@article{ref1,
title="Disasters in Spain from 1950 - 2020: impact on public health",
journal="Prehospital and disaster medicine",
year="2023",
author="Arcos González, Pedro and Suárez Ruiz, Nel and Castro Delgado, Rafael and Cernuda Martínez, José Antonio",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1049-023X",
doi="10.1017/S1049023X23000225",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X23000225"
}