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Assessment of Major and Minor Events that Occurred in Italy during the Last Century Using a Disaster Severity Scale Score

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Giorgia Ferro
Giorgia Ferro*
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthetics and Intensive Care, Critical Care Unit, Policlinico A. Gemelli University Hospital, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
*
Via Tespi 1000125 RomeItaly E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Introduction:

Epidemiological research about disasters is difficult to perform. Most often, it must be completed retrospectively, since data collection may not be feasible or possible during the disaster.Now, there is a recognized need for a standard method to assess the severity of a disaster.

Objectives:

The aim of this paper is to assess the severity of the disasters that occurred in Italy during the 20th century, using a Disaster Severity Scale (DSS). Another goal is to find a standard method for the classification of previous disasters, test the feasibility and reliability of the use of the Disaster Severity Scale, and improvedisaster management and planning.

Methods:

Data were obtained from formal reports of the Civil Defence Unit (Italy) and were used to calculate the Disaster Severity Scale score. Disasters were classified into major and minor disasters, according tothe numbers of deaths and severity of the damage. The number of deaths was compared with the obtained Disaster Severity Scale score. A seasonal trend for different types of events was obtained to assess if there is a relationship between the type of event and the time of the year in which it occurred, as related to the weather conditions existing at that time.

Results:

There were enough data to calculate a Disaster Severity Scale score for 26 major events that caused death and economic damage, and occurred in Italy between 18 March 1944 and 11 November 1999, and for 82 minor events, that occurred between October 1982 and December 1999. There were some significant peaks varying from different types of events during particular seasons, but the cause for those with the highest incidence is not clear. Events related to natural hazards were the only type of event that reached the highest Disaster Severity Scale when considering the number of deaths, while no events associated with man-made hazards had a Disaster Severity Scale score >8.

Conclusion:

The Disaster Severity Scale score could be a reliable index for the assessment of events related to either natural or man-made disasters. Use of the Disaster Severity Scale allows researchers to classify previous hazards by scoring each disaster's severity. Further studies in other countries could be useful to further validate the Disaster Severity Scale.

Keywords

disastereventhazardsItalymanagementplanningseasonsseverity score
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , October 2005 , pp. 316 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2005

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