The role of the public health officer and the public health nurse The central role of public health officers rests with this application of preventive and public health knowledge in the reduction of chances of the occurrences of communicable diseases, food borne diseases, and other disaster-related illnesses. He or she is also responsible for the promotion of health principles through food safety practices. In addition to the above, he remains the supervisor of all activities related to public health and ensures that a high level of public health is achieved during and after the disaster period. The public hearse’s nurse central responsibility is undertaking disease surveillance which forms a fundamental step incorrect detection of diseases brought about by the disaster. In addition to that, he or she is also responsible for ensuring that food services outlets not only adhere to the set rules within public health but also provide quality services within hygienic environments. In addition to the above, a public health nurse also conducts preventive medicine and communicable disease monitoring and control. Apart from roles that are directly related to their profession, these two officers undertake several duties. The public health officer and the public health nurse during times of disaster should seek to show competency, compassion, and demonstrate accessibility. Their central role should demonstrate that the community is in safe hands during the time of disaster and avoid giving statements to the media that are either unconfirmed or can instill fear within the members of the community. In addition to the above, this group of individuals should lead the team in assessing the extent of the damage, evaluating the status of critical utilities, and identifying immediate and long-term effects of public health concerns. This group must also lead in the search and rescue efforts and take data to ascertain the number of residents who are unaccounted for at the time of the disaster. Chain of command The chain of command in disaster operations and rescue efforts must consist of individuals who have the capacity to handle their roles in professional manners. The process of recruitment must involve a close and thorough analysis of each and every team member strengths and capacity to perform. In this ace, this team would best be composed by Incident Commander at the top of the chain of command who must demonstrate excellent organizational and leadership quality to rally behind him other members of the team for effective disaster response efforts. The Incident commander should immediately be flanked by the Public Information and the Liaisons Officer. The Public Information Officer must take the role of understanding the needs of the public and providing accurate and relevant information to the media regarding the progress of disaster recovery efforts. Liaisons Officer must have considerable period of time within the community and have the capacity to report to the team various demographic factors that constitute the area residents. Below these two are the last four officers in the rank of this chain of command. These include the Operations Officer, Planning Offic