Although in Sweden the risk of natural catastrophes is small, several have occurred in recent years. Two examples are a storm disaster in 1970 and a landslide in 1978—both causing extensive personal and material damage.

Other disasters can be caused by human activity in different forms, for instance, fires, explosions and accidents involving public transport, and also—a subject of much concern today—accidents at nuclear power plants. Terrorist actions have also led to serious disaster situations in recent years.

Common to the different types of disasters from the viewpoint of medical care is the fact that locally available resources are often inadequate. Even with very good access to ambulances and other forms of medical transport the waiting time at the scene of the accident can be so long that many patients suffer from acute respiratory distress, major hemorrhages and shock. Under such circumstances qualified first aid can be expected to reduce the morbidity and mortality considerably.