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ATMO 1010-502
Katie A. Covieo
May 2, 2018
Social workers are trained to respond to disasters; both man made disasters and
natural disasters. Their main objective is to assist families, individuals, and communities
after a disaster occurs. A social worker will typically assess the situation at hand, and
determine what counseling and support an individual or family may need. Social workers
also gather resources to provide those in need, to best help someone deal with the effects
of an avalanche or other extreme weather condition. Social workers may spend a lot of
time doing research in order to discover the different psychological impacts a disaster can
have on an individual.
The American Red Cross has determined that there are four different stages in
which a social worker will respond to a disaster. The four stages are as follows: 1) Pre-
impact stage, which is in the beginning. The disaster may not show signs of immediate
threat, but allows preparations to be made for the events to follow. 2) The Impact stage,
which is the actual period of time in which the disaster is occurring. 3) The post-impact
stage, otherwise known as the period of time directly after an avalanche strikes, following
through to the very beginning of recovering. 4) The last stage is the Recovery period, in
which the survivors of the disaster are working with socials workers, as well as their
community to restore their lives. (Wikipedia; Disaster Social Work: American Red Cross)
avalanche or hurricane. That being said, social workers need to approach every individual
from a place of understanding and compassion. Becoming educated, and being prepared
for any kind of situation to occur is very important. The most important part of doing this
Social workers, as well as the community and individuals affected can be faced
with many challenges after a crisis occurs. Since some disasters, such as hurricanes, come
with more warning, the hope is that people will have more time to prepare and evacuate.
Other disasters, such as an avalanche come without warning and occur very suddenly
leaving people in total shock. Social workers have to assess each situation and respond to
those that are high-risk, such as the elderly and children. Their main goal is to help other
mass of snow and ice which comes loose from the side of a mountain. As it slides, it
picks up speed and more snow or ice. An avalanche can very easily cause serious injury
and often death. The survival rate for someone caught in an avalanche is higher if they
are found within about 10-15 minutes. Avalanches will often destroy homes, property,
and people in its pathway. Humans also become affected by the loss of power, utilities,
heat and most importantly, communication. The panic that is caused by the inability to
call for emergency services becomes very real. Individuals are also unable to contact
The mental and physical state an individual or family may be in after a traumatic
among survivors of a disaster. The elements of traumatic events that increase the risk for
PTSD include: “Threat to one’s life or body integrity, severe physical harm or injury,
intentional injury or harm, exposure to the grotesque, witnessing or learning of harm to
loved ones, and causing death or severe harm to another”. (Shalev, A.Y, 2002)
After an avalanche, tornado, hurricane, or other effects from severe weather, the
stress and defensiveness is very high. Time can be very physically and psychologically
demanding for everyone involved. Most people are very unstable, exhausted, sad,
confused and depressed. The most important thing for any first responder or social
worker is to make sure that the individual(s) are out of immediate danger, and out of risk
potential risks in their surrounding environment. As more and more people are impacted
by the natural hazards due to the impact of the climate change, disaster recovery can take
longer and be very demanding. Making sure that there are plenty of resources available
References:
the role I may play in helping a community prepare for, and recovery from a disaster. The
role of a social worker is to help other people. This may be in an office setting, or out in
the field after an emergency arises. Most natural disasters, such as a tornado, hurricane,
avalanche (especially in Utah with our snow), among other things have devastating,
sometimes fatal outcomes. Many lives are affected; families and communities can be torn
apart. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to do what they have learned to do in
order to help people pick their lives back up and try to move forward.
This class, especially this research papers has really helped educate me in the
understanding that severe weather can potentially affect anyone. It is usually unexpected,
and most people are not prepared for the effects of it. My hope is to become a social
worker, and help people in my community. I have the compassion, understanding and
desire to do my part in making this world a better place. If a natural disaster arises, and
people in our community are affected by the devastation, I want to be ready and prepared