Assessing Hospital Preparedness for Disasters: Floods, Fires, and Human-made Crises

Natural and human-made disasters such as floods, fires, and terrorist attacks pose significant challenges to healthcare systems worldwide. Recent events, like devastating floods in New South Wales, highlight the importance of hospital readiness and effective emergency response strategies. During the 2022 floods, rapid evacuation procedures at Ballina Hospital demonstrated both resilience and areas for improvement, including communication breakdowns, staff shortages, volunteer management difficulties, patient tracking challenges, and transportation issues. Emergency teams must adapt quickly, making critical decisions about patient triage, transfer, and resource allocation. Simulating disasters, like a staged stadium collapse with mass casualties, further reveals common hurdles such as equipment shortages and logistical issues. Despite comprehensive disaster management plans, hospitals often face unpredictable scenarios requiring on-the-fly adaptations. Research underscores the need for continuous improvement in disaster preparedness, emphasizing proactive planning, effective communication, and resource flexibility to ensure hospitals remain resilient in the face of increasing climate-related and human-made crises. Preparing healthcare teams involves not only planning but also regular drills and scenario-based training to handle evolving threats effectively.