BASIC CONCEPT OF DISASTER AND DISASTER RISK

• A hazard refers to any danger or adverse situation arising from natural or man-made phenomena.
• Vulnerability refers to the people's risk of loss or harm due to their exposure to the hazard.
• Exposure is the presence of persons, livelihoods, economic activities, infrastructure, or environmental resources within hazard zones.
• It is only when our manmade structures or creations collide with their habitats that the true problem for that area of the biosphere begins.
• Disaster is a serious disruption of the operation of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope up using its own resources.
• Man made disasters include war, bomb blasts, chemical leaks.
• Natural hazard is a threat of a naturally occurring event which will have a negative effect on humans, this negative effect is what we call a natural disaster.
• Risk factor is a number of factors that make it more likely that someone will have more severe or longer-lasting stress reactions after disaster.
• Severity of exposure is related to risk of future mental problems, with the highest risks being those that have gone through the disaster themselves, next are those that have close contact with the victims, and the lowest risk is those who only had indirect exposure, such as news of the severe damage.
• Gender and family are factors that often lead to more negative effects after a disaster, almost always, women or girls suffer more negative effects than men or boys, disaster recovery is more stressful when children are present in the home, and women with spouses experience more distress during recovery.
• Having a family member in the home, who is extremely distressed, is related to more stress to everyone.
• Age is a factor that can lead to more distress after a disaster, adults who are in the age range from 10 - 60 are likely to be more distressed after a disaster.
• The political response to a disaster may determine the district leader’s future in the next election.
• It is very hard to change people’s culture, so a disaster won’t have much of an impact.
• Recovery is worst if you were not functioning well before the disaster, have had no experience dealing with disasters, have to deal with other stressors after a disaster, have poor self-esteem, feel uncared for, have little control of events, or lack the capacity to manage stress.
• Several factors related to a survivor’s background and resources are important for recovery from disaster.
• The physical effects on both the people and the environment will depend on the level of destruction the disaster brings.
• A community’s economy can be destroyed, and may take a long time to recover.
• Other factors that predict the worse outcomes include bereavement, injury to self or another family member, panic, horror, or feeling during the disaster, being separated from a family member, great loss of property, and displacement.
• Along with the physical damage comes the psychological one.
• Research on how children react to natural disasters is limited.
• The normal routine of manufacturing, delivering, and selling goods can be put to a standstill.
• The biological effect of a disaster is self-healing, remember, all these animals and plants have been dealing with these types of events long before we were here.
• Disasters in developing countries have more severe mental health impacts than disasters in developed countries.
• Social support can weaken after a disaster due to stress and the need for members of the support network to get on with their own lives.
• The support of others can be both a risk and a resilient factor after a disaster.
• Over and over, research has found that coping self-efficacy, or believing that you can do it, is related to better mental health outcomes for disaster survivors.