Natural disaster is an environmental hazard. It is known as disaster because—
• it is mostly unpredictable.
• it causes enormous loss of life and property.
In general, the intensity of reaction is affected by the following:
(i) The severity of the disaster, and the loss incurred both in terms of property and life.
(ii) The individual’s general coping ability.
(iii) Other stressful experiences before the disaster. For e.g., people, who have experienced stress before, may find it more difficult to deal with another difficult and stressful situation. But, there are ways to be prepared to minimize their decussating consequence in the form of:
1. Warning: when cyclones or high tides are predicted, fishermen are asked not to venture into the sea.
2. Safety Measure: Unfortunately, in the case of some natural disasters such as earthquakes, even if prediction is possible, the events came too suddenly for people to be mentally prepared. Therefore tips are given beforehand about to do when there is an earthquake.
3. Treatment of Psychological Disorder: This includes self-help approach as well as professional treatment. According to some experts who deal with PTSD,one of the key attitude to be developed in the survivors is that of ‘self-efficacy’ i.e. that the belief that “I can do it” or “I came out of this phase successfully”.
(a) Immediate Reaction: The immediate reaction after a disaster is commonly manifest in the form of disorientation. People take some time to understand the full meaning of what the disaster has done to them. They may deny to themselves that something terrible has happened.
(b) Physical Reaction:
There is bodily exhaustion even without physical activity such as-
• Sleep disturbances.
• Change in eating pattern.
• Increased heart-beat and blood-pressure.
(c) Emotional Reaction:
• Fear
• Grief
• Irritability
• Anger (why should this happen to me)
• Helplessness
• Hopelessness
• Depression
• Numbness (absolute lack of emotion)
• Guilt feelings for having survived while someone else died
• Lack of interest in routine jobs
(d) Cognitive Reaction:
• Worry
• Difficulty in concentration
• Reduced span of attention
• Confusion
• Loss of memory
• Nightmare of the event
(e) Social Reactions:
• Withdrawal from others
• Getting into conflict with others
• Having frequent arguments with even
• Feeling rejected or left out Very often in the midst of severe emotional reaction to stress, some survivors may develop positive outlook on life with empathy.
