Accidents & Catastrophes in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Accidents and Catastrophes Introduction Disasters, catastrophes and accidents have always taken place since the world has evolved. The only thing that has changed is their frequency of occurrence and the damage and loss caused by these untoward incidents. Disasters, catastrophes and accidents are all different events though certain coordination between all three of them can be ascertained sometimes. Any reason or reasons which can lead to damage or poses a risk to people or property is known as a hazard. The intensity and the outcome of the hazards are variable. Even a stone placed on a road is a hazard to passers by and similarly noxious substances also pose risks to people but it is the degree of the outcome of each of these hazards that actually varies. An accident would result if somebody falls if he does not observe the stone or an accident can also result if a group of people get exposed to toxic substances. Hence an accident can actually be described as an untoward incident which is not expected and does not bring about good results. Accidents are not done with deliberate reasons by the people who are affected by it (Kovach & McGuire 2003). According to Paul Craythorne who is a health, safety and environmental advisor, an accident is defined as “an unplanned and uncontrolled event that led to or could have led to injury to persons, property/plant/equipment, and impairment to the environment or some other loss to the company.” Uncontrollable events can also be given the name of accidents. Depending upon the condition an accident can be avoidable or unavoidable. Certain accidents can be foreseen and hence they can be prevented from occurring by taking the proper measures. Accidents are led to by certain human errors. To consider this is we can take example of aircraft accidents. Air crashes are seen in cases when the aeroplane is not checked before the flight takes off or some defect in it goes unnoticed. This can lead to an accident resulting in several deaths. Thus an error in checking can be a cause of this accident. Accidents can be avoided sometimes if appropriate methods are employed. In the same example if the aircraft would have been checked properly this untoward incident could have been avoidable. But this is not always the case. For example if a flight takes off under perfect conditions. But after take off the weather suddenly becomes really bad and the flight crashes into a mountain, this is again an accident. But this accident becomes unavoidable and it is not due to human error. An accident is classified on the basis of its intensity and outcome. That is accidents can actually be on a major scale or on a minor scale. Accidents which lead to a huge loss to property and human lives are known as disasters and catastrophes. These disasters and catastrophes can again be caused naturally or due to any mistakes done by human beings. Disasters and catastrophes are also distinguishable. A disaster can be considered to be an untoward event affecting people of a certain area and imposing losses upon them. But even more dangerous events which can affect people on a very large scale and affecting most of the population of a particular region can be known as a catastrophe. Disasters Catastrophes and Accidents The transport industry has been a cause of many accidents and catastrophes. These accidents and catastrophes can be related to vehicular accidents, aircraft accidents, railway track accidents and accidents related to shipping industries. A car accident can be very minor as well. For example if a car looses control of the car and it hits a tree, it might even not injure the driver at times. This accident does not have a very bad outcome. With changing times and the greater number of vehicles on the roads the number and intensity of road traffic accidents has increased. An example to be considered here is that of the Ibadan tanker truck explosion which took place in Nigeria in the year 2000. A tanker whose brakes stopped functioning collided into a line of cars on a crowded road. This accounted for approximately 200 deaths. Hence this was a disaster with so many casualties. The example of the drowning of the ship Titanic can also be considered to be a disaster. The ship sank in 1912 with 1500 casualties reported. Disasters related to the shipping transport industry have reduced now days because of strict checks and regulations on the using of life boats and other safety mechanisms employed. A major disaster related to the airline industry is also very important. This was the attack of September 9/11 in New York which was the cause of deaths of around 3000 people. This attack had an association of terrorism as well. The planes that hit the twin towers were hijacked by the terrorists and then were used to crash these buildings. This attack had an impact on the airline industry providing it with great losses. (Manion and Evan 2002 & McGuire et al 2002). The nuclear power plants can be very useful in their own ways. Proper generation and usage of the nuclear power can be very beneficial. But wrong usage and mishaps related to nuclear energy can be very harmful and impose serious risks. A small leakage from a power plant can lead to a disaster. On the other hand usage of nuclear weapons against a nation or great defects in a power plant can lead to a catastrophe affecting a great number of human lives and property killing millions of people and predisposing people to fatal diseases like cancer. An example of a nuclear accident can be that of the Chernobyl Accident which took place in Ukraine in 1986. In this accident a nuclear reactor exploded which led to the spread of radiations and gases. It had such a huge impact that was not only limited to Ukraine but Russia and parts of Europe were also affected. More than three hundred thousand people had to be moved and settled at other places. Around fifty deaths were reported at that time and four thousand other deaths due to the toxic affects of gases were also noted. The situation was brought under control but the impact that this disaster brought about could not be reversed. Another nuclear catastrophe was that of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War. These two cities of Japan were totally destroyed with much loss of human life as well as property. This catastrophe is a major disaster in the history of the world which resulted in the death of more than two hundred thousand people due to the attack and more deaths due to the impact of the toxic gases and radiations released from the bombs. This catastrophe led to the crippling of many families for generations because of the hazardous effects of the nuclear gases. This can be considered to be a human induced catastrophe or a military catastrophe which imposed its effects not only on the time of attack but for years to come. (Danbury Conn 1998) The industrial sector also provides for a wide range of accidents and disasters. The industrial sector employs a great number of workers for the labour required in the industries. Any untoward incident happening in these industries can thus lead to a high mortality rate affecting a great number of people. The coal mining industries, oil refineries and other industries that deal with lethal gases and flammable substances pose the greatest risk of leading to accidents and disasters. Such industries also account for pollution in the environment. The Courrieres mine disaster is an example of an industrial accident. This took place in France in 1906 and was the cause of death of more than a thousand people. The reason was an explosion at the mining site killing many workers. Another mining disaster took place in China in Benxi in 1942 and is known as the Benxihu Colliery accident. It was a greater intensity and killed around 1500 people. Thus industrial mishaps can also lead to disasters.(Danbury Conn 1998) Natural disasters and catastrophes also occur. The Tsunami of the Indian Ocean of 2004 can be considered to be a catastrophe because it was a cause of death of around 250,000 people. It affected many countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. Apart from the deaths a huge number for people were displaced (Morrison, T. 2007) Natural disasters and catastrophes are unavoidable circumstances which can lead to a large number of deaths and huge losses. Effects of Accidents and Catastrophes Accidents and catastrophes bring about many harmful affects on the world and the people living in it. These can be a direct cause of many deaths. Damage to property and huge economic losses are suffered because of these accidents and catastrophes. Apart from this they are the source of emission of harmful gases and toxic substances in the air which can lead to diseases in human affecting their health and pattern of life. These things are also contributory towards pollution leading towards green house effect. Pollution of the sea can also occur in the cases of certain accidents like the spilling of oil in the sea because of wreckage of ship carrying oil. This can affect marine life as well. Prevention of Catastrophes and accidents If proper management is employed many catastrophes and accidents can be avoided. Road traffic accidents can be avoided with the use of proper police personnel on the roads. Proper infrastructure and building of roads can prevent road jams and hence avoid these accidents. Management of aircraft with proper check of all its machinery before they fly off is also essential. Nuclear power plants should be properly handled. The outbreak which took place at Chernobyl could have been avoided if the scientists and the working staff could have kept a proper check on all the reactors checking for their functioning and leakage. At the same time shipping accidents can also be avoided. The wreckage of Titanic could have been avoided if the crew had stayed more alert. If these accidents cannot be avoided their impact can at least be reduced by safety measures which include the regulations on keeping lifeboats, tying of seat belts, proper parachutes in aircrafts and the availability of other life saving measures (Manion and Evan 2002). In the case of natural disasters if indications are received by the scientists, they should alert the people and get the areas evacuated to prevent the loss of life. Modern Day Threats The rise in recent terrorist activities all around the globe has been a reason for many disasters and unwanted incidents. This terrorism has especially soared after the attack of 9/11 in New York. Many extremist groups have emerged. The reasons provided for this rise in terrorism is religious extremism, poverty and wrong concepts. The unwanted attacks have greatly increased in this century accounting for many deaths. There has been a great rise in suicide bombings. The terrorist attacks are not restricted to any particular area but are spread throughout the world. Though terrorist activities have been seen to start towards the end of the nineteenth century with the Munich massacre in 1972, there has been a great rise in terrorism in the 21st century. Bomb attacks in Madrid in 2004 and bombings in London also provide examples of recent acts of terrorism. There has been a campaign launched against terrorism to prevent the disasters results from terrorist activities (Burleigh, M. 2009). UK Disaster and Catastrophe Management Disaster management policies have become an essential requirement for all the countries round the globe. These policies are devised to reduce if not completely end all the adverse effects which are caused by accidents, disasters and catastrophes. The United Kingdom has also devised a lot of strategies and laid down lots of steps in the disaster and catastrophe management. It has developed an entire cycle to cope with accidents, hazards as well as catastrophes. Local organizations in the country basically act for the implementation and proper working of this cycle. This plan or cycle consists of mitigation, alertness, response and recovery. To prevent disasters from occurring in the first place is actually the first step of disaster management. It is through this mitigation that evaluations of all the causative factors of disasters are seen. All the aspects are considered regarding the occurrence of the disasters and the risks they pose. The next step is to be alert and prepared. In a high risk area where a disaster is highly probable to occur all the emergency arrangements are made. This step is to minimize the effect of the disaster as much as possible. A panel comprising of members is formed to assist in the management in case if the disaster takes place in the location. They assess the area and keep proper arrangements like the tools and materials needed to cope with the disaster and reduce the effects as much as possible. The next step in the cycle is the first response that is made to a disaster. The first reaction includes helicopters, ambulances, and supplies of things that are required, first aid and food stores. The rescuing team and the search operations are all included in this part of disaster management. The last part of the disaster management is restoration. After all the recovery has been done, the danger to human life has been reduces and the areas of risk evacuated, this phase comes into operation. In this phase restoration of the destructed areas is tried to be done so that the evacuated people can return to the places where they belong. These four steps account for the disaster management plan in the United Kingdom. In catastrophe management measures are even stronger than those in the disaster management. The reason behind this is that catastrophes occur on a much larger scale than do disasters affecting a larger area and imposing a greater risk to human life and property. Hence not only local organizations but the governmental that is federal organizations are also involved and play a role in its management. In the mitigation phase the government keeps a strong check on the industries to prevent any outbreak of an unwanted incident. The rules and regulation are implemented not only upon industries but on other things which can provide a cause for a catastrophe. These include nuclear power plants which can contribute towards catastrophes with many ill effects. Proper checks on their functioning are kept by agencies to see if they are working in a proper way without posing any risks to human lives. In the next phases greater supplies of inventories, helicopters and ambulances are required to cope up after a catastrophe has already occurs. International assistance is also kept as an option if things start getting out of control. These measures account for the UK disaster and catastrophe management plan. 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Guide to global hazards. London: Philips. Manion, M., & Evan, W. M. (2002). Technological catastrophes: their causes and prevention. TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY. 24 (3), 207-224. McGuire, B., Mason, I., & Kilburn, C. R. J. (2002). Natural hazards and environmental change. Key issues in environmental change. London: Arnold. Morrison, T. (2007). Tsunami warning. New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin. Sunderland, G. (2007). Managing disaster. Policing Today. 13 (4), 2007. Glossary Hazards: - A source of danger Disaster: - A sudden calamitous event bringing damage or loss Catastrophe: - A disaster huge enough to be named as catastrophe Accident: - usually an unfortunate event which is unexpected Victim: - a living agent which is adversely affected by a force or agent Toxic: - A material which is poisonous is known as toxic material. Lethal: - gravely damaging or destructive Radiologic: - relating to nuclear radiation Chernobyl: - A town in Ukraine Terrorism: - the systemic use of terror Benxi: - a town in China Nagasaki and Hiroshima: - cities in Japan Inventories :- supplies used in disaster management Read More