Understanding the Psychological Lifecycle of Disaster

Psychology of Disasters
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Psychology of Disasters
Answer 1
Every disaster has its own psychological lifecycle. The five primary psychological phases of a disaster response include the pre-disaster, the heroic, the honeymoon, the disillusionment, and the reconstruction stages. In particular, the heroic phase of a disaster response is characterized by a high activity level and low productivity. Emergency responders and community members depict a sense of altruism and exhibit adrenaline-induced behaviors meant to rescue people impacted by the calamity (Ng & Straussman, 2012). Although individuals are confused and usually unprepared if the disaster happened unexpectedly, they do everything to ensure that the victims are rescued and that they have appropriate resources to help them at the moment. The main objective of the heroic phase is to save individuals’ lives and minimize the destruction of properties. Emergency responders and disaster survivors portray altruism, which causes the impairment of the risk assessment. The information broadcasted by the media might not be accurate due to numerous sources. During this stage, the local, county, institutional, state, or federal emergency operations center (EOC) takes over activities to facilitate a quick response.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Alabama, Louisiana, New Orleans, and Mississippi. The category three storm had wind speeds ranging from 100 to 140 miles per hour (MPH). Over 130,000 homes were destroyed, and more than 200 individuals died from this catastrophic hurricane (Eamon et al., 2007). Although the storm was predicted two days before it occurred, no one was certain when it will hit the affected regions and its magnitude or intensity. During the heroic phase of Hurricane Katrina, the governors of the affected states requested assistance from the federal government. The White House declared Hurricane Katrina a disaster, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was authorized to provide appropriate resources to rescue victims and save the remaining properties. Due to the floods caused by Hurricane Katrina, community members were unable to help survivors. In that light, the Coast Guards and the Navy aided individuals stuck in flood using helicopters, ships, boats, and airplanes. The low productivity during the disaster occurred due to poor communication and the lack of information centralization. Individuals were in a state of shock, dilemma, anxiety, and agony. However, as the storm calmed, survivors were saved by helicopters and provided with necessities using ships and boats.
Answer 2
When disasters occur, community members and emergency responders concentrate on physical injuries and forget or ignore those with psychological symptoms. In most cases, psychological symptoms are perceived as secondary, and proper attention is not provided to the affected people. Emergency responders usually judge from what they can see. Da Young Lee and Minyoung Sim argue that biological, chemical, explosive, nuclear, and radiological disasters are significant threats to contemporary society since they cause psychological distress and ph...