Associate Professor of Surgery, Trauma and Acute Care, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
1st Grade Specialist - General Integral Medicine & General Surgery, Faculty Assistant, General Calixto Garcia University Hospital, University of Medical Sciences, La Habana, Cuba.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020 Feb;14(1):10-17. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2019.71.
In 2017, Cuba was pummeled by Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest and most devastating Atlantic basin hurricanes in history. Twelve of Cuba's 15 provinces and 90 percent of the population were affected, and there was island-wide loss of electrical power. Despite the significant damage, ongoing economic hardships, and the political realities that required Cuba to handle the situation without response support from other nations, Cuba's recovery was swift and effective. Cuba's disaster self-sufficiency and timely response to Hurricane Irma was grounded on 5 decades of disaster planning coupled with ongoing evolution of disaster risk reduction and management strategies. While the central command center, with local dispatch response teams, and mandated citizen engagement are features unique to Cuba's political structure, in this study, we highlight 5 defining attributes of Cuba's hurricane response that can constructively inform the actions of other island and coastal nations vulnerable to Atlantic tropical cyclones. These attributes are: (1) actively learning and incorporating lessons from past disaster events, (2) integrating healthcare and public health professionals on the frontlines of disaster response, (3) proactively engaging the public in disaster preparedness, (4) incorporating technology into disaster risk reduction, and (5) infusing science into risk planning. In terms of hurricane response, as a geopolitically isolated nation, Cuba has experienced particular urgency when it comes to protecting the population and creating resilient infrastructure that can be rapidly reactivated after the onslaught of storms of ever-increasing intensity. This includes planning for worsening future disaster scenarios based on a clear-eyed appreciation of the realities of climate change.
2017 年，古巴遭受了飓风“艾尔玛”的袭击，这是历史上最强、最具破坏性的大西洋飓风之一。古巴 15 个省中的 12 个和 90%的人口受到影响，全岛电力中断。尽管遭受了重大破坏、持续的经济困难以及要求古巴在没有其他国家响应支持的情况下处理这一局面的政治现实，但古巴的恢复迅速而有效。古巴的灾害自给自足能力以及对飓风“艾尔玛”的及时应对，建立在 50 年的灾害规划基础上，并结合了不断演变的灾害风险减少和管理战略。虽然中央指挥中心、地方调度响应小组以及规定的公民参与是古巴政治结构的独特特征，但在本研究中，我们强调了古巴飓风应对的 5 个决定性特征，这些特征可以为其他易受大西洋热带气旋影响的岛屿和沿海国家的行动提供有益的信息。这些特征是：（1）积极从过去的灾害事件中吸取经验教训，（2）在灾害应对的前线整合医疗保健和公共卫生专业人员，（3）积极让公众参与灾害准备，（4）将技术纳入灾害风险减少，以及（5）将科学融入风险规划。在飓风应对方面，作为一个地缘政治上孤立的国家，古巴在保护人口和创建具有弹性的基础设施方面面临着特殊的紧迫性，这些基础设施可以在风暴的冲击后迅速重新启用，而且强度不断增加。这包括根据对气候变化现实的清晰认识，规划未来更严重的灾害情景。
