Think About It
M14.4 Blog: Think About It
a.) As
we begin to think about being active and prepared, and the links that are
specific to your region or area of interest to learn more about health
(physical and psychosocial) and environmental impacts or preparedness needs for
these disaster precipitators.
A wildfire is an unplanned, unwanted fire burning in a
natural area, such as a forest, grassland, or prairie that can occur anywhere
and anytime throughout the year. When natural disasters and humanitarian crises strike, communities are
often devastated and left vulnerable, having little access to some of life's
essentials, such as food, clean water, shelter, and basic services. While they
must deal with the tragic loss of human life and property, they also have to
face the uncertainty of seeing their livelihoods destroyed or severely affected.
The impact of wildfire on public and environmental health includes the spread
of wood smoke and toxins, develop of respiratory, cardiovascular, ophthalmic, psychiatric
problems, and severe burns resulting from direct contact. In addition, spreading
of air, water, land pollution which is another concern.
Communities’ experiences with wildfire can be
divided into prewildfire planning for prevention and mitigation, the trauma of
the fire itself, and postwildfire restoration and rehabilitation of both the
forest and the community itself, both physically and socially.
Disaster Management is the success key factor
in dealing with wildfire. Both of collaborations and partnerships are required,
effective collaboration between emergency agencies, non-governmental
organizations during different phases of emergency will consider the key factor
of handling the emergencies. Communities should be trained and provided with
resources in order to get the knowledge and skills in handling such an emergency
situation.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3492003/
https://www.padf.org/natural-disasters/
b.) In
California we have the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers Site, where healthcare professionals
and those with healthcare experience can express a desire to be a volunteer
should a disaster happen. Is there something similar where you live?
I live
in Dallas, Texas, and we the Texas Disaster Volunteer Registry for Medical,
Public Health and Lay Volunteer Responders where the volunteers receive
training and experience to respond for disasters.
Personally,
I received a comprehensive training in managing disasters and dealing with war situations
with Doctors Without Borders Organization (MSF-France). I worked with MSF-France
as a Deputy Medical Director, Surgeon Assistant, and Consultant Dentist for
four years, and I was responsible on dealing with medical emergencies and reconstructive
surgical procedures for the wounded civilians in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria,
Egypt, Gaza, and Yemen). In addition to my work as Oral and maxillofacial
Surgeon in the emergency room in Iraq from 2004 – 2007. It was the best
experience that anybody can have in the world and it’s an honor for me to serve
in this field.
Ali, I really enjoyed your post. I don't really think of wildfires much and I am glad you researched the topic as they can happen anywhere and it is important to be prepared.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it's really awesome that you got training from Doctors without Borders! And your background is impressive.
Thanks for the post!
Ali, I like how you discussed wildfires and its impacts especially since California have them often. It's great that you received training that is a great opportunity! I think everyone should look into it.
ReplyDelete