key terms in disaster risk reduction

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

(Disaster Risk Management)

Definitions of Basic Terms

Key Terms in Disaster Risk Reduction

• DISASTER• HAZARD• VULNERABILITY• CAPACITY• RISK• CALAMITY• CATASTOROPHE• CATACLYSM

DISASTER

• Old French – Desastre – des = bad, aster = star, bad or evil star

• Italian – disastro• Latin – dis + astrum• Greek – astron (ASTRAL), a star; ill-starred

DISASTER

• A disaster is a serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing widespread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed to the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.

Main Features of a Disaster

• unpredictability• unfamiliarity• speed• urgency• uncertainty• threat

• Disasters are as old as human history.• Disasters, natural or man-made, are

unwelcome guests.• The world has played unfortunate host to

them innumerable times.• Recent incidents indicate that disasters are

increasing in both frequency and intensity.

DISASTER

• A disaster is a result from the combination of hazard, vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential chances of risk.

• Hazard = a source of danger• Vulnerability = inadequate access to resources,

sick and old people, extent of exposure to hazard impact

DISASTER• Disaster occurs only when hazards and

vulnerability meet.• Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability• Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability x Value

(Value = anything of human value including life, property and/or livelihood)

• With greater capacity of the individual / community and environment to face the disasters, the impact of a hazard reduces.

• Disaster Risk = {(Hazard x Vulnerability) / (Capacity)}

Natural DisastersRapid onset• Earthquakes• Tsunamis• Volcanic eruptions• Cyclones / storms /

hurricanes / typhoons• Floods• Landslides• Avalanches• Blizzards• Wildfires

Slow onset

• Droughts• Desertification• Environmental degradation

Man-made Disasters• Industrial accidents• Mining accidents• Transport accidents• Fire accidents• Nuclear accidents• Crowd incidents (stampedes)• Wars• Conflicts• Terrorism

Complex Emergencies

• Combination of war and conflict

HAZARD• Old French – hasard• Arabic – az-zahr• Both mean ‘chance’ or ‘luck’.• a dangerous condition or event• threatens.• has the potential for causing injury to life or

damage to property or the environment.

HAZARD

• A hazard is a phenomenon that puts humans in a potentially dangerous and disadvantageous position.

HAZARDS

• Two categories: natural and man-made• are always prevalent.• A hazard becomes a disaster only when there

is greater vulnerability and less capacity to cope with it.

VULNERABILITY

• It is the extent to which a community, structure, geographic area or service is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrain or a disaster-prone area.

VULNERABILITY

• Two categories: – Physical vulnerability– Socio-economic vulnerability

CAPACITY• It entails resources, means, strengths, skills and

knowledge.• These factors exist in households and

communities.• These enable the people to cope with, withstand,

prepare for, prevent, mitigate, or quickly recover from a disaster.

• Capacities could be – Physical capacity or– Socio-economic capacity.

RISK• It is a measure of the expected losses due to a

hazard event occurring in a given area over a specific time period.

• Risk is a function of the probability of a particular hazardous event and the losses it would cause.

• The frequency or likelihood of a hazard and the vulnerability of the community increase the risk of being severely affected.

RISK

The level of risk depends on nature of the hazard, vulnerability of the elements which are affected,

and economic value of those elements.

RISKRisk = Hazard x Vulnerability (conventional)Risk = Likelihood x ConsequenceLikelihood = probability, e.g. 15 %, 50 % or as frequency, e.g. 1 in 10,00,000 or 5 times a year.Consequence is a measure of the effect of thehazard on people or property.

Calamity, Catastrophe, Cataclysm • Calamity suggests a grave misfortune that

brings deep distress or sorrow to an individual or to the people at large.

• Catastophe is specifically applied to a disastrous end or outcome.

• Cataclysm suggests a great upheaval, especially a political or social one that causes sudden and violent change with attending distress, suffering etc.