[The concept of disaster and its application in Asturias]

Disaster can be defined as an unusual event for which the impact exceeds the affected community ability to meet the effects using own resources. The aim of the study is review the recent disaster profile of Asturias and assess the applicability of current disaster definitions in our context.

We considered as disaster each event producing casualties and requiring intervention of the civil protection services during the period 1982-1993, excluding minor transit accidents with no participation of the civil protection services. Date, place, characteristics, mortality and morbidity impact were studied for each event and then analyzed. We studied also current availability health resources in case of disaster.

14 events were recorded yielding to 88 deceased and 3 injured people (6.28 deaths by event). Aviation accidents were the most frequent event (35.7%) followed by railway, mining, shipwrecks and floods. Shipwrecks had higher mortality impact (36.3% of the total deceased people). Only minor technological disasters has happened in Asturias. This prevalence pattern differs from the spanish one characterized by a double face (natural and technological disasters).

Traditional concept of major disaster cannot be applied to the Asturias context as the exam of our recent epidemiological prevalence pattern shows. Only mayor transit accidents (aviation, railway and shipwrecks) occur and its impact can be easily managed by the current relief community resources. However, an important potential risk of technological disasters exists and it requires have ready sectorial prevention plans.