Why counting the number of dead after a hurricane - or any disaster - matters

Source(s): Huffington Post Inc.

By Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

[...]

Q: How does the number of deaths in one disaster affect planning?

A: If Maria was bad but only 16 people died, then people would say, “It was terrible, but, at the end, it wasn’t that bad, so should we really spend all that money on [the Federal Emergency Management Agency]?” 

That number becomes a stand-in for the degree to which we take [it] seriously ― that’s what’s distressing to me.

The single most important thing is to understand that vulnerable populations suffer the most in disaster. If you just do a strict count of people who died in storm surge flooding, that gives you a number ― it might be people who didn’t evacuate or drowned trying drive off. If you extend out a bit, to include people who died, let’s say, because power went off and they require power for a ventilator, you begin to see the picture of vulnerable populations emerge. 

[...]

That affects how we try to pre-position materials for future disasters, how we support hospitals. It changes what emergency management is if what you’re trying to do is deal with the reality of people with chronic health issues, in nursing homes [and more].

[...]

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