Disasters are increasingly recognized as complex processes that exert profound and multidimensional impacts on water, air, soil, and ecosystems, thereby posing significant threats to public health. These impacts arise not only through direct mechanisms, such as the physical destruction of infrastructure systems and contamination of water resources, but also through indirect pathways including infectious disease outbreaks, increases in vector populations, and food security risks triggered by environmental degradation, all of which contribute to increased morbidity and mortality.

Disruptions in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) systems constitute one of the most critical risks in the post-disaster period. Physical damage to drinking water networks and cross-contamination with sewage systems facilitate the spread of waterborne infections such as cholera, typhoid fever, and hepatitis A. Air quality is similarly compromised by particulate matter released during wildfires, as well as hazardous fibers such as asbestos and crystalline silica generated by building collapses, leading to acute respiratory irritation and exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Soil and food security are threatened by the release of heavy metals following industrial damage and the disruption of agricultural systems. The uncontrolled accumulation of medical, debris, and hazardous chemical wastes further intensifies environmental contamination, while ecological imbalance promotes the proliferation of vectors such as mosquitoes and rodents, accelerating the transmission of zoonotic diseases.

Habitat loss and declines in biodiversity disrupt ecosystem services and weaken the environmental resilience of communities. Vulnerable populations, particularly children, older adults, and individuals with chronic diseases, are disproportionately affected by these processes. Consequently, environmental health perspectives in disaster management should be structured not merely as post-disaster intervention domains, but as integral components of risk reduction and resilience strategies within a holistic and systematic “One Health” framework.