Environmental Health Management after Natural Disaster - A Study Guide
Lesson 4 - Phase two: Measures taken during the disaster and in the aftermath
Study Guide
In this lesson the importance of advance planning is evident. It
provides detailed information on how to carry out the Environmental Health
Emergency Operations Plan during the warning period, as the disaster occurs, and
in the immediate postdisaster emergency period. Finally, during the
consolidation period, recovery measures begin.
Learning Objectives
List the three time frames within phase two: during and
immediately following a natural disaster.
Understand the principal objectives that should be met during each
time frame.
Know ways to assure safe food, potable water, facilities for
sanitation and hygiene, adequate shelter, and vector control during and
immediately following a disaster.
Be aware of the necessity of keeping the population fully informed
during this period.
Know the measures to be taken during the period of consolidation,
as steps toward recovery begin.
Learning Activities
Read pages 23-35 in the manual.
Read pages 47-50 in the manual (Annex 2), particularly if you will
be involved in provision of safe drinking water.
Scan pages 51-55. This will be useful for detailed planning of
environmental health measures during the immediate postdisaster emergency
period.
Evaluation
Complete the Self-Assessment Test.
Notes
Lesson 4 - Self Assessment Test
Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer(s):
1. Activities taken during the emergency warning period include:
a. testing of water for the presence of Escherichia
coli and unsafe concentrations of nitrate
b. providing safe,
adequate shelter to stricken populations
c. dusting of displaced persons to
protect against spread of typhus
d. mobilizing emergency personnel and
informing threatened population of what to do
e. preparing lists of needed
assistance and submitting them to relief agencies
2. Food spoilage is commonly the result of:
a. overcrowding
b. power outage
c. shortages of
environmental personnel
d. interruption of vector control
activities
3. During the immediate postdisaster emergency period, ways to
determine which areas merit greater attention include: (select two)
a. sending out questionnaires to all stricken areas
for distribution to and response from each household or displaced person
b.
conducting epidemiologic surveys of the incidence of disease
c. checking
population movements within or near stricken sites
d. determining remaining
stocks of all perishable foodstuffs
e. surveying the availability of water,
food, shelter, and waste disposal in stricken areas
f. calculating the
reserve capacities of retail and wholesale food outlets
4. The most essential item that disaster-stricken populations must
be provided with is:
a. nonperishable food
b. medicine
c. fuel
d.
drinking water
e. adequate waste disposal
f. shelter material
5. Latrine requirements in disaster operations include:
a. 1 seat/20 persons in tent camps
b. 1 seat/35
women in temporary building shelters
c. 1 bore-holed trench/10 persons
d.
1 shallow trench/200 persons
e. none of the above
6. Large volumes of water that will be hauled to camps or to
consumers in affected areas should be:
a. cooled
b. stored
c. aerated
d.
strained
e. disinfected
f. heated
7. A____ is essential to the sanitary maintenance of latrines.
a. sufficient supply of cleaning agents
b. health
education program in latrine Usage and upkeep
c. survey of latrine
construction projects
d. sufficient quantity of water
e. system of
monitoring for the presence of nitrates
8. Overturning receptacles can prevent:
a. damage to materials from constructing temporary
shelters
b. proper functioning of a refuse collection system
c.
proliferation of disease-carrying insects
d. accumulation of foul-tasting
water
9. In general, displaced persons should be encouraged and assisted
to:
a. evacuate to temporary resettlement camps
b. stay
with family, friends, or in nearby public buildings
c. construct permanent
settlements as far away as possible from the stricken area
d. apply to aid
organizations for tents and sleeping bags
e. move to the nearest urban
center
10. Tablets can be used to disinfect water following which
guideline(s):
a. the eight milligrams of elemental iodine released
by the most common iodine tablet can treat 10 liters of water in one minute.
b. water should be strained through layers of cloth or allowed to
settle before disinfectant tablets are added
c. 160 milligram Halazone tablets can disinfect 40 liters of
turbid water
d. all of the above
11. In relief operations. which of the following water
requirements is incorrect:
a. 50 liters/person in field hospitals
b. 35
liters/person in washing installations
c. 25 liters/person in mass feeding
centers
d. 5 liters/person in temporary camps
e. all of the
above
12. Overcrowding can lead to disease principally because:
a. accessibility to medical care is severely
curtailed
b. maintaining standards of personal hygiene becomes more
difficult
c. water supplies are likely to become contaminated
d. lack of
privacy, introduction of unfamiliar food, and mental stress all lead to a
breakdown in the body's immune system
e. people generally take their pets and
domestic livestock with them
13. In camps for displaced persons, it is important that residents
be made aware of:
a. the camp's sanitation regulations
b. where to
locate alternate sources of drinking water
c. names and titles of authorities
to contact
d. how to disinfect their own water
e. timetables for returning
to their homes
14. Emergency environmental health control measures are carried
out:
a. during phase one of a disaster
b. as soon as a
warning is received
c. after the rescue and accommodations of displaced
persons
d. only by qualified environmental health specialists
e. in
response to requests from officials in the stricken area
15. Water located near sewage outfalls, chemical plants, solid
waste disposal fields and abandoned mines
a. should be boiled
b. should be disinfected before
using
c. should be tested for the presence of E. colli and high
concentrations of nitrates
d. should never be used
e. should not be used
unless determined safe by a knowledgeable environmental health specialist
f.
should be used only as a last resort
16. After mains, reservoirs, and wells have been repaired, they
should be:
a. put back into service immediately
b. inspected
by a qualified environmental health specialist
c. cleaned and
disinfected
d. monitored daily for chlorine residuals
17. Match water requirements in different settings with the
appropriate volumes:
___Minimum daily water capacity in temporary settlements and camps
___Daily consumption of water in field hospitals
___Minimum daily amount of water needed during evacuation in the
tropics
a. 3 liters/person
b. 6 liters/person
c. 15
liters/person
d. 40-60 liters/person
18. Tank trucks are used for transporting
a. solid waste
b. drinking water
c. emergency
personnel
d. equipment and supplies
e. gasoline
f. milk
19. Final disposal of solid waste in tent camps should be by:
a. waterproof and insectproof solid waste disposal
containers
b. transport
c. incineration
d. treatment at a sewage
treatment plant
e. burial
f. a or b
g. c or e
h. d or e
20. Covering food and water containers and removing all debris and
garbage protects against:
a. pets and domestic livestock
b. contact with
insecticides
c. fire hazard
d. disease vectors
e. spoilage
21. The first concern of decision makers during emergency periods
is:
a. chemical contamination of food and water
supplies
b. salt water contamination of food and water supplies
c.
chlorine contamination of food and water supplies
d. heavy metal
contamination of food and water supplies
e. microbial contamination of food
and water supplies
f. vector contamination of food and water
supplies
22. Precautions regarding the use of Halazone tablets in water
disinfection include:
a. dosages for turbid and clear water are
identical
b. before consumption, water should always stand one hour following
disinfection
c. tablets come in two strengths with different tablet-to-water
ratios
d. all of the above
True/False
Indicate T or F:
___23. All food should be inspected and analyzed in the immediate
aftermath of a disaster.
___24. Priority should be given to the consumption of
non-perishable food.
___25. When people are informed of what services are available,
where to go and whom to contact, it improves the effectiveness of environmental
health activities.
Answer Key
