MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

 DISASTER MANAGEMENT
MS-483

Lecture No. 7:Effects of Disaster Socially & Economically

Engr. Bilal Nasar

Lecturer

Date:
 Impacts of disaster
Natural disasters are caused by
hydro-meteorological, climatological,
geophysical and biological phenomena
which adversely impact on the natural
and built environment of affected
regions.
It has been discussed in details in
previous few lectures.
Their effects in terms of victims and
material damage exceed the capacity
for self-recovery of local communities,
making external assistance necessary.

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 Social and Economic aspects of Disaster
The World Bank & United Nations report
(2010) states that disasters expose the
cumulative effects of decisions
(individual and collective) previously
taken in terms of land management
(including unregulated growth of urban
areas), construction techniques,
implementation of sanitation
infrastructure and low investment in
educational programs, poverty reduction
and social integration, among others.
Such decisions combined with high
intensity natural events (e.g. floods,
landslides, storms and earthquakes)
provoke an array of socioeconomic and
environmental impacts.

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 Continued
Population growth in hazardous
areas means that more and more
people are at risk, and the increasing
dependence of urban communities on
complex infrastructure brings with it
an increasing vulnerability to
disruption.
Natural disasters, even when they
are classified as small or moderate ,
are responsible for adverse socio-
economic and environmental impacts
, particularly in underdeveloped
regions (or regions in development) .

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 Severities due to disaster
This is due to both a lack of preventive
action plans and resources and to low
resilience, inherent to low levels of
social capital.
Such lack of preventive measures
contribute to the prolongation of the
adverse effects on the environment and
society.
This prolonged duration causes a
greater spatial dispersal of
environmental impacts where natural
agents (e.g. water, wind) transport the
problem beyond its source and
aggravate socio-economic impacts by
disturbing economic activity (e.g.
agriculture, trade, tourism) and
increasing social vulnerability.

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 Continued…
Environmental aspect is the
element of an organization's
activities, products and services
which may interact with the
environment
Environmental impact is any
change to the environment, adverse
or beneficial, which is a result, fully
or partly, of environmental aspects
of the organization
The growth in socio-economic
aspects of disasters has shown an
increase in the figure displayed next.

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 Impact of Disasters on Community
Due to the direct impacts on
vulnerable communities. These
often conceal environmental
impacts and therefore are deserving
of special attention on the part of
agents, politicians and researchers
who are responsible for finding
solutions to mitigate their effects.
The impact of disasters on
economic growth is not always
negative and that developing
countries are more vulnerable to
these disasters as more sectors are
affected. This is intrinsically related
to the heightened degree of
vulnerability and the low resistance
of these countries.
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 Continued…
The WORLD BANK & UNITED NATIONS
(2010) draws attention to the fact that
in underdeveloped regions economic
growth rarely occurs after natural
disasters as the intensity of the negative
effects depends on the structure of the
economy.
Moreover, it is known that regions with
low social capital also have weak
economic structures and experience
difficulties in securing adequate
resources to address the problems
caused by disasters.
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 Disaster and GDP
Remittances significantly mitigate the
impacts of natural disasters in terms of
the number of victims in developing
countries, accounting for between 8%
and 17% of Gross National Product
As natural disasters affect the poorest
countries more than others, the most
vulnerable and marginalized
populations have to deal with the most
serious consequences
The table is a good illustration of how
the vulnerability of poor regions
contributes to a significant increase in
the negative impacts of natural
disasters.

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 Source

Thomas D. Schnied, Disaster Management and preparedness. CRC Press:

1st edition November 22,2000.
Recasting disaster policy and planning Island Timothy Beatley, Philip
Berkley ISBN:1559636025.
CUARESMA, J. Natural Disasters and Human Capital Accumulation. The World Bank
Economic Review, v. 24, p. 280-302, 2010.
David Alexander, Principles of emergency planning and Management. Published in USA
Oxford Press.

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 End of lecture 7
 It’s the end of your seventh lecture regarding your course Hazards and
disaster management.

 If there is any problem related to this lecture contact via email i.e.
bilal.ce@must.edu.pk. Much appreciated

 If someone lacks good internet connection then he can contact me via

Ph. # 03485907337 Least appreciated

 Feel free to contact so that your queries regarding this subject could be
dealt.

 Thank you.
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THANKS