Population hazard vulnerability analysis has been extensively studied and proven to be effective. A hazard vulnerability assessment (HVA) is a systematic approach to identify all possible hazards that may affect a specific population, assess the risk associated with each hazard, and study the findings to develop a prioritized comparison of hazard vulnerabilities. The vulnerability, is related to both the impact on the population and the likely service demands created by the impact. An HVA can be carried out at the community level or at the hospital level. After the events of September 11, 2001, in New York, U.S., experts suggested that hospitals should function as “an integrated entity within the scope of the broader community”. Because hospitals and other health care facilities are always at the forefront to prepare for and respond to disastrous events, they are now expected to be community organizations instead of standalone institutions. We usually rely on hospitals to treat disaster victims, provide ongoing health care to the community, and prevent secondary disease outbreaks caused by the loss of infrastructure and/or sanitation . An HVA is the key step in the emergency response to a disaster. It should be able to methodologically evaluate the degree of impact and provide background information to create a targeted disaster mitigation plan. An HVA can also be applied in response to manmade disasters, such as terrorist attacks. In addition, a community HVA and a hospital HVA should be designed to complement one another for disaster emergency response and rescue.

Focusing on the main hazard in Saudi Arabia. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults worldwide. Nearly three-quarters of road deaths occur in developing countries and men comprise a mean 80% of casualties. The rate of road traffic accidents caused by four-wheeled vehicles is the highest globally reported road traffic accidents statistic. In Saudi Arabia, the motor vehicle is the main means of transportation with one person killed and four injured every hour. Over 65% of accidents occur because of vehicles travelling at excess speed and/or drivers disobeying traffic signals. Road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to victims, their families, and to nations as a whole. Strategic prevention plans should be implemented soon by various sectors (health, police, transport, and education) to decrease the mortality and morbidity among adolescent and young age group. Strong and effective coordination between ministry of health and other ministries together with World Health Organization and other related organizations will be an important step towards implementing the international Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011–2020).

On the other hand, 14 disasters due to natural hazards occurred in Saudi Arabia between 1980 and 2010 claiming a total of 484 lives and causing over US$1 billion of economic damage. Flash floods have become an issue of concern in the major cities around the world. This is mostly because of increasing population pressure, which requires more infrastructural development. This pressure has often resulted in the construction of buildings in top-graphically low-lying regions, which in turn has obstructed the natural rainwater drainage. In general, the damage and losses associated with earthquakes are low in Saudi Arabia. However, the regions along the Red Sea coast are vulnerable to earth-quakes.

References

Du, Y., Ding, Y., Li, Z., & Cao, G. (2015). Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4657270/

Al Turki, Y. A. (2014). How can Saudi Arabia use the Decade of Action for Road Safety to catalyse road traffic injury prevention policy and interventions?. International journal of injury control and safety promotion, 21(4), 397-402.

________________

The Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) is a tool used by government and hospitals to calculate their ability immediately correspond to natural and human-made disasters (Emergency Preparedness, n.d.). This analysis helps to evaluate the direct and indirect effect of any type disasters as well as to examine quality and efficiency of state regulations, laws, policies, resource, and networks, established for solving damages after the accident. The HVA uses the priority list, where each disaster places according to damage or effects it can cause. Moreover, the HVA includes descriptions, explanations, and advice about each catastrophe as well as has a strategy and objectives for hospitals, rescue services, and state institutes how to react, correspond, and act during the disaster.

Besides, each city and country has unique HVA, which compounds cultural, ethical, social, financial, and ecological factors for each area. In the global perspective, some tools and techniques are standard for every country (Coppola, 2015). For instance, the Kaiser Permanente tool is used to identify and classify the disaster (Hazard Vulnerability Analysis Tool, n.d.). However, the measure of consequences can differ not only from country to country but also from city to city, due to different social, economic, geographical factors. Furthermore, when disaster assessment calculating, cultural and ethnic differences should be considered. These differences impact people’s behavior and attitude to the disaster, meaning that for example, earthquakes are frequent for Japanese, and for U.S. citizens not. What is more, such differences impact the state preparedness, as some regions require different protection and services.

Despite the fact that HVA develops and calculate all risks, the government has to prepare a communication system, which can not only be informative for citizens but also must be recognized by foreigners. Several signs or word combinations have to be used and be understandable publicity at large, despite the language factor.

The language factor, as well as lack of preparedness, is a common problem for third world countries. They tend to develop emergency plans based only on average factors and target only their citizens. This lack of preparedness may lead to the failure of the rescue service or hazard level calculation. Moreover, the language barrier can cause additional issues with foreigners, who are in the area of the disaster.

References

Coppola, D. P. (2015). Introduction to international disaster management(3rd ed.). Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heineman. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-801477-6.00003-4

Emergency Preparedness. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.calhospitalprepare.org/post/what-hazar…

Hazard Vulnerability Analysis Tool. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2018, from https://www.calhospitalprepare.org/post/hazard-vul…