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Observational Study
. 2023 Apr;38(2):264-269.
doi: 10.1017/S1049023X23000225. Epub 2023 Mar 13.

Disasters in Spain from 1950 - 2020: Impact on Public Health

Pedro Arcos González  1 , Nel Suárez Ruiz  1 , Rafael Castro Delgado  1   2   3 , José Antonio Cernuda Martínez  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Disasters in Spain from 1950 - 2020: Impact on Public Health

Pedro Arcos González et al. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the frequency and profile of disasters and to analyze trends in disasters and their impact on Spanish public health.

Methods: Retrospective observational study of disasters that occurred in Spain from 1950 through 2020 was conducted. The variables studied for each episode were number of people affected, number of injured/sick, and number of deaths. Absolute and relative frequencies, population rates, mean, median, standard error of the mean (SEM), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used, and trend analysis was performed using exponential smoothing and linear regression.

Results: A total of 491 disasters were identified in Spain. Of these, 255 (51.9%) were natural disasters, 224 (45.7%) technological disasters, and 12 (2.4%) man-made disasters. The average number of disasters per year was 7.01 (95% CI, 5.99-9.34). These disasters affected a total of 820,489 people, with an average of 3,491 people (SEM = 2.18) per episode. There was a significant increase (P <.001) in the total frequency of disasters in Spain during the period studied.

Conclusions: Spain has a disaster profile of mixed type, combining natural with technological disasters. From 1950 through 2020, there was a significant increase in the number of disasters, with an overall profile similar to that of Europe, with climatological disasters being the most frequent type.

Keywords: disasters; mortality; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflicts of interest. This article has no source of funding.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Frequency of Affected and Injured People, as well as Casualties, by Type of Disaster from 1950 through 2020 in Spain.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Time-Trend Analysis of the Annual Disaster Rate from 1950 through 2020 in Spain.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Time Series Analysis of the Rate of People Affected by Disasters from 1950 through 2020 in Spain.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Time Series Analysis of the Morbidity Rate (Wounded, Injured, or Sick) due to Disasters from 1950 through 2020 in Spain.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Time Series Analysis of the Disaster Mortality Rate from 1950 through 2020 in Spain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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