Disaster drill--'73.

On January 7,1998, an ice storm struck the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. In Maine, 3 consecutive days of rain combined with ground temperatures consistently below freezing resulted in heavy accumulations of ice on trees and electric power lines. Falling trees and branches and breaking utility poles resulted in the loss of electrical power to an estimated 600,000 persons. Although the rain had stopped by January 11, temperatures declined to < 10 F (<-12 C) over most of the state, exacerbating the danger. On January 16, an estimated 50,000 households, primarily in the interior portion of the state, remained without power. This report summarizes a community needs assessment and a study of emergency department (ED) visits conducted during the aftermath of this storm.

Disasters↗

PubMed1998

Accidental nuclear war--a post-cold war assessment.

BACKGROUND: In the 1980s, many medical organizations identified the prevention of nuclear war as one of the medical profession's most important goals. An assessment of the current danger is warranted given the radically changed context of the post-Cold War era. METHODS: We reviewed the recent literature on the status of nuclear arsenals and the risk of nuclear war. We then estimated the likely medical effects of a scenario identified by leading experts as posing a serious danger: an accidental launch of nuclear weapons. We assessed possible measures to reduce the risk of such an event. RESULTS: U.S. and Russian nuclear-weapons systems remain on a high-level alert status. This fact, combined with the aging of Russian technical systems, has recently increased the risk of an accidental nuclear attack. As a conservative estimate, an accidental intermediate-sized launch of weapons from a single Russian submarine would result in the deaths of 6,838,000 persons from firestorms in eight U.S. cities. Millions of other people would probably be exposed to potentially lethal radiation from fallout. An agreement to remove all nuclear missiles from high-level alert status and eliminate the capability of a rapid launch would put an end to this threat. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of an accidental nuclear attack has increased in recent years, threatening a public health disaster of unprecedented scale. Physicians and medical organizations should work actively to help build support for the policy changes that would prevent such a disaster.

Disasters↗