A disaster occurs when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits a vulnerable populated area
What is disaster?
UN defines it as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts
French word "Disastre" refers to a "Bad or Evil Star"
American Red Cross defines it as an occurrence causing human suffering and needs that victims cannot alleviate without assistance
Can we prevent disasters from happening?
Hazards may be inevitable but disasters can be prevented
Relationship between risks, hazards & people:
Vulnerability describes the condition that makes a society prone to the impact of a hazard
Exposure is the tendency of losing property, people, systems, and other elements in society due to their presence within the hazard
Risk is the possibility of something bad happening
Hazard is a dangerous phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury, property damage, and environmental damage
Important Aspects of Hazards:
Magnitude and intensity: measure of strength and impacts
Speed of onset: predictability and lead time are critical
Duration: concern as severe damage depends on how long the hazard affects an area
Disaster Risk:
Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability
It quantifies the chance of a disaster happening and its impact
Minimizing Disaster Risk:
Risk reduction through reduction of exposure and vulnerability
Keeping people and property away from hazards can reduce vulnerability and exposure
Factors contributing to the increase of disaster risks:
Climate change
Rapidandunplannedurbanization
Poverty
Environmental degradation
Classification of Disasters:
Natural disasters: originate from forces of nature
Human-made disasters: occur due to people's actions against human, material, and the environment
Technological disasters: caused by human error or malfunction of technology systems
Industrial accidents: caused by industrial companies
Security-related disasters: indicate compromised systems or failed protection measures
Concept of disaster risk:
The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets that could occur to a system, society, or community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, and capacity
Concept of disaster:
A phenomenon that poses a threat to people, structures, or economic assets
Any event with the potential to cause disruption or damage to humans and their environment
Nature of disasters:
Natural disasters originate from different forces of nature
Meteorological disasters are caused by extreme weather conditions
Topographical disasters include internal earth processes or tectonic activities
Environmental/ecological disasters are catastrophic events due to human activity
Quasi-natural hazards arise from the interaction of natural processes and human activities
Locations exposed to hazard:
Hazardous material
Power service disruption and blackout
Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
Radiological emergencies
Chemical threats and biological weapons
Cyber Attacks
Explosion
Civil Unrest
Stampede and accidents
Oil spill
Effects of disasters:
Physical Perspective: affects physical elements like buildings, infrastructures, and houses
Psychological Perspective: mental challenges such as PTSD
Socio-cultural Perspective: changes in individual roles and disruption of social relationships
Economic Perspective: loss of life, unemployment, property, household articles, crops, and public infrastructure
Political Perspective: effects of disasters and distribution of humanitarian aid are linked to politics
When does a hazard become a disaster?
A disaster occurs when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits a vulnerable populated area
What is disaster?
UN defines it as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts
French word "Disastre" refers to a "Bad or Evil Star"
An occurrence, either natural or man-made, that causes human suffering and creates human needs that victims cannot alleviate without assistance
Important Aspects of Hazards:
Magnitude and intensity: measure of strength and impacts on the ground, people, and structures
Speed of onset: predictability of a hazard and lead time allowed
Duration: concern on how long the hazard affects an area and the potential for damage
Relationship between risks, hazards & people:
Vulnerability: condition that makes a society or community prone to the impact of a hazard
Exposure: tendency of losing property, people, systems, and other elements in society due to their presence within the hazard
Risk: possibility of something bad happening
Hazard: dangerous phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury, property damage, or environmental damage
Minimizing Disaster Risk:
Risk reduction through reduction of exposure and vulnerability
Keeping people and property away from hazards
Relocation must come hand in hand with mitigation and prevention measures
Factors contributing to the increase of disaster risks:
Climate change
Rapidandunplannedurbanization
Povertyandsocio-economicinequalities
Environmental degradation
Disaster Risk Model:
Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability
It seeks to express the chance of the disaster happening and quantify the impact
Can we prevent disasters from happening?
Hazards may be inevitable but disasters can be prevented
Elements of Disaster Risk:
Disaster risk = Hazard x exposure x vulnerability
Enhanced resilience allows better anticipation of disasters and better planning to reduce disaster losses
Why is resilience important in disaster?
Enhancedresilience allows better anticipation of disasters and better planning to reduce disaster losses
Factors contributing to personal resilience include the ways someone views and engages with the world, availability and quality of social resources, and specific coping strategies
Concept of disaster:
A phenomenon that poses a threat to people, structures, or economic assets
Any event with the potential to cause disruption or damage to humans and their environment
Concept of disaster risk:
The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets that could occur to a system, society, or community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, and capacity
Nature of disasters:
Natural disasters originate from different forces of nature
Meteorological disasters are caused by extreme weather conditions
Topographical disasters include internal earth processes or tectonic activities
Environmental/ecological disasters are due to human activities
Quasi-natural hazards arise from the interaction of natural processes and human activities
Locations exposed to hazard:
Hazardous material
Power service disruption and blackout
Nuclear power plant and nuclear blast
Radiological emergencies
Chemical threats and biological weapons
Cyber Attacks
Explosion
Civil Unrest
Stampede and accidents
Oil spill
When does a hazard become a disaster?
A disaster occurs when the probable destructive agent, the hazard, hits a vulnerable populated area
What is disaster?
UN defines it as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses and impacts, exceeding the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources
A serious disruption in the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses that exceed the ability of the affected society to cope within its own resources
Important aspects of hazards:
Magnitude and intensity:
Magnitude measures the strength of the event
Intensity measures the impacts on the ground, people, and structures
Speed of onset:
Predictability and lead time are critical in determining the damage
Duration:
Severe damage depends on how long the hazard affects an area
Larger aerial extent increases the potential for damage
Relationship between risks, hazards & people:
Vulnerability describes the condition that makes a society prone to the impact of a hazard
Exposure is the tendency of losing property, people, systems, and other elements due to their presence within the hazard
Risk is the possibility of something bad happening
Hazard is a dangerous phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury, property damage, and environmental damage
Minimizing Disaster Risk:
Risk reduction through reduction of exposure and vulnerability
Keeping people and property away from hazards
Relocation must come hand in hand with mitigation and prevention measures
Factors contributing to the increase of disaster risks:
Climate change
Rapid and unplanned urbanization
Poverty
Environmental degradation
The Different Perspectives of Disaster:
Physical Perspective: affects physical elements like buildings and infrastructures
Psychological Perspective: mental challenges like PTSD
Socio-cultural Perspective: changes in roles and social relationships
Economic Perspective: affects the economic condition of a community
Political Perspective: effects and distribution of humanitarian aid are linked to politics
Disaster Risk Model:
Disaster risk is expressed as a function of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability
It quantifies the chance of a disaster happening and its impact