Much of the true social, economic and environmental damage of the aftermath of disasters has been undocumented and more needs to be explored on the vulnerability of small and island states, where retreat from the threat is not an option and where those most at risk to the impact of the aftermath may be left unattended and at critical risk. This can amount to over 70 per cent of the total death toll. Some of this arises from the destruction of basic service infrastructure and the disruption of services, when staff, if they can get about, discover vital elements of services which may be damaged or destroyed beyond effective operational use and cannot be fixed.