes to write your own paper. However, you must cite it accordingly.
Removal Request
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda.
Request the removal
Need an custom research paper on Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, August 5). Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology. https://ivypanda.com/essays/australian-and-asian-natural-disaster-epidemiology/

Work Cited

"Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology." IvyPanda, 5 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/australian-and-asian-natural-disaster-epidemiology/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology'. 5 August.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology." August 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/australian-and-asian-natural-disaster-epidemiology/.

1. IvyPanda. "Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology." August 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/australian-and-asian-natural-disaster-epidemiology/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Australian and Asian Natural Disaster Epidemiology." August 5, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/australian-and-asian-natural-disaster-epidemiology/.

Powered by CiteTotal, easy essay citation generator
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1