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34.0: Introduction

Last updated

Feb 13, 2025
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- 34: Disaster and Recovery
- 34.1: Environmental Disasters

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A color photograph shows a disaster area with cleanup workers in the background and a small child’s toy in the foreground.

Figure 34.1 Environmental disasters, like the destruction of a tornado, can be devastating. Nurses need to be aware of the role they play in disaster response. (credit: “Picking up the pieces” by Staff Sgt. Mike Meares/U.S. Air Force, Public Domain)

In any profession, in any walk of life, the environment and the way it behaves affects all people. Environmental disasters can cause unimaginable damage to life and property. As a nurse, it is important to understand these disasters, how they come about, how they affect individuals and communities, and how to respond to of them. Whether a disaster is meteorological (from the atmosphere), geological (from within the earth), or water-related, it can cause significant devastation and loss of life. Nurses are an integral part of disaster response. They must be prepared to protect their current patients from the disaster and handle an influx of new patients in the immediate aftermath. Knowledge of these disasters and how to respond to them is essential to all nurses.

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