Elements of disaster

 Hazard
 Risk
 Vulnerability
 Capacity
 Hazards
 Hazards may either be natural or human-
made phenomena potentially causing
losses to human settlements and
economic activities.
 Hazards are events or physical conditions
that has the potential to cause fatalities,
injuries, damage to property, interruption
of business or environmental damage.
Risk (“risgo”)
Is the exposure or the chance of loss due
to a particular hazard for a given area and
reference period. It may be expressed
mathematically as the probability that a
hazard impact will occur multiplied by the
consequences of that impact
( R = H x E x V)
 Vulnerability
 Vulnerabilityis a condition or set
of conditions that reduces
people’s ability to prepare for,
withstand or respond to a hazard.
WHAT makes communities vulnerable to
disasters?
 Rapid population growth and inadequate
planning
 Population density
 Dependency on infrastructure and
services
 Concentrated political, economic and other
resources
 Inappropriate construction
 Makeshift housing on unstable slopes.
 Deforestation
 Inadequate emergency planning and warning.
Unmarked evacuation routes.
 Lack of Urban Planning. No Safety Measures.
 Inappropriately built and poorly maintained
essential facilities and services
 Housing too close to each others.
 Bad Management of industrial wastes.
 Inappropriately constructed buildings in high risk
areas
 Capacity
Capacities are those positive
conditions or abilities which
increase a community’s ability to
deal with hazards.
 Disaster Risk Management
 Hazard + Vulnerability = DISASTER

• Hazard
- phenomena, potential, threat
• Vulnerabilities
- situation of communities weakness
- nature of the hazard

 Risk ,
exposure, hazard, vulnerability
*
 Capacity (Capability to cope)
 Hazard + vulnerability/ capacity = DISASTER