Introduction With regard to disaster proneness of Islamic Republic of Iran, considering the capacity of all stakeholders may lead to correct use of resources and facilities and decrease or control the destructive effects in disaster affected areas.

Methods In a library based review we found out, saving life is the most important factor in health management and that the disaster management must focus on three phases.

Pre-event Management of this phase includes situational analysis (structural and non-structural), surveillance, adapting standards, communication, information and warning systems, public education and organising local or country wide manoeuvres for testing the response mechanisms.

Event Includes triage, reinforcement of rescue and relief capacities, evacuation, financial and human supports in the community and collaboration with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Interior and other subcommittees, local or collaborating health facilities in the field or nearby, medical and residential centres, mass media and if indicated, field hospitals also expert human resources are important for medical management in this phase.

Post-event It's the longest phase includes referring survivors to rehabilitation centres, evaluating mental and social needs of them and assist communication between the remainders and social support centres and assessing the response programs.

Discussion Public awareness by capacity building is necessary for decreasing destructive outcomes in stressful situations. Disaster prevention, mitigation & preparedness are more important than response in achieving the goals and objectives of vulnerability reduction. Disaster response alone is not sufficient as it yields only temporary results at a very high cost.