Man-made or Systemic Disasters
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www.MickMaurer.com
| Man-made or Systemic Disasters Man-made emergencies range from chemical spills and power blackouts to terrorist attacks. Man-made hazards are threats having an element of human intent, negligence, error or involving a failure of a system. Man-made disasters are a result of inadequately managed man-made hazards. Manmade disasters refer to non-natural disastrous occurrences that can be sudden or more long term. Sudden man made disasters include structural, building and mine collapse when this occurs independently without any outside force. In addition air disasters, land disasters and sea disasters are all man-made. The Red Cross Red Crescent responds to such disasters, providing support to victims. Volunteers and staff are often some of the first to reach such scenes and are on hand to offer first aid and psychological support to victims. In past incidents of man made disasters the Federation has contributed funds to provide stretchers, blankets, surgical gloves, mattresses, body bags and first-aid kits. Long-term man-made disasters Long-term man made disasters tend to refer to civil strife, civil war and international war. On a national level this involves warlike encounters between armed groups from the same country which take place within the boarders. Such outbreaks of war may pose large-scale medical problems such as epidemics, lack of water, accumulation of rubbish, displaced persons, refugees, food shortage, hunger etc. Internationally, war may break out between two or more armies from different countries. Similarly such conflict may cause large scale mass movements of refugees and displaced persons. Man-made disasters cost the most in terms of human suffering, loss of life and long-term damage to a country's economy and productive capacity. The last decade has seen a marked increase in what are known as "complex emergencies" - complex because war and internal conflict lead to the breakdown and collapse of social, political and economic structures. Sometimes these emergencies are accompanied by natural disasters, which compound their complexity. Inevitably agriculture and food production are major casualties. Other issues include pollution and discharge by ships in the Caribbean, over-fishing in the Pacific and the rising tide of household and other forms of waste on the Atlantic and Indian Ocean islands. Some small islands, such as the Comoros in the Indian Ocean, are also facing serious freshwater shortages partly as a result of contamination and over exploitation. Unique animal and plant species are also under threat from habitat clearance and the introduction of alien, invasive species from other parts of the world. Dominica and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean are small islands with high levels of potentially damaging ‘invaders’. |
| “The year 2004 had many more victims of manmade conflict than natural disasters. Over 2 million people have been driven from their homes in Sudan. The death toll was predicted to rise to 300,000 as the year ended. The United Nations describes the situation in Sudan as the "worst humanitarian crisis in history." The U.S. Congress passed a bill in December to give Sudan $300 million in aid, but the money has not been appropriated. There is no military commitment to Sudan in this bill. This should not surprise us since the United States (under President Clinton) has a track record of being too late and too little to stop genocide. Over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 1994 while we stood on the sidelines and watched. Meanwhile, we must take responsibility for the death resulting from our own doing. Iraq war causalities mount daily. The U.S. military death toll is over 1,300. The Iraqi civilian death toll is estimated to be any number from 15,000 to 100,000, depending on the reporting agency. The cost of the Iraq war is close to $148 billion and projected to cost at least $40 billion a year for the foreseeable future. This number represents an enormous opportunity cost in what good we could do for our nation and the nations of the world. As President Eisenhower reminded the nation in 1953, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed." “ – Ellen Ratner at WorldNet Daily Commentary - January 3, 2005 |
• Airplane Accidents
• Nuclear Disasters
• Oil Spills
• Structural Failures
• Blackouts
• Chemical Emergencies Overview
• Dirty Bombs
• Explosions
• Hazardous Materials
• Household Chemical Emergency
• Terrorism: Will be address on another site.
• Genocide - Darfur's Manmade Disaster
• Nuclear Disasters
• Oil Spills
• Structural Failures
• Blackouts
• Chemical Emergencies Overview
• Dirty Bombs
• Explosions
• Hazardous Materials
• Household Chemical Emergency
• Terrorism: Will be address on another site.
• Genocide - Darfur's Manmade Disaster
Partial Listing of Major Man-Made Systemic Disasters
79 AD Fire Rome, Italy 3/4 of city burned.
740-744 Bubonic Plague Constantinople, Turkey 200,000 dead.
1545 Typhus Cuba 250,000 dead.
1672 Bubonic Plague Naples, Italy 400,000 dead.
1711 Bubonic Plague Germany & Austria 500,000 dead.
1737 Cyclone Calcutta, India 300,000 dead.
1792 Bubonic Plague Egypt 800,000 dead.
1831 Marine Europe 900,000 dead.
1826-1837 Cholera New Jersey Lady Sherbrooke sank. 283 dead.
1834 Fire London, England Houses of Parliament burned.
1850 Marine Margate, England Royal Adelaide wrecked. 400 dead.
1855 Mine Virginia Coal mine exploded. 55 dead.
1856 Rail Philadelphia, Pa. Train wrecked. 66 dead.
1859 Marine Irish Sea Royal Charter wrecked. 450 dead.
1863-1875 Cholera World 230,000 dead.
1865 Marine Memphis, Tenn. Sultana exploded. 1,400 dead.
1866 Fire Quebec, Canada 2,500 buildings destroyed.
1877 Fire St. John, New Brunswick, Canada 100 dead. $12,500,000 damages.
1878 Marine The Thames, London, England Princess Alice. 700 dead.
1881 Fire Vienna, Austria Ring Theatre. 600 dead.
1884 Mine Colorado Coal mine exploded. 59 dead.
1887 Fire Paris, France Opera Comique burned. 200 dead.
1888 Blizzard Eastern Seaboard, U.S. 400 dead.
1888 Rail Pennsylvania 50 dead.
1891 Marine Gibraltar Utopia sank. 574 dead.
1891 Rail Basel, Switzerland Collision. 100 dead.
1894 Forest Fire Hinckley, Minn. 160,000 acres burned.
1898-1908 Bubonic Plague China & India 3 million dead.
1900 Fire Hoboken, N.J. 300 dead. $4,500,000 damages.
1904 Marine New York, N.Y. General Slocum burned. 1,000 dead.
1907 Mine Jacobs Creek, Pa. Mine exploded. 239 dead.
1909-1918 Bubonic Plague China & India 1,335,000 dead.
1911 Fire New York, N.Y. Triangle shirtwaist factory. 145 dead.
1914 Marine St. Lawrence River, Canada Pacific Empress sank. 1,024 dead.
1915 Typhus Serbia 150,000 dead.
1915 Marine Chicago River, III. Excursion boat Eastland capsized. 900 dead.
1917 Marine Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada S.S. Mont Blanc collided with Belgian ship. Explosion
started fire that burned one sq. mi. 1,400 dead.
1917-1921 Typhus Russia 2,500,000 dead.
1920 Bubonic Plague India 2 million dead.
1921 Cholera India 500,000 dead.
1921 Marine S. China Sea Hong Kong wrecked. 1,000 dead.
1924 Cholera India 300,000 dead.
1926-1930 Smallpox India 423,000 dead.
1927 Mine Everettville, W.Va. Coal mine exploded. 97 dead.
1930 Fire Columbus, O. Penitentiary burned. 317 dead.
1934 Fire Hakodate, Japan Fire destroyed city. 1,500 dead.
1942 Mine Manchuria Mine exploded. 1,549 dead.
1947 Marine Texas City, Tex. S.S. Grandcamp exploded. Burned city. 561 dead. $67 million damages.
1951 Aircraft Colorado DC-6 crashed. 50 dead.
1955 Rail Guadalajara, Mexico Train derailed into canyon. 300 dead.
1958 Aircraft Kanash, U.S.S.R. TU-104 crashed. 65 dead.
1962 Aircraft W. Pacific Ocean Flying Tiger Constellation disappeared. 109 lost.
1965 Aircraft Cairo, Egypt Pakistan 707 crashed. 119 dead.
1967 Missile Cape Kennedy, Fla. Apollo 1 Spacecraft burned on pad. 3 astronauts killed.
1970 Rail Buenos Aires, Argentina Collision. 235 dead.
1971 Earthquake Los Angeles, Calif. 64 dead.
1972 Aircraft Palermo, Italy DC-3 crashed. 115 dead.
1972 Rail Saltillo, Mexico Passenger train jumped tracks. 110 dead.
79 AD Fire Rome, Italy 3/4 of city burned.
740-744 Bubonic Plague Constantinople, Turkey 200,000 dead.
1545 Typhus Cuba 250,000 dead.
1672 Bubonic Plague Naples, Italy 400,000 dead.
1711 Bubonic Plague Germany & Austria 500,000 dead.
1737 Cyclone Calcutta, India 300,000 dead.
1792 Bubonic Plague Egypt 800,000 dead.
1831 Marine Europe 900,000 dead.
1826-1837 Cholera New Jersey Lady Sherbrooke sank. 283 dead.
1834 Fire London, England Houses of Parliament burned.
1850 Marine Margate, England Royal Adelaide wrecked. 400 dead.
1855 Mine Virginia Coal mine exploded. 55 dead.
1856 Rail Philadelphia, Pa. Train wrecked. 66 dead.
1859 Marine Irish Sea Royal Charter wrecked. 450 dead.
1863-1875 Cholera World 230,000 dead.
1865 Marine Memphis, Tenn. Sultana exploded. 1,400 dead.
1866 Fire Quebec, Canada 2,500 buildings destroyed.
1877 Fire St. John, New Brunswick, Canada 100 dead. $12,500,000 damages.
1878 Marine The Thames, London, England Princess Alice. 700 dead.
1881 Fire Vienna, Austria Ring Theatre. 600 dead.
1884 Mine Colorado Coal mine exploded. 59 dead.
1887 Fire Paris, France Opera Comique burned. 200 dead.
1888 Blizzard Eastern Seaboard, U.S. 400 dead.
1888 Rail Pennsylvania 50 dead.
1891 Marine Gibraltar Utopia sank. 574 dead.
1891 Rail Basel, Switzerland Collision. 100 dead.
1894 Forest Fire Hinckley, Minn. 160,000 acres burned.
1898-1908 Bubonic Plague China & India 3 million dead.
1900 Fire Hoboken, N.J. 300 dead. $4,500,000 damages.
1904 Marine New York, N.Y. General Slocum burned. 1,000 dead.
1907 Mine Jacobs Creek, Pa. Mine exploded. 239 dead.
1909-1918 Bubonic Plague China & India 1,335,000 dead.
1911 Fire New York, N.Y. Triangle shirtwaist factory. 145 dead.
1914 Marine St. Lawrence River, Canada Pacific Empress sank. 1,024 dead.
1915 Typhus Serbia 150,000 dead.
1915 Marine Chicago River, III. Excursion boat Eastland capsized. 900 dead.
1917 Marine Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada S.S. Mont Blanc collided with Belgian ship. Explosion
started fire that burned one sq. mi. 1,400 dead.
1917-1921 Typhus Russia 2,500,000 dead.
1920 Bubonic Plague India 2 million dead.
1921 Cholera India 500,000 dead.
1921 Marine S. China Sea Hong Kong wrecked. 1,000 dead.
1924 Cholera India 300,000 dead.
1926-1930 Smallpox India 423,000 dead.
1927 Mine Everettville, W.Va. Coal mine exploded. 97 dead.
1930 Fire Columbus, O. Penitentiary burned. 317 dead.
1934 Fire Hakodate, Japan Fire destroyed city. 1,500 dead.
1942 Mine Manchuria Mine exploded. 1,549 dead.
1947 Marine Texas City, Tex. S.S. Grandcamp exploded. Burned city. 561 dead. $67 million damages.
1951 Aircraft Colorado DC-6 crashed. 50 dead.
1955 Rail Guadalajara, Mexico Train derailed into canyon. 300 dead.
1958 Aircraft Kanash, U.S.S.R. TU-104 crashed. 65 dead.
1962 Aircraft W. Pacific Ocean Flying Tiger Constellation disappeared. 109 lost.
1965 Aircraft Cairo, Egypt Pakistan 707 crashed. 119 dead.
1967 Missile Cape Kennedy, Fla. Apollo 1 Spacecraft burned on pad. 3 astronauts killed.
1970 Rail Buenos Aires, Argentina Collision. 235 dead.
1971 Earthquake Los Angeles, Calif. 64 dead.
1972 Aircraft Palermo, Italy DC-3 crashed. 115 dead.
1972 Rail Saltillo, Mexico Passenger train jumped tracks. 110 dead.
| Man-Made Natural Disasters? A few months back, NYC Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy held a roundtable discussion on how foundations can make grants in response to disasters with a social justice lens. The event was timely then, due to the tsunami that struck Asia. It was a fascinating conversation, featuring senior and emerging leaders from the Red Cross, CitiGroup Foundation, the Foundation Center, Give to Asia, and related groups. One of the more remarkable comments that lodged in my memory, which came from one of the mentors in the NYC EPIP Mentoring Program, went something like this: "Every natural disaster is a man-made disaster." It is the human decisions and policies (regarding thing like zoning and real estate, water use, public transportation, poverty, infrastructure investment) that determine the human costs of naturally-created events. In the case of the tsunami, decisions about where to build (and re-build) villages and homes -- where poor people could afford to build (i.e. in known dangerous areas), where wealthier people would never build, where government allow developers to build -- then has a tremendous impact on who was killed, made homeless, etc. When foundations and other donors attempted to respond, those thinking about how to avoid a repetition of the disaster had to consider what equitable rebuilding would mean. As part of my previous job, I worked on a grantmaking program that supported community organizations in a number of states in the South. Through this work, I had the opportunity to travel to Mississippi, Alabama and elsewhere in the region. I heard stories first hand from community leaders that flatly laid out the economic and racial disparity, and the reactionary politics and policies, that are very much alive today in the South. Clearly the social aftershocks of Katrina have been this bad in large part due to the under-development, entrenched poverty, and continuous institutionalized racial segration. Many of the human effects of this natural disaster were likely man-made. Of course, this does not just apply to the South. The line of cars clogging the highways to get out of town before the storm were evidence of the generally severe individualism of this society. Who would have thought of getting buses or trains or caravans or carpools to help people without cars or other resources out of town? But if cities and regions invested in regional rail or other forms of public transportation, more people probably would be able to get out of such situations in timely, affordable ways. So while the natural disaster calls for recovery and rebuilding, the man-made disaster calls for rethinking our society's investments in urban and rural areas, and the new ways in which we need to address poverty and disenfranchisement. A Sept 1 column, The Storm After The Storm, by David Brooks column in The New York Times more eloquently describes how "(f)loods wash away the surface of society, the settled way things have been done. They expose the underlying power structures, the injustices, the patterns of corruption and the unacknowledged inequalities." I would encourage readers to post comments with your own thoughts on these matters, and invite any EPIP members in the Mid-South or the South at large to add comments. Friday, September 02, 2005 Rusty Stahl Location: New York, New York, US Epiphanies: Musings & news from Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy [http://epip.org] |
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