The two terms, emergency and disaster, are fearful and send waves down the spine of every individual. However, an emergency is an event of grave threat to health, surrounding, or life. Disaster, on the other hand, is any feeling, biological or caused by man, which possesses the prospect of triggering so much doom of life and property. It is a fact that the mere statement of one of these two terms is adequate to cause people to jitter. Emergency and disaster are nearly interconnected, but this article will examine these differences.
What is Emergency?
As explained above, an emergency has to do with any condition that is endangering and needs your immediate reaction. When you observe a threat to self, surrounding, health, or property, you act hastily to avoid any worsening of the crisis. Although, there is a crisis that needs running away, and no effort in your role can assist in mitigating hazards to properties and life. Emergencies are of every ranking and may influence a single person to a whole population in a region. For instance, an individual who has epilepsy may need to be rushed to a hospital in time to acquire medical attention on him. This instance is a small-rank emergency since it involves a single person and maybe his family.
On the other hand, a flood or earthquake that hits without preliminary warning is an emergency that needs planning and preparedness to protect lives and properties. When it has to do with describing emergencies, most professionals accept that all events posing threats to human life are described as emergencies. Then the events posing threats to settings, even though severe, do not need movement to be immediately and swiftly as an emergency. It is vital to understand that some administrations do not regard it as an emergency when there is a sudden hazard to the existence of the animal population. On the contrary, hurricanes, fires, and tornadoes, which can sweep across properties, are considered emergencies. Some agencies are in control of emergencies, and their activities are separated into four groups: preparedness, sudden response, the rescue stage, and alleviation. There is another type of emergency described as a state of emergency that encourages the government to announce an emergency in the state and curtail people’s liberties. This is a unique phase to deal with civil unrest as the government usurps citizens’ strengths.
What is a Disaster?
Anything created by man or natural danger that can trigger the general ruin of properties and human lives is considered a disaster. To regular individuals, a disaster is a sensation or occurrence that leaves behind a track of devastation that also claims human lives. Floods, earthquakes, fire, explosions, landslides, and volcanoes are some of the popularly known disasters, which of recent, terrorism and its connected occurrences have triggered a lot more havoc and devastations than natural disasters. No one forgets 911, which is the emergency code. Some terrorist occurrences are also considered natural disasters as they trigger a dent in human mentality, apart from the loss of lives and properties, which are very regular in every natural disaster. Although the assertiveness of a natural disaster may be equal, its influence is felt more by developing nations than in advanced and developed countries. This is due to the increased viscosity of the population and low preparedness in situations of third-world nations. An earthquake in a developed nation triggers much-reduced damage than a similar one in a poor country with increased population viscosity and with buildings that have not been structured to face earthquakes.
Difference Between Emergency and Disaster
- Although emergencies and disasters show off occurrences that need immediate action, an individual may prepare for an emergency but can not prepare for disasters.
- An emergency can be of minimal rank, which concerns a single individual suffering from epilepsy. In contrast, disaster is of a more increased rank and can trigger extensive damage to lives and properties.
- Emergencies which may include fire outbreaks in a facility or building can be tackled by police and fire units working in close cooperation. In contrast, disasters which may consist of floods and wildfires, need immediate action by the government on war grounds to reduce damage to life and properties.
