Disaster Preparedness and Response

Overview

Medical examiners and coroners play an important role in preparing and responding to disasters and emergencies. You should plan for, implement, test, and evaluate your ability to manage increased fatalities and public health surveillance during emergencies.

Disaster-related death investigations

Disasters can result from natural forces or human actions. It can be difficult to get an accurate count of disaster-related deaths because of—

• Inconsistent reporting of disaster-related deaths
• Difficulty creating accurate mortality statistics
• Difficulty identifying the causes of death associated with a disaster incident
• Difficulty estimating the disaster-related death toll

To address these challenges, CDC provides resources to help death investigators conduct disaster-related mortality surveillance.

Resources

Disaster mortality surveillance

• Public Health Surveillance During a Disaster
• Understanding the Principles and Practices of Disaster Surveillance in the United States

Public health preparedness capabilities

• National Standards for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Public Health

Radiation emergencies

• Clinical Guidance for Determining Deaths from a Radiation Emergency
• Clinical Guidelines for Handling Radioactive Decedents