Different ways might cause disasters; they can result from a natural occurrence, be man-made or technological ones. Technological disasters might be thought to be man-made due to technological inventions and innovations by man. However, detailed scrutiny indicates a clear difference between the two aspects. Technological disaster refers to events that result from the malfunction of a given technical structure or the prevalence of a human error during the handling or control of the technology. This phenomenon includes misalignment, engineering mistakes, or mismanagement that results in a catastrophic event. These disasters include chemical spills, oil spills, the collapse of structures such as buildings, mines, bridges, radiation leaks, and other industrial accidents. The catastrophes are harmful, chaotic, and unpredictable therefore being more stressful and deadly as they might yield to loss of life, property, or investment.
Man-made disasters, on the other hand, are the type of disasters that tend to have a human contribution to the event. The assistance involves human acts of negligence, intent, or error instead of natural hazards. Man-made disasters include acts of war, terrorism, cyber-attacks, groundwater contamination, chemical/biological threats, transportation accidents, or fires. Though technological disasters might seem man-made, the significant difference between the two is that technological disasters are highly connected with technical systems and structures, which lead to a disaster (Lindsey et al., 2021). Man-made disasters rely on the actions of humans that trigger the catastrophe. These actions could include active engagement in terror or poor disposal of waste, leading to clogging of canals and flooding or water contamination.
Knowledge of the difference between man-made disasters and technological disasters is crucial as they both have various influences on people and nature. Man-made disasters can cause sickness or kill animals or humans. On the other hand, technological disasters are stringent and severely affect a given nation’s economy. For instance, a computer system failure has a substantial impact on the financial system of a given country, thereby affecting its economy. Though technological adversities might not necessarily lead to loss of life, a breakdown or failure in central infrastructure can substantially lose jobs. Man-made disasters can result in loss of life or sickness; however, the scale of the damage is not sufficient to upset the economic activities of a given nation. Nonetheless, the two types of disasters require individual and state attention as they are equally threatening to the government and its people.
The overall emergency preparedness and response plans indicate the capabilities at the community level for first responders of technological hazards. Analysis of these plans clarifies the level of preparedness of first responders of a technological disaster compared to a natural disaster situation. Different industrial facilities in Florida regularly undertake a risk assessment and invest in mitigation procedures to diminish the danger of both natural and technological disasters. Although regulations are present to pressure companies to ease their release, the interpretation and enforcement are left to the local government. As a result, the industries, communities, government, and households are likely to be less prepared for a technological disaster. Different organizations sponsor community-based teams in preparation for technical disaster response in Florida.
Adopting local public television channels to run shelter-in-place public service tapes and announcements routinely is another effort to equip the community to respond to technological disasters. Different schools in Florida have also put in place increased emergency response plans. For instance, the New College of Florida has technological hazards emergency operations plan (EOP) 2019 (New College of Florida, 2019). The plan pertains to a sequence of phased, harmonized, and jointly auxiliary initiatives undertaken by the school’s Emergency Management (OEM) prior, during, and after an emergency incidence that involves a technological disaster.
Low-income-earning American households are less prepared to respond to man-made disasters than other Americans. The study by Columbia University indicates that 65 percent of respondents within low-income earning families are aware of the hazards. However, only 40 percent of the respondents report that they have developed emergency plans in the event of a man-made disaster (SAMHSA, 2017). Though most households in Florida are aware of man-made disasters, the majority indicate that they cannot efficiently respond to official warnings against man-made disasters.
Bio-terror attack involves the deliberate usage or release of biological agents like fungi, viruses, bacteria, or their toxins to cause death or illness to the target population. These agents can be used against the people of the US to create a disaster (Morse & Meyer, 2017). Yersinia Pestis is an example of a plague deployed in Europe that resulted in the death of millions of people. The bio-weapon involves a bite from a rodent flea that transmitted Yersinia Pestis to the victims. Though the treatment of the infection is possible using antibiotics, the flea is still abundant in Pakistan Gur’Yev. Terrorists can harvest fleas and breed them for release to unsuspecting American citizens. Deployment of the fleas in Florida would result in the infection of thousands of citizens. Though there is a treatment for the disease, the collection and transport of the treatment to various parts could be associated with delays, thereby leading to thousands of deaths. Containing such a bio-terror attack is possible; however, poor preparedness for this attack could result in massive loss of life.
Agricultural produce, as well as supplies, can also be subjected to bio-terror. The water system can also be targeted through harmful biological agents or chemicals released in the water system, thereby causing harm or deaths to the populations at risk. There are different methods for countries to prepare to mitigate the potential of a possible bio-terror attack. None the more minor, majority of countries, including the US, do not have the resources to support the victims of a bio-terror attack in time efficiently. The government of the US has come up with an emergency response plan that incorporates the use of medication for the treatment of biological weapons. However, this medication is not adequate as millions of viruses and bacteria can be used as biological weapons in acts of terror.
Bio-terrorism has a substantial risk of causing massive death or sickness over a large population, especially the low-income earners. No one is sure about the potential of bio-weapons in wiping an entire population at once. However, the tactic is likely to be employed in future warfare, resulting in individual deaths discreetly. There exist different strategies that can be convenient for protection against bio-weapons. Some of these solutions that mitigate nefarious bio-pathogenic release include adopting injection vaccines, respirators, and high scattering of a given virus attack (Gori & Tomar, 2020). One challenge in the fight against bio-terror weapons, specifically those involving viruses, is that medications cannot cure all viruses. In addition, some viruses tend to evolve, making it difficult to develop medicines to curb their adversity or spread within the populations.
References
Gori, S., & Tomar, A. S. (2020). Bioterrorism & biodefense: An environmental and public health preparedness. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 12(2). Web.
Lindsey, A. B., Donovan, M., Smith, S., Radunovich, H., & Gutter, M. (2021). FCS9265/FY1230: Impacts of technological disasters. AskIFAS Powered by EDIS. Web.
Morse, S. A., & Meyer, R. F. (2017). Viruses and bioterrorism. Reference Module in Life Sciences. Web.
New College of Florida. (2019). New College of Florida Natural Hazards emergency… – ncf.edu. New College of Florida Technological Hazards Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) 2019. Web.
SAMHSA. (2017). Greater impact: How Disasters Affect People of Low Socioeconomic Status. Disaster Technical Assistance Center Supplemental Research Bulletin. Web.