Abstract
Disasters in cold weather pose extreme and demanding conditions on victims and assistance providers, as evidenced by the Spitak earthquake. This type of disaster situation, where the weather alone can pose an immediate and significant threat to the lives of victims and helpers, is a major risk for large areas of the world during at least part of the year. The paper identifies issues concerning disasters during cold weather and suggests options to consider in addressing these issues. These options include: (1) Increase Indigenous SelfSupport Capacities, (2) Integrate Local and External Assistance (3) Better Define External Assistance Support Requirements (4) Consider Changes in Basic Support Systems, and (5) Document Experience and Lessons Learned. The paper is only an initial scoping of issues and options and concludes that a more structures consideration of the relationship between cold weather and disaster response is needed to avoid unnecessary suffering when major disasters occur in temperate climates.
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Kelly, C. (2000). Disaster ASsistance in Cold Weather Conditions: An Overview of Issues and Options. In: Balassanian, S., Cisternas, A., Melkumyan, M. (eds) Earthquake Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9544-5_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9544-5_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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