Dr Muhammed Rafeeque Kerala, India.
INTRODUCTION
A disaster is an event resulting in great loss and misfortune, which occurs suddenly, and affects the humans, animals, properties, agriculture, the environment and the region as a whole. A disaster may be human-made or natural. Human-made disasters may be due to the modernization, industrialization, war, terrorism, pollution, occupational hazards, illegal activities like mining, and ignorance of safety measures that result in stampede, fire, accident, explosion, radiation, etc. Natural disasters include earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, cyclones, tornadoes and tsunamis. Many times both are interrelated making the after effects much more serious and long lasting.