2010.07.9/v3.2

SCIM

Dealing in Security

Six ways to die (6WTD)

There are six basic ways in which people die, and three sets of essential services which protect them.

Shelter protects from:

1. Too Hot 2. Too Cold

Supply protects from:

3. Hunger 4. Thirst

Safety protects from:

5. Illness 6. Injury

Good physical infrastructure and social services bring these risks down to acceptable levels. In a crisis the challenge is to reduce these risks by restoring essential services.

Shelter

Shelter refers not just to the home, but to the essential services like power, cooling, heating and so on that make it habitable year round. Not all homes have these services, and not all climates requir e them.

Supply

We all need regular food and water to stay alive. These essential supplies are provided in very different ways in different parts of the world - plumbing versus water carriers, for example.

Safety

Protection from illness and injury is provided by health care, public hea lth , hos pit als , san ita ti on infrastructure, police, security services and the military. In the developing world, the six risks are increased by a combination of poor physical infrastructure, poverty, and in some areas social instability. In most crises in the developed world the short term pressures on infrastructure systems do not threaten lives. However, in more severe times of crisis, or in develo pin g world disa ster s, infrastructure failures can be even more dangerous than the original disaster. Water and sanitation issues are particularly problema tic.

Simple critical infrastructure maps (