E.

GENERIC CLASSIFICATION OF DISASTER (10hrs)

Disasters and crises are generally classified as Natural and Man-made. Natural disasters and crises are
caused by such natural calamity like floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, and so on, where as man-made disasters
are the results of human actions, and include road, rail, and air accidents, industrial accidents, strikes, civil violence,
and wars, new man-made disaster threats that have developed, particularly since World War II are far more
destructive in their potential than the traditional threats. Increased social violence including trans-border terrorism
has drastically affected many nations and communities. Threats from industrial accidents, such as the Bhopal gas
leakage in 1984, production, transportation and dumping of hazardous materials and substances endanger
unprotected and unaware people.36 Atomic and nuclear sources pose yet another threat. The possibility of use of
nuclear weapons has added a new dimension to the problem of disaster management and mitigation.

New International Webster’s Dictionary, disasters can be seen as being human made their reasoning being
that human actions before the strike of the hazard can prevent it developing in to a disaster. All disasters are hence
the result of human failure to introduce appropriate disaster management
measures. Hazards are routinely divided in to 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 the impact. A classic
example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami, resulting in coastal flooding.

Natural Disasters – are disasters naturally occur as part of nature. They usually formed naturally as part of
the changes in the environment and climate such as floods, droughts, cyclones, landslides, and others.

Man-made Disasters - are the results of human actions, and include road, rail, and air accidents, industrial
accidents, strikes, civil violence, and wars, new man-made disaster threats that have developed. These are the
consequences of the daily activities of men that might be due to industrialization, development of science, unlawful
acts of men and others.

1) Major Natural Disaster

2) Minor Natural Disaster
• Cold wave
• Thunder Storms
• Heat Waves
• Mud slides
• Storm
3) Major Man Made Disasters.
• Setting of fires
• Epidemic
• Deforestation
• Pollution due to Prawn cultivation
• Chemical pollution
• Wars.

4) Minor Man Made Disasters.

• Road / Train accidents, Riots.
• Food Poisoning.
• Industrial Disaster.
• Environment Pollution.

FACTORS OF DISASTERS
Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society causing widespread human material or
environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society or community to cope using only its own
resources. Disasters are often classified according to their speed of on set slow or sudden) or according to their
cause (natural, manmade or complex. .
Disasters may take many forms and occur as a result of one or made wide range of events both natural and
man induced. The duration of these events may range from a few seconds to many years the security of the effects
of a degree to which man has creates an environment susceptible to damage that is environments in which life
and property are at risk.
 Another term closely related to disaster is Emergency. An emergency might be regarded as a particular type
of a disaster, “emergency” suggest an intense time period and level of urgency. An emergency is bounded by a
specific period in which lives and essential property are immediately at risk. A Disaster can encompass a more
general period in which there is a clear and marked deterioration in the coping abilities of a group or community.
Unusual initiatives by groups, communities and external intervention are also evident during this period.

3. Common Casual Factors of Disasters.

Common caused factors play a large role in determining the severity and magnitude of a disaster. The
following usual factors are general in nature and they may be contributes to determining the vulnerability of a
society to disasters.
• Poverty:
The single most important factor that increases the vulnerability of people to disaster is poverty. An
impoverished people who lack education usually to cope with the hazard of their surroundings.
• Ungoverned Population Growth:
Ungoverned population growth can lead to settlement in hazardous areas susceptibility to disease
competition for scarce resources and civil strife. Disaster losses are significantly reduced when the people of any
given society are organized with effective laws and controls to protect the pollution from potentially hazardous
areas, access to public utilities, medical care education and economic resources Vulnerability to disaster increases
when a nations capacity to govern does not consider the impact and trends in population growth in potentially
hazardous areas. Even in the most climates rapid urbanization can create slowly evolving time bombs which could
lead to disaster vulnerability.
• Rapid urbanization and Migration:
Rapid population growth and migration are related to the major phenomenon of rapid urbanization. It is
characterized by the rural poor or civilians in an area of conflict moving to Metro Politian areas in search of economic
opportunities and security. These massive numbers of urban poor increasingly find fewer options for
availability of safe and desirable placed to build their houses. Here again competition for scarce resources an
inevitable consequence of rapid urbanization can lead to manmade disasters. Many landslides or flooding disasters
are closely linked to rapid and unchecked urbanization forcing low income families to settle on the slopes of steep till
sides or ravings or along the banks of flood prone rivers. Many earthquakes victims in urban areas have been
impoverished families where the physical location vice the structure of their houses were hazardous as evidenced by
landslides on to the house or out from under it.
• Transitions in Cultural Practices:
Many of the inevitable changes that occur in all societies leads to an increase in society vulnerability to
disasters obviously, all societies are in a continual state of transition and change. These transitions are often
extremely disruptive and uneven, leaving gap in social coping mechanism and technology. These transitions include
nomadic populations that become centenary rural people who more too urban areas, and both rural and urban
people who more from one economic level to another more broadly, these examples are typical of a shift from non-
industrialized to industrializing societies. One example of the impact of these transitions is the introduction of new
constructions materials and building design in a society that is accustomed to traditional designs and materials this
often results in new materials being used incorrectly. In disaster prone areas, inadequate use of new constructions
techniques earth quakes or wind storm. Compounding the problem is the formation of post disaster communities of
survivors who find themselves without social support systems or net works to assist relief and recovery Traditional
coping mechanisms may not exist in new settlement and the population becomes increasing dependent on outside
intervention for assistance conflicting cultural practices can also lead to civil conflict and strife examples include
events leading to violence triggered by religious intolerances.
• Environmental degradation:
Many disasters are either caused or exacerbated by environment degradation deforestation leads to rapid
rain runoff which contributes to flooding. The destruction of mangrove swamps decreases the coastlines ability to
resist tropical winds and storm surges the creation of drought conditions and the relatives severity and length
of time the drought lasts is mainly or natural phenomena man – made contribute to drought conditions include,
poor cropping patterns overgrazing the stripping of top soil poor conservation techniques depletion of both the
surface and subsequences water supply and to an extent unchecked urbanization.
• Lack of awareness and information:
Disaster can also occur when people who are vulnerable have not been educated on how to get out of
harm’s way or take protective measures at the inset of a disaster event this ignorance may not necessarily be a
function of poverty but a lack of awareness of what measures can be taken to build safe structures on safe building
sites. People may be unaware of safe evacuation routes and procedures others may be unaware on where to turn
for assistance in times of acute disaster. Nevertheless this point should not be taken as a justification for ignoring the
coping mechanisms of the majority of people affected by disaster. In most disaster prone societies there is a wealth
of understanding about disaster threats and responses this understanding should be incorporated into external
assistance initiatives and planning.
• War and Civil Strife:
War and civil strife are regarded as hazards or extreme events that produce disaster war and civil strife often cause
the displacement of the population the causal factors of war and civil strife include completion for scarce resources
religious or ethnic intolerance and ideological differences. Many of these are also by products causal factors of
disasters.

4. Compound and complex disasters

• Socio /Political forces:
Throughout many parts of the worlds one type of hazard can trigger or domino effect of disasters for
examples: a drought may lead to a famine which in turn leads to civil conflict resulting in a mass displacement of the
population. Another example includes flooding which may force people to seek refuge across international borders
upsetting the balance of needs and resources and weakening the ability of the government to receive the added
population growth this is turn may also lead to civil strife and disorder. Such compound hazards and disasters need
not occur sequentially they can occur simultaneously thus people may become caught between contending forces in
a civil war and also suffer from a major drought with limited means to grow food or to receive outside assistance. In
a growth number of countries complex disasters are also becoming more evident essentially a complex disasters is a
form of human made emergency in which the cause of the emergency as well as the assistance to victims are bound
by intense levels of political considerations the single most prevalent political condition of a complex emergency is
civil conflict resulting in a collapse of political authority. In such causes at least one of three situations arise.
The government’ ability to assist their disaster afflicted becomes severely constrained.
The government becomes extremely suspicious of or uninterested I afflicted people who have fled from
non- government to government held areas.
The government or opposition groups actually create or compound a disaster through actions that generate
refugees and the mass displacement of people.
The disaster becomes Complex because either the collapse or diffusion of political control makes assistance
highly problematic solutions ultimately depend upon agreements with all parties involved in the conflict to permit
assistance to be provided to recognized civil an non combination these solutions may include agreements that are
seen essentially as compromising fundamental aspects of sovereigns in exchange for humanitarian an assistance un
sponsored safe havens on corridors of tranquility are examples.

• Complex Emergencies:
These emergencies are a form of human made emergencies in which the cause of the emergency as well as
the assistance to the afflicted are bound by intense levels of political consideration this sort of emergency is normally
associated with problems of displaced people during times of civil conflict or population trapped within their own
communities isolated from a government or private support structures as well as access to international relief
people feeding with the intent of not returning to their negative countries are considered refuges and may be
affected complex emergency.
Disasters or emergency situations where the principal direct causes are identifiable human actions, apart
from “Technological” and ecological disasters this mainly involves situations in which civilian population suffers
causalities losses of property basic services and means of livelihood as a result of war or civil strife. Human made
disasters emergencies can be of the rapid or slow on set types and in the case of internal conflict can lead to
“complex emergencies” as well.

5. DISPLACED PERSONS AND REFUGEES

One of the most serious consequences of compound and complex emergencies are the creation of
population of displaced persons. The term “Displeased Persons” applied in the several contexts. These include
people who are
• Forced to leave the in homes as a forced of drought famine or other disaster, usually in search of food water and
shelter.
• Non- combatant individuals and families forced to leave their homes because of the direct or indirect onsequences
of conflict but who remain inside their counting.
• Forcibly resettled by their government if the resettlement is ethnically tribal or racially motivated.
• Expelled from a country forced out from economic or political reasons especially as an ethnic or national group.

6. Consequences and effects

The variety of possible situations generating displaced people makes generalization difficult, but the
following may be experienced in varying degrees.
• Loss of means of live hood
• Communities becoming separated from services previously provided
• Loss of normal sources of food
• Lack of shelter and household necessities
• Lack of fuel for cooking
• Communicable diseases and over – crowding
• Additional burdens for women especially as heads of house holds
• Large numbers of unaccompanied children separated from family
• Loss of land and tenure
• Possible communication and logistics problems
• Insecurity due to tensions and military activities.42

7. IMPACTS OF DISASTERS

a. Physical Impacts of Disasters:

The Physical impacts of Disaster include causalities earths and injuries and property damages and both vary
substantially across hazard agents. It is difficult to say that how many of the deaths and injuries occurs due to a
disaster. In some cases it is possible to say how many persons are missing and if so whether this is due to death or
because of not proper maintenance of records. Also are important measures of physical impacts include damages
people, society, and health, to cropland and wood lands.

b. Social Impacts:
Social impacts, which include psychosocial socio demographic, socio economic and socio political impacts
can develop over a long period of time, can be difficult to assess when they occur. Despite the difficult in measuring
these social impacts it is nonetheless important to minor them because they can cause significant problems from the
long – term functioning of specific types of households and business in an affected community. A better
understanding of disaster is social impacts can provide a basis for pre impacts predication and the development of
contingency plans to prevent adverse consequences from occurring.

c. Psychosocial Impacts:
One type of social impacts not measured by certain data consists of psychosocial impacts. Such as fatigue,
gastro intestinal upset and tiles as well as cognitive signs such as confusion, impaired concentration impacts include
emotional signs such as anxiety depression and grief as well as behavioral effects such as sleep and appetite changes
such as sleep and appetite charges ritualistic, behavior and substance abuse.

d. Socio Demographic Impacts:

Perhaps the most significant socio demographic impact of a disaster on a stricken community is the
destruction of households dwellings such an event initiates what can be a very long process of disaster recovery
from some population segments The first stage is emergency shelter which consists of unplanned and spontaneously
sought locations that are intended only to provide protection from the elements. The next steps is temporary
shelter, which includes food preparation and sleeping facilities that usually are sought from friends and relatives or
are found in commercial lodging although “Mass Care” facilities in school gymnasiums or church auditorium are
acceptable as a last resort the third step is temporary housing which allows victims to re establish house hold
reclines is non preferred locations or structures. The step is permanent housing which reestablishes household
routines in preferred locations and structures.

e. Socio economic Impacts:

The property damage caused by disaster impact causes direct economic losses that can be thought of as a
loss in asset value, the Ultimate economic impact of a disaster depends upon the disposition of the damage assets
some of these assets are not replaces and so their loss causes a reduction in consumption and thus a decrease in
quality of life or a reduction in investments and thus a decrease in economic productivity other assets are replaced
either through in kind donations. E.g.: Food and clothing or commercial purchases. In the latter case, the cost of
replacement must come from some source of recovery funding, which generally can be characterized an either inter
temporal transfer to the present time from part savings or future from one group to another at a given time.

f. Political Impacts:
There is substantial evidence that disaster impacts can cause social, economic damages, these activities
resulting in political disruption especially during the period of disaster recovery and rehabilitation. Some of the
catastrophic disasters in recent times have led to changes in disaster management policy and creation of new
organization. Policy changes include the enactment of disaster management Act 2005 and development of the
national disaster management response frame work.

8. SPACE TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS FOR NATURAL DISASTERS

MANAGEMENT
Integrated use of space technology applications such as satellite communication satellite based positioning
satellite meteorology and remote sensing is increasingly being adopted in the region for established of the necessary
infrastructure and operational systems for natural disaster mitigation. The most important application of space
technological is in detecting and delivering early warnings of impending disasters and in disseminating this
information to people likely to be affected. Use of satellite meteorology has been triggered by the need to improve
weather and climatologically information and to initiate a close weather watch over a region vulnerable to natural
disasters.
There are several areas of possible cooperation in enhancing the use of space technology for disaster
management. Early warning and high-speed communications, together with effective and efficient satellite
communications technologies facilitated by regional cooperation, are vital for disaster prevention, preparedness and
response operations for floods, earthquakes, droughts and desertification. The presently available wealth of space
assets indicates the potential for sharing data among the users. However, there is an unfilled component in terms of
a terrestrial infrastructure comprising low-cost systems as well as appropriate protocols that will permit the
linking of existing space resources in support of disaster prevention, preparedness and UN-SPIDER-United Nations
Platform for Space based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response.

Enrichment Activity/ies

1. Watch the uploaded video and take note on the meaning of vulnerability.
2. Identify and list down the different vulnerabilities on the video.

Give your reflection or insight to the lesson in 40-50 words.

Assessment

1. Explain in your own idea the meaning of vulnerability. 15 -20 words each.
2. How will the vulnerability occurs? 40-50 words
3. Why is there a need to determine the vulnerability in an area? Explain in 20 – 30 words.

Suggested Readings: Read the related topic on the books listed below or you can surf in the internet.
1. http://memp.colacotway.vic.gov.au/ch01s04s03.php
2. https://www.unisdr.org/files/29288_apdrexecsummary.pdf
Assignment: Research and explain in your own idea the major classification of disaster.