Term Research Paper/ePortfolio – “Weather and my Major”: The role of a Social Worker

after an Avalanche or Extreme Weather.

ATMO 1010-502

Katie A. Covieo

May 2, 2018

Social workers are trained to respond to disasters; both man made disasters and

natural disasters. Their main objective is to assist families, individuals, and communities

after a disaster occurs. A social worker will typically assess the situation at hand, and

determine what counseling and support an individual or family may need. Social workers

also gather resources to provide those in need, to best help someone deal with the effects

of an avalanche or other extreme weather condition. Social workers may spend a lot of

time doing research in order to discover the different psychological impacts a disaster can

have on an individual.

The American Red Cross has determined that there are four different stages in

which a social worker will respond to a disaster. The four stages are as follows: 1) Pre-

impact stage, which is in the beginning. The disaster may not show signs of immediate

threat, but allows preparations to be made for the events to follow. 2) The Impact stage,

which is the actual period of time in which the disaster is occurring. 3) The post-impact

stage, otherwise known as the period of time directly after an avalanche strikes, following

through to the very beginning of recovering. 4) The last stage is the Recovery period, in

which the survivors of the disaster are working with socials workers, as well as their

community to restore their lives. (Wikipedia; Disaster Social Work: American Red Cross)

Disaster survivors are all in such a vulnerable state after experiencing an

avalanche or hurricane. That being said, social workers need to approach every individual
from a place of understanding and compassion. Becoming educated, and being prepared

for any kind of situation to occur is very important. The most important part of doing this

is preparing a community before a disaster actually strikes.

Social workers, as well as the community and individuals affected can be faced

with many challenges after a crisis occurs. Since some disasters, such as hurricanes, come

with more warning, the hope is that people will have more time to prepare and evacuate.

Other disasters, such as an avalanche come without warning and occur very suddenly

leaving people in total shock. Social workers have to assess each situation and respond to

those that are high-risk, such as the elderly and children. Their main goal is to help other

people, and they are in demand in these circumstances.

In Utah, there is a high risk of avalanches in our state. An avalanche is a large

mass of snow and ice which comes loose from the side of a mountain. As it slides, it

picks up speed and more snow or ice. An avalanche can very easily cause serious injury

and often death. The survival rate for someone caught in an avalanche is higher if they

are found within about 10-15 minutes. Avalanches will often destroy homes, property,

and people in its pathway. Humans also become affected by the loss of power, utilities,

heat and most importantly, communication. The panic that is caused by the inability to

call for emergency services becomes very real. Individuals are also unable to contact

loved ones which can cause distress.

The mental and physical state an individual or family may be in after a traumatic

event is life changing. P.T.S.D. (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) is a common reality

among survivors of a disaster. The elements of traumatic events that increase the risk for

PTSD include: “Threat to one’s life or body integrity, severe physical harm or injury,
intentional injury or harm, exposure to the grotesque, witnessing or learning of harm to

loved ones, and causing death or severe harm to another”. (Shalev, A.Y, 2002)

After an avalanche, tornado, hurricane, or other effects from severe weather, the

stress and defensiveness is very high. Time can be very physically and psychologically

demanding for everyone involved. Most people are very unstable, exhausted, sad,

confused and depressed. The most important thing for any first responder or social

worker is to make sure that the individual(s) are out of immediate danger, and out of risk

for further trauma.

It is very important for a community, as well as social workers to be aware of

potential risks in their surrounding environment. As more and more people are impacted

by the natural hazards due to the impact of the climate change, disaster recovery can take

longer and be very demanding. Making sure that there are plenty of resources available

for when something arises is crucial.

References:

Shalev, A.Y.(2002). Treating Survivors in the Immediate Aftermath of Traumatic Events.

In Rachel Yehuda (Ed.), Treating Trauma Survivors with PTSD (157-188). Washington
DC: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.

“Disasters” National Association of Social Workers, Retrieved 22 February 2015.

Pyles, L. (2008). “Community organizing for post-disaster social development: Locating

social work”. International Social Work. 50 (30): 321-333
Reflection

Completing this project has helped me to prepare for my career by understanding

the role I may play in helping a community prepare for, and recovery from a disaster. The

role of a social worker is to help other people. This may be in an office setting, or out in

the field after an emergency arises. Most natural disasters, such as a tornado, hurricane,

avalanche (especially in Utah with our snow), among other things have devastating,

sometimes fatal outcomes. Many lives are affected; families and communities can be torn

apart. Social workers have an ethical responsibility to do what they have learned to do in

order to help people pick their lives back up and try to move forward.

This class, especially this research papers has really helped educate me in the

understanding that severe weather can potentially affect anyone. It is usually unexpected,

and most people are not prepared for the effects of it. My hope is to become a social

worker, and help people in my community. I have the compassion, understanding and

desire to do my part in making this world a better place. If a natural disaster arises, and

people in our community are affected by the devastation, I want to be ready and prepared

to contribute what I can to the solution.