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The purpose of this paper is to examine residents’ perception on the polluting effects of the disposal of the dead in Ile-Ife, a traditional African city. This came about based on the recognition of the disposal of corpses and carcasses as sources of environmental pollution in the built environment. The perception study becomes imperative since introduction of perception is adjudged a tool for proffering solution to different problems in the different human endeavours and a method of getting policy information from the people that will be eventual subjects of the policy.

The study used household survey through questionnaire administration. The city of Ile-Ife was stratified into residential zones comprising the traditional zone, the transition zone and the peripheral zone. Across the zones, a total of 306 residents were systematically sampled on which the designed questionnaires were administered.

Dumping was the commonest method of the disposal of carcasses and burial was the commonest for corpses. The practices of the disposal of dead in the city were without consideration for its polluting effect and public health concern.

The study is capable of generating hypotheses for future research in the area of environmental studies, especially in the global south.

The findings and recommendations of this study can provide information on future policy making, review and implementation on the disposal of the dead and other related issues in environmental studies both in the city and others with similar setting.

This paper is based on primary data from a survey of residents of Ile-Ife, Nigeria in March 2015. Its value lies in its capacity to suggest policy response for enhanced liveable environment through a study on residents’ perception, a bottom-up approach to policy making.

This study aims to conduct the first original research on mass fatality management in nearly 30 years.

A qualitative research design captured local perspectives within a culturally‐appropriate context to examine roles and responsibilities of government officials within the State of Tamil Nadu and District of Naggapattinam (spellings reflect the most commonly‐used local choice), India. Research data were gathered in the context of the Indian Ocean Tsunami that claimed nearly 300,000 lives across approximately 13 nations.

Local officials and residents faced unprecedented challenges during the hours immediately following the tsunami. These included removing debris that covered bodies, body identification, health and sanitation issues, and the necessity of creating mass graves. The findings identify prior experience with disasters, familiarity with the local area, the quality of pre‐existing networks among officials, a strong desire to rescue those yet living and the presence of linkages between government and non‐governmental organizations as critical factors affecting an expedited management process.

Practical implications include the value of general disaster training that can transcend specific circumstances, the pre‐establishment of mutual aid agreements, strong lines of horizontal and vertical cooperation and inter‐organizational coordination and an understanding of local culture and customs.

The paper contributes to scant social science understanding of mass fatality management processes and furthers a line of inquiry applicable to a wide variety of hazards such as pandemics, terrorism and natural events.