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A Comparison of the Medium-term Impact and Recovery of the Pakistan Floods and the Haiti Earthquake: Objective and Subjective Measures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2014

William M. Weiss ,
Thomas D. Kirsch ,
Shannon Doocy  and
Paul Perrin
William M. Weiss*
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland USA
Thomas D. Kirsch
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland USA Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA
Shannon Doocy
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland USA
Paul Perrin
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland USA Catholic Relief Services, Baltimore, Maryland USA
*
Correspondence: William M. Weiss, DrPH Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 615 N. Wolfe St, Suite E8132 Baltimore, MD 21230 USA E-mail bweiss@jhsph.edu
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Abstract

Introduction

The 2010 Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods were similar in their massive human impact. Although the specific events were very different, the humanitarian response to disasters is supposed to achieve the same ends. This paper contrasts the disaster effects and aims to contrast the medium-term response.

Methods

In January 2011, similarly structured population-based surveys were carried out in the most affected areas using stratified cluster designs (80×20 in Pakistan and 60×20 in Haiti) with probability proportional to size sampling.

Results

Displacement persisted in Haiti and Pakistan at 53% and 39% of households, respectively. In Pakistan, 95% of households reported damage to their homes and loss of income or livelihoods, and in Haiti, the rates were 93% and 85%, respectively. Frequency of displacement, and income or livelihood loss, were significantly higher in Pakistan, whereas disaster-related deaths or injuries were significantly more prevalent in Haiti.

Conclusion

Given the rise in disaster frequency and costs, and the volatility of humanitarian funding streams as a result of the recent global financial crisis, it is increasingly important to measure the impact of humanitarian response against the goal of a return to normalcy.

WeissWM, KirschTD, DoocyS, PerrinP. A Comparison of the Medium-term Impact and Recovery of the Pakistan Floods and the Haiti Earthquake: Objective and Subjective Measures. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(3):1-8.

Keywords

disaster responseearthquakefloodsHaitiPakistan
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 237 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2014 

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