(Specialized) Technical and medical reconnaissance of disaster–affected areas

Abstract

Following a disaster in the affected area secondary impacts also prevail besides primary ones. It is important to know these impacts because rescue operations should be based on them. The implementation of the activities with the aim of managing the consequences is commanded and controlled by the onsite commander in all cases. As a leader, he makes decisions based on assessment. This method is appropriate if it is built on the reconnaissance information and data of the affected zone. Depending on the features of disasters, the most frequent reconnaissance methods of the disaster area are the technical and medical reconnaissance. In this article, the authors review the purposes, functions and correlations of these scopes of tasks with the decisions of the onsite commander. On the other hand, they systematize the types of technical reconnaissance and the applicable reconnaissance methods and tools. Furthermore, they examine the main tasks, requirements and elements of medical reconnaissance.