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Eugene -Springfield Area Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan <br />2. Hazard Descriptions <br />communicable diseases and large populations of displaced citizens are primary <br />concerns. <br />Though diseases can be introduced to a population by emergency personnel, such as <br />the 2010 Cholera outbreak in Haiti, generally, a disease must be endemic prior to <br />the disaster for it to become an epidemic afterward. Cold conditions favor airborne <br />pathogens while warm weather favors waterborne pathogens. Large dust clouds <br />generated by an earthquake can also disperse a variety of spores causing respiratory <br />illnesses. <br />History of Impact in Eugene -Springfield <br />There have been no post -earthquake epidemics in the Eugene -Springfield area. The <br />worldwide risk of communicable diseases after an earthquake is deemed a moderate <br />risk for person to person, water, and food borne transmission paths. Contributing <br />factors to disease transmission are environmental considerations, endemic <br />organisms, population characters, overcrowding, pre -incident structure and type of <br />healthcare system, immunization levels, and the magnitude of the disaster itself.26 <br />Though not an epidemic per se, our area may see an increase of respiratory illnesses <br />after a major earthquake in which homes and buildings are destroyed. This is due to <br />dangerous mold, common to our area, being released into the surrounding <br />environment. Those with compromised immune systems or existing respiratory <br />complications would be at a higher risk than the general population. <br />Risk of Impact <br />Based on historical occurrences of earthquake induced epidemics along with our <br />area's societal composition, the risk from this impact occurring is moderate. <br />Hazardous Materials <br />Worldwide, there have been many earthquake induced hazardous material <br />(HazMat) Spills.27 Given increases in industrial development and population <br />26 Sandrack, C. "Infectious Diseases After Natural Disasters." California Preparedness Education <br />Network A program of the California Area Health Education Centers. March 7, 2006. Funded by <br />HRSA Grant. PowerPoint presentation online. <br />http://www. Qoo91e. com/url?sa—t&rct=i &g=&esre—s&sourceweb&cd=2&cad—ri a&uact=8&ved=0a <br />hUKEwixi d6Gv6HZAhVC- <br />GMKHTK 1 CMAQFgguMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww. aapsus. org%2Fwp- <br />content%2Fuploads%2Faicrosix.pdf&usg—AOvVaw3FpgcwnfbDsr FktcQtDGn. <br />Accessed October 09, 2017. <br />2' Reitherman, Robert K. Earthquake -Caused Hazardous Material Releases. Proceedings of 1982 <br />Hazardous Material Spills Conference Proceedings, Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Rockville, MD: <br />Govemmentinst., 1984. 170-77 <br />2-14 January 2020 <br />