Chaos and panic in face of Emily

Dr Ameerali said such behaviour was not only caused by people being told to go home early (12.30 pm), but that they had no confidence in the authorities and were "rushing" because of the feeling "that the Government has not prepared the population enough." Groups also vented their anger at the authorities, including the police.

A loss of confidence in Government is one "group" reaction identified by Dr Ameerali as he spoke about the "Psychological Reaction to Disaster" at the Association of Psychiatrists of TT’s mini-symposium on "Responding to Disaster — the Emerging Field of Disaster Psychiatry," at Valpark Chinese Restaurant on Monday night.

Disaster psychiatry is a developing field of psychiatry, which involved the use of treatment and assessment techniques in psychiatry to deal with situations of disaster.

Dr Ameerali said "scapegoating" xenophobia" occurred when certain actions take place and people find a way to blame a particular group. He cited the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 which resulted in violence toward people easily identified as members of a group — Muslims. With the recent London bombing, Dr Ameerali noted that UK prime minister Tony Blair sought to diffuse the possibility of adverse reactions towards Muslims by appearing on television with a Muslim leader. He said the people perceived as responsible for a disaster can be socially isolated due to victimisation. Victims can also experience isolation.

Dr Ameerali said the risk factors for occurrence of mass panic included the belief that there is very little chance of escape. He said the development of a plan for people to leave Port-of-Spain was a good idea and should be promoted.

Dr Ameerali said the media had a role to play in ensuring that information was disseminated about how the authorities were dealing with situations.

"Perceived high risk, available but limited resources, no perceived effective response and the authorities losing credibility are other risk factors."

This could help restore public confidence.

The information from the authorities should be accurate and sent out in a "calm manner." "Mass communication, if properly used, can be an effective tool for educating the public and promoting responsible and appropriate behaviour."

Individual reactions range from strong emotions (disbelief, numbness, fear and confusion), immediately after a traumatic event, to the worsening of health problems and development of psychiatric disorders.

Dr Ameerali said the first reaction to trauma should be provision of emotional support which he called "psychological first aid."

He said individuals going to an accident and emergency department after a traumatic event should be taken to a calm area close to the AE. "You try to reassure them and teach them what to expect. You don’t want to medicalise at this point or call the psychiatrist in to see them because what you do may make the emotions get worse and you can do more harm than good."