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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
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A Novel Approach for the Administration of Medications and Fluids in Emergency Scenarios and Settings
Published on: November 9, 2016
How Hazards Turn Into Disasters: Perspectives of Emergency Responders
Arkaprabha Bhattacharyya1, Nazli Yonca Aydin2, Tina Comes3
1Resilience Lab, Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management, TU Delft, Delft, the Netherlands.
Summary
Disaster management professionals worldwide identified preparedness, communication, and financing as key to reducing vulnerability. Effective disaster risk reduction hinges on understanding how these factors interact to prevent catastrophic events.
Area of Science:
- Disaster Risk Reduction
- Emergency Management
- Societal Resilience
Background:
- Natural hazards become disasters when impacting vulnerable communities.
- Existing policies aim to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience.
- Prioritization of vulnerabilities and stakeholder perspectives remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify critical factors of exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity.
- Elicit factor priorities among global emergency responders.
- Analyze interdependencies to understand cascading disaster potentials.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a global stakeholder survey with disaster and emergency management professionals.
- Utilized fuzzy cognitive mapping to analyze perceived relationships between priority factors.
Main Results:
- Key factors identified: preparedness, hazard exposure, risk/crisis communication, community engagement, and disaster risk financing.
- Catastrophic disasters are perceived as resulting from multiple interacting factors.
- Active civil protection and disaster risk financing are seen as crucial for disaster prevention.
Conclusions:
- Understanding and prioritizing specific vulnerabilities is essential for effective disaster risk reduction.
- Interdependencies between factors significantly influence disaster outcomes.
- Investing in preparedness, communication, and financial mechanisms enhances societal resilience.
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