Disaster

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For other uses, see Disaster (disambiguation).

Ruins from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the
history of the United States.

A disaster is a serious disruption occurring over a relatively short period of time, affecting the
functioning of a community or a society as it causes widespread human, material, economic or
environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using
its own resources.[1][2]
In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of inappropriately managed
risk. These risks are the product of a combination of both hazards and vulnerability. Hazards that
strike in areas with low vulnerability will never become disasters, as in the case of uninhabited
regions.[3]
Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95 percent of all
deaths caused by hazards occur in developing countries, and losses due to natural hazards are
20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized
countries.[4][5]

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Classification
o 2.1Natural disasters
o 2.2Human-made disasters
 3Responses
 4See also
 5References
 6Further reading
 7External links

Etymology[edit]
The word disaster is derived from Middle French désastre and that from Old Italian disastro,
which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek pejorative prefix δυσ-, (dus-) "bad"[6] and ἀστήρ
(aster), "star".[7] The root of the word disaster ("bad star" in Greek) comes from
an astrological sense of a calamity blamed on the position of planets.[8]

Classification[edit]
Researchers have been studying disasters for more than a century, and for more than forty
years disaster research. The studies reflect a common opinion when they argue that all disasters
can be seen as being human-made, their reasoning being that human actions before the strike of
the hazard can prevent it developing into a disaster. All disasters are hence the result of human
failure to introduce appropriate emergency management measures.[9] Hazards are routinely
divided into natural or human-made, although complex disasters, where there is no single root
cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary
disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami,
resulting in coastal flooding.
Some researchers also differentiate between disasters and "small" disasters. A small disaster is
frequent, often seasonal, and generally leads to fewer than 10 fatalities. An example would be
flooding that occurs every year. A disaster occurs much less frequently, with a greater scale of
fatalities and injuries. While the impact of each disaster is catastrophic, overall such impacts are
low, while small disasters and everyday hazards are the main causes of premature deaths and
serious injuries.[10]
Natural disasters[edit]
Main article: Natural disaster
A natural disaster is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other
health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic
disruption, or environmental damage.
Various phenomena like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes,
tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, and cyclones are all natural disasters that kill thousands of
people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year. However, the rapid
growth of the world's population and its increased concentration often in hazardous environments
has escalated both the frequency and severity of disasters. With the tropical climate and
unstable landforms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation, non-engineered
constructions make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable. Developing countries suffer more
or less chronically from natural disasters due to ineffective communication combined with
insufficient budgetary allocation for disaster prevention and management.

Airplane crashes and terrorist attacks are examples of man-made disasters: they cause pollution, kill
people, and damage property. This example is of the September 11 attacks in 2001 at the World Trade
Center in New York.

Human-made disasters[edit]
Main article: Anthropogenic hazard
Human-instigated disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. Examples
include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills, nuclear
explosions/nuclear radiation. War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category.
Other types of man-made disasters include the more cosmic scenarios of catastrophic global
warming, nuclear war, and bioterrorism.
The following table categorizes some disasters and notes first response initiatives. Note that
whereas the sources of a disaster may be natural for example ( heavy rains) or man-made (for
example ( broken dam), the results may be similar (flooding).[11]
Responses[edit]
Disaster
Example Profile
The sudden, drastic flow of snow
down a slope, occurring when either
natural triggers, such as loading
Avalanche from new snow or rain, or artificial
triggers, such as explosives or
backcountry skiers, overload the
snowpack
A severe snowstorm characterized
Blizzard by very strong winds and low
temperatures
The shaking of the earth's crust,
caused by underground volcanic
Earthquake
forces of breaking and shifting rock
beneath the earth's surface
Natural
Fires that originate in uninhabited
Fire (wild) areas and which pose the risk to
spread to inhabited areas
Flash flooding: Small creeks,
gullies, dry streambeds, ravines,
Flood
culverts or even low-lying areas
flood quickly
Rain occurring when outside surface
Freezing Rain
temperature is below freezing
A prolonged period of excessively
Heat wave
hot weather relative to the usual
weather pattern of an area and
First Response
Shut off utilities; Evacuate building
if necessary; Determine impact on
the equipment and facilities and any
disruption
Power off all equipment; listen to
blizzard advisories; Evacuate area, if
unsafe; Assess damage
Shut off utilities; Evacuate building
if necessary; Determine impact on
the equipment and facilities and any
disruption
Attempt to suppress fire in early
stages; Evacuate personnel on alarm,
as necessary; Notify fire department;
Shut off utilities; Monitor weather
advisories
Monitor flood advisories; Determine
flood potential to facilities; Pre-stage
emergency power generating
equipment; Assess damage
Monitor weather advisories; Notify
employees of business closure;
home; Arrange for snow and ice
removal
Listen to weather advisories; Power-
off all servers after a graceful
shutdown if there is imminent
potential of power failure; Shut
down main electric circuit usually
 relative to normal temperatures for
the season
Hurricane Heavy rains and high winds
Geological phenomenon which
includes a range of ground
Landslide movement, such as rock falls, deep
failure of slopes and shallow debris
flows
An electrical discharge caused by
Lightning
lightning, typically during
strike
thunderstorms
Limnic The sudden eruption of carbon
eruption dioxide from deep lake water
Violent rotating columns of air
Tornado which descent from severe
thunderstorm cloud systems
A series of water waves caused by
the displacement of a large volume
of a body of water, typically an
ocean or a large lake, usually caused
Tsunami by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
underwater explosions, landslides,
glacier calvings, meteorite impacts
and other disturbances above or
below water
located in the basement or the first
floor
Power off all equipment; listen to
hurricane advisories; Evacuate area,
if flooding is possible; Check gas,
water and electrical lines for
damage; Do not use telephones, in
the event of severe lightning; Assess
damage
Shut off utilities; Evacuate building
if necessary; Determine impact on
the equipment and facilities and any
disruption
Power off all equipment; listen to
hurricane advisories; Evacuate area,
if flooding is possible; Check gas,
water and electrical lines for
damage; Do not use telephones, in
the event of severe lightning; Assess
damage
Shut off utilities; Evacuate building
if necessary; Determine impact on
the equipment and facilities and any
disruption
Monitor tornado advisories; Power
off equipment; Shut off utilities
(power and gas); Assess damage
once storm passes
Power off all equipment; listen to
tsunami advisories; Evacuate area, if
flooding is possible; Check gas,
water and electrical lines for
damage; Assess damage
 Shut off utilities; Evacuate building
Volcanic The release of hot magma, volcanic if necessary; Determine impact on
eruption ash and/or gases from a volcano the equipment and facilities and any
disruption

Get information immediately from

your Public Health officials via the
news media as to the right course of
The intentional release or
action; If you think you have been
Bioterrorism dissemination of biological agents
exposed, quickly remove your
as a means of coercion
clothing and wash off your skin;
Also put on a HEPA to help prevent
inhalation of the agent[12]

A disturbance caused by a group of

people that may include sit-ins and
other forms of obstructions, riots,
sabotage and other forms of crime, Contact local police or law
Civil unrest
and which is intended to be a enforcement[13][14]
demonstration to the public and the
government, but can escalate into
general chaos

Human- Attempt to suppress fire in early

made stages; Evacuate personnel on alarm,
Even with strict building fire codes,
Fire (urban) as necessary; Notify fire department;
people still perish needlessly in fires
Shut off utilities; Monitor weather
advisories

The escape of solids, liquids, or

Leave the area and call the local fire
gases that can harm people, other
department for help.[15] If anyone was
Hazardous living organisms, property or the
affected by the spill, call the your
material spills environment, from their intended
local Emergency Medical Services
controlled environment such as a
line[16]
container.

Recognize that a CBRN incident has

An event involving significant
or may occur. Gather, assess and
release of radioactivity to the
Nuclear and disseminate all available information
environment or a reactor core
Radiation to first responders. Establish an
meltdown and which leads to major
Accidents overview of the affected area.
undesirable consequences to people,
Provide and obtain regular updates
the environment, or the facility
to and from first responders.[17]
 Wait 5–10 minutes; Power-off all
Servers after a graceful shutdown;
Caused by summer or winter storms,
Do not use telephones, in the event
Power Failure lightning or construction equipment
of severe lightning; Shut down main
digging in the wrong location
electric circuit usually located in the
basement or the first floor

See also