Specialist Training

Natural Disasters

In the last few years the world has experienced a devastating tsunami that devastated many parts of Asia, hurricane floods that cut off New Orleans and made thousands homeless, forest fires in the United States and Australia that burnt regions the size of the UK to the ground, freezing conditions in Pakistan that isolated and trapped communities for months in appalling conditions, heat waves in Britain and Spain that filled hospitals, bird 'flu epidemics in Turkey and Indonesia that killed hundreds of birds and transferred to people, and many other naturally-occurring disasters.

As a result of a request from our clients, we are introducing a new Natural Disasters Course that will look in depth at some examples of natural disasters – earthquakes, floods, fires, extreme heat and cold, tsunamis, famine and mudslides, etc - and in particular look at health and safety issues that arise when attempting to cover these stories for news, or when attempting to help people who are affected. 

Using past disasters, for example Hurricane Katrina, the course will take an in-depth look at the problems associated with living and working in disaster zones, including preparation, equipment to take, and precautions to ensure health and hygiene in environments where whole infrastructures are damaged or destroyed, where disease and illness (e.g. cholera) can spread quickly and slight wounds become septic, sewers are overflowing and clean drinking water / washing facilities / warmth / shelter are scarce or non-existent. It will also look at issues such as civil disorder, e.g. angry mobs and looting, when the fabric of society, including law and order, disintegrates.

The course will cover a wide range of natural disasters, and taking each one in turn to discuss causality, effects, what to expect, preparation, and effective health, safety and security counter measures to adopt.

This course is a bespoke course, and can be arranged on an ad hoc basis at a client’s chosen location.