TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Natural Disasters A1 - Mills, Lisa D. A1 - Mills, Trevor J. A2 - Tintinalli, Judith E. A2 - Stapczynski, J. Stephan A2 - Ma, O. John A2 - Yealy, Donald M. A2 - Meckler, Garth D. A2 - Cline, David M. PY - 2016 T2 - Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide, 8e AB - Natural disasters continue to be an unpredictable source of worldwide morbidity and mortality and present unique challenges for practitioners of emergency care. The 2002 to 2011 annual average worldwide mortality rate was 107,000 deaths/year from natural disasters, with an average of 268 million worldwide victims per year during the same time period and an economic cost of $143 billion in 2012.1 With the increase in rapidly mobilized recovery teams, emergency physicians are at the forefront of patient care following a natural disaster. It is here that we can have the greatest impact in treating survivors and minimizing secondary morbidity and mortality, often in the setting of a significantly impaired healthcare system. Research suggests that the burden of natural disasters is likely to rise in the coming years, due to increasing population density in high-risk areas and risks associated with expanding technology (e.g., fires or earthquakes in larger and taller buildings or critical infrastructure).2 SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/10/05 UR - accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1121492303 ER -