LECTURE NOTES: HAZARDS AND RISKS
over tropical water. Windstorm-related events worldwide cause an
What are hazards?
A hazard is a source or a situation with the potential for harm in
terms of human injury or ill-health, damage to property, damage to the
environment, or a combination of these.
Hazards can have social, economic and environmental
impacts on society. These include loss of life, injuries, and damage to
infrastructure, businesses, and ecosystems. Examples of economic
hazard impacts are the loss of property and infrastructure directly
caused by an earthquake.
What is risk?
A risk is the chance of something happening that will have a negative effect.
The level of risk reflects:
 the likelihood of the unwanted event
 the potential consequences of the unwanted event.
Types of hazards
• A geologic hazard is an extreme natural events in the crust of the
earth that pose a threat to life and property, for example,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis (tidal waves) and
landslides
• Hydrometeorological hazards are “Process or phenomenon of
atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature 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”.
• The hazards you can think of are tropical cyclones (typhoons and
hurricanes), thunderstorms, hailstorms, tornados, blizzards, heavy
snowfall, avalanches, coastal storm surges, floods including flash
floods, drought, heatwaves and cold spells.  Management, it implies that hazards which are not identified would
• Due to global warming climate change these natural hazards are
expected to increase. These extreme weather events have a high
impact on the world. According to Unesco these three
hydrometeorological hazards have one of the highest impacts:
• Floods: they affect every country, and cause more fatalities and more
property damage than any other type of hazard. Not only does it
cause injuries and deaths, floods can disrupt water purification and
sewage disposal systems, and can cause toxic water waste sited to
overflow. 
• Hurricanes, cyclone and typhoons: these are severe storms that form
average of 30,000 deaths and US$2.3 billion in damage each year.
• Droughts: while floods and storms are often sudden, droughts are
slow events that can cause large agro-ecological damage and
seriously disrupt socio-economic life. 
•  Biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that
poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans.
This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that
can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a
substance harmful to other animals.
• Anthropogenic hazards are hazards caused by human action or
inaction. They are contrasted with natural
hazards. Anthropogenic hazards may adversely affect humans, other
organisms, biomes, and ecosystems. They can even cause
an omnicide. The frequency and severity of hazards are key
elements in some risk analysis methodologies. Hazards may also be
described in relation to the impact that they have. A hazard only
exists if there is a pathway to exposure. As an example, the center of
the earth consists of molten material at very high temperatures which
would be a severe hazard if contact was made with the core.
However, there is no feasible way of making contact with the core,
therefore the center of the earth currently poses no hazard.
• Anthropogenic hazards can be grouped into societal hazards
(criminality, civil disorder, terrorism, war, industrial hazards,
engineering hazards, power outage, fire), hazards caused
by transportation and environmental hazards.
Hazard Identification is the process of identifying all the hazards in the
community, workplace and environment.
 Identify all hazards that may impact a community.
 Provide the best available information to show hazard impacts.
 Reflect any changes in hazards since the previous plan
As identification of hazards is the first step in Risk
not go through the rigour of the Risk Management process, leading to
the non-identification of preventive measures for implementation and
communication to prevent harm in the workplace.
Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and
controlling threats to an organization's capital and earnings. These risks stem
from a variety of sources including financial uncertainties, legal liabilities,
technology issues, strategic management errors, accidents and natural
disasters.
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