On 28 March 1982, El Chichon, a volcanic peak located in southern Mexico, began an eruptive phase of activity. Four major eruptions occurred within the next eight days, culminating in a cataclysmic eruption on 4 April. When the dust had settled, an estimated 200 million tons of ash blanketed more than 200 square kilometers of southern Mexico and neighboring Central American countries. Forty thousand villagers were left homeless and several thousand people may have lost their lives. Fifty thousand head of cattle were destroyed outright with many more succumbing to lack of water and pasture. Millions of hectares of crops were destroyed (Figure 1).

The Civil War in Georgia

On 9 April 1991, the Republic of Georgia proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union. Sviat Gamsakhurdia, an anti-communist leader of the Georgian Nationalist movement, was elected President by an overwhelming majority. Soon after the election, however, Gamsakhurdia's popularity began to plummet. He was accused of suppressing any opposition, and he and his supporters accused the opposition of being in league with Moscow and seeking to sabotage Georgian independence. Demonstrators in Tbilisi, the capital city, demanded the resignation of the new government, and the government relied increasingly upon armed forces to maintain power.

The developments of emergency medicine and emergency medical services (EMS) have occurred simultaneously although at times on parallel paths. The recognition of EMS providers as physician surrogates and emergency care resources as an extension of emergency department care has mandated close physician involvement. This intimate physician involvement in EMS activities is now well accepted. It has, however, pointed out the need for in-depth training of physicians in the subspecialty of EMS.

This self-study course will meet the needs of people involved in disaster management for both sudden-onset natural disasters (i.e., earthquakes, floods, hurricanes) and slow-onset disasters (i.e., famine, drought). The course is designed for government personnel, representatives of private, voluntary agencies, and other individuals interested in disaster management.

The nine lessons for the course will be published successively in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. Self-assessment tests will accompany each lesson. There also is a final examination offered for those who wish to earn continuing education units (CEUs) through the University of Wisconsin—Disaster Management Center (UW-DMC).

This course is an introduction to the topic of natural hazards, their causes and their consequences. The subject is so vast that this course cannot begin to provide a definitive treatment of all aspects of these hazards. Instead, it seeks to present an overview of the general subject.

The course begins with a definition of each major natural hazard that disaster managers may encounter in developing countries. Historical examples are presented to give perspective to the potential scope of these natural events and their actual effects within a community or country. The geographical distribution of the hazard type, indicating the possibility of its occurrence in all parts of the world, is shown. The natural pre-conditions that must exist for the phenomenon to occur are described. The actual event is described in its physical/natural manifestation, with a detailed account of what happens and why, before, during, and after the event. The impact on the natural and human-produced environment—the reason it becomes a “disaster” rather than simply a natural phenomenon—is reviewed. Each lesson then discusses what disaster managers, in particular, and the public, in general, can do to respond.