DEFINING VULNERABILITY, HAZARD AND RISK

• Hazard


  A harmful condition, substance, human behavior or condition that can cause loss of life, injury or other health effects, harm to property, loss of livelihood and services, social and economic disruption or damage to the environment
• Disaster


  A serious disruption to the functioning of a community or society which causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses that exceed the capacity of the community or society concerned to cope with the use of their own resources. It results from the mix of hazards, risk conditions and inadequate capability or measures.
• Exposure


  The presence of elements at risk or chance of being harmed from a natural or man-made hazard event. The more a community is exposed to hazard factors, the higher is the disaster risk or higher chance disaster occurrence.
• Elements


  Individuals, households or communities, properties, buildings and structures, agricultural commodities, livelihoods, and public facilities, infrastructures and environmental assets present in an area that are subject to potential damage or even losses.
• Vulnerability

  The characteristics and circumstances of a community, system, or asset, that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard and inability of a community to prevent, mitigate, prepare for and respond to hazardous events
• Risk


  The probability of possible adverse effects. This results from the interaction of social and environmental systems, from the combination of physical danger, and exposed item vulnerabilities
• Hazard = Risk x Exposure x Vulnerability x Cost