Anthropocentric and Natural Disasters, Catastrophic Impacts of Natural Disasters - Literature review Example

People, Health and the Environment Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course name Date of Submission People, Health and the Environment Natural disasters have become increasingly common in the present day society. Scientists attribute the increase to the climate change that has been witnessed over the last few decades. In fact, most of the natural disasters that have occurred in the recent past have been so devastating, resulting in the destruction of property, injuries to victims and even loss of lives. Some of the notable natural disasters that occurred in the recent past include the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, the 2009 Black Saturday bushfire, the Japanese tsunami, the Christchurch earthquake of 2011, the flooding on the eastern states of Australia and the 2010 Haiti earthquake among others. Fortunately, evidence gathered during natural disasters has showed that natural disasters usually impact both positively and negatively on the victims' health through "sense of place". Although there is no agreeable definition as to what constitute "sense of place," Eyles and Williams (2008, p. 2) define the term as the characteristics that make a place unique or special to someone. Accordingly, the term sense of place entails an individual's attachment to a particular place or the comfort that an individual derives from a particular place. As such, natural disaster usually impacts the health of victims by ripping them off the sense of place. This document will demonstrate the extent to which natural disasters can have both positive and negative impacts on people's health through sense of place using the 2010 Haiti earthquake as the case study. Different parts of the world have been hit by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, flooding, storms and tsunamis among others. However, the 2010 Haiti earthquake ranks among the most devastating natural disasters ever recorded in history. The about 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010 killing at least 160,000 people and displacing more than 1.5 million others (Dass-Brailsford et al. 2015, p. 14). In fact, although five years have passed since the incident occurred, scars of this devastating tragedy can still be seen in most of the places that were hard-hit, especially areas closer to the epicenter, where rabbles of collapsed buildings can still be seen. However, one of the most catastrophic impacts of natural disasters is that they make an individual lose their sense of place which is critical for their lives. As earlier stated, sense of place denotes characteristics that make a place peculiar or special to an individual or community. Sense of place, therefore, is the ties or relationships that people have in a particular place, including the traditions, customs and the environment. Eyles and Williams (2008) claim that every individual has an attachment to a particular place which they consider dear and seek comfort whenever they are in trouble. However, natural disasters normally impact individual through loss of sense of place. The loss of sense of place resulting from natural disaster particularly became apparent during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Firstly, this devastating earthquake resulted in the loss of sense of place for the community affected in the sense that it resulted in the destruction of Haitians homes, farms and businesses. Guimaro et al. (2010)3, p. 8) noted that several homes and properties were destroyed living thousands of Haitians homeless without a place to call home. According to a report, more than 1.5 million Haitians were displaced from their homes. Accordingly, the earthquake resulted in the loss of a sense of place in the sense that the displaced were set adrift from a place that they have called home, formed a relationship and sought comfort for many years. Secondly, the Haiti earthquake impacted the sense of place in the sense that it resulted in the loss of thousands of Haitians who are important to their families and friends. According to Guimaro et al. (2013, p. 5) report, more than 160,000 Haitians died following the earthquake, resulting in loss of sense of place by their families and friends who have close ties and attachments to the deceased. In fact, thousands of children were orphaned following the devastating earthquake, resulting in their loss of sense of place. However, Eyles and Williams (2008, p. 14) have found that natural disasters can impact the health of an individual either positively or negatively through sense of place. As noted above, the most devastating impact of the Haiti earthquake is that it resulted in the loss of sense of place for the victims. The loss of sense of place made thousands of survivors and their families react in a manner that has impacted their health negatively in a variety of ways. Firstly, it is noted that the majority of survivors of the terrible and devastating disaster found themselves in deep shock and trauma following the disasters. Although psychologists argue that it is normal for an individual who has undergone a traumatic experience such as the Haiti earthquake to feel frightened, anxious and even sad, the fact that such a disaster result in loss of sense of place makes most victims of natural disasters experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to Oflaz, Hatipoğlu and Aydin (2008, p. 677), the loss of a sense of place makes it difficult for victims of disasters to recover from the negative thoughts and the trauma resulting from the disaster. As such, they feel that they are constantly in danger resulting in PTSD. In fact, studies conducted in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake found that the majority of the victims of the 2010 earthquake who were impacted by the loss of sense of place still suffer PTSD. This is after the findings showed that the majority still feel that they are in danger and are frightened to live where they always called home because of the fear that the earthquake might reoccur. Secondly loss of sense of place by the Haitians following the 2010 earthquake has also impacted negatively on the health of the majority of the victims who developed depression after witnessing their friends and families perish. Davidson and McFarlane (2006, p. 10) reveal that depression has been the major mental health disorders associated with disasters. According to Dass-Brailsford et al. (2015), thousands of Haitians developed depressive symptoms accompanied by anxiety following the disaster. However, psychologist attributes the development of the depressive symptoms to the loss of sense of place caused by the devastating effects of the earthquake. In this respect, it is noted that the majority of those who developed depressive symptoms were individuals who had a strong attachment to the place where the incident occurs. As such, when the earthquake occurred, they were forced to leave where they have called home for many years. Some even lost their friends, relatives, siblings and even work colleagues to whom they have strong attachment and relationship. Therefore, because the majority could not withstand the loss of their sense of place, they ended up developing depressive symptoms, which impacts negatively on their health. Additionally, evidences gathered in Haiti after the earthquake has showed that the loss of sense of place following the disaster had negative health impacts on many victims and their families. It is noted that hundreds of the victims and the relatives of those who were either injured or died in the earthquake started abusing drugs after finding it difficult coping with the sudden loss of their sense of place. In this regard, the victims who could not find refuge in their sense of pace after being set adrift from their homes by the earthquake ended up indulging in alcoholism and drug abuse in an attempt to forget their ordeal (Bryant 2009). Although the loss of sense of place due to disasters have many negative health impacts on the people, McMillen, Smith and Fisher (1997, p. 733) argue that natural disasters, such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake can have a positive impact on the health of the people through sense of place. As noted earlier, the devastating impact of Haiti earthquake caused the loss of a sense of place for many people who were forced to leave places, where they have called home for many years in search for a new place to settle. In fact, it is noted that the Haiti government was forced to provide a new settlement place to thousands of victims whose homes and properties were destroyed by the earthquake. However, the loss of sense of control had a positive impact on the victims' health in the sense that it gave the community affected by the earthquake the opportunity to galvanize and provide support for each other, emotionally, psychologically and socially (Golembiewski 2013). This is beneficial to the health of the people affected who were affected by the disaster since it inoculates against the mental illnesses that the victims could have developed by promoting social bonds and making people feel a sense of purpose and meaning. In conclusion, natural disasters have become increasingly common in the 21st century. The 2010 Haiti earthquake, however, has been cited as one of the most devastating earthquakes in history. The earthquake killed more than 160,000 people and displaced more than 1.5 million others. However, the most devastating aspect of this earthquake is that it destroyed the sense of place for many Haitians by not only displacing thousands from a place where they have called home for many years, but also snatching them of their loved ones. However, from the discussion, it has emerged that the Haiti earthquake had both positive and negative impacts on the health of the community through the sense of control. In this respect, the loss of sense of place following the earthquake made some people develop PTSD, anxiety, depression and even drug abuse. However, the positive health impact of the loss of sense of place is that it promoted social bond among the affected people, thereby inoculate against the mental illness that are associated with disasters. References Bryant, R 2009, The impacts of natural disasters on mental health, viewed 27 March 2015 https://www.psychology.org.au/inpsych/impact_disasters/ Davidson, J. R., & McFarlane, A. C2006, “The extent and impact of mental health problems after disaster,” J Clin Psychiatry, vol.67, no. 2, pp. 9-14. Dass-Brailsford, P., Thomley, R. S. H., Talisman, N. W., & Unverferth, K. T 2015, “Psychological effects of the 2010 Haitian earthquake on children: An exploratory study,” American Psychological Association, vol. 21, no.1, pp. 14-21. Eyles, J., & Williams, A 2008, Sense of place, health and quality of life. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, Sydney, Australia. Golembiewski, J 2013, Natural disasters have unexpected impacts on mental health, viewed 27 March 2015 http://theconversation.com/natural-disasters-have-unexpected-impacts-on-mental-health-11573 Guimaro, M. S., Steinman, M., Kernkraut, A. M., do Santos, O. F. P., & Lacerda, S. S. 2013, Psychological distress in survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Einstein (São Paulo), vol.11 no.1, pp.1-7. McMillen, J. C., Smith, E. M., & Fisher, R. H 1997, “Perceived benefit and mental health after three types of disaster,” J Consult Clin Psychol, vol. 65, no. 5, pp. 733-9. Oflaz, F., Hatipoğlu, S., Aydin, H 2008, “Effectiveness of psychoeducation intervention on post-traumatic stress disorder and coping styles of earthquake survivors,” Journal of Clinical Nursing, vol.17, no. 5, pp. 677-87 Read More