What is a disaster?

A disaster is a serious disruption occurring over a short or long period of time that 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] Developing countries suffer the
greatest costs when a disaster hits.
No matter what society disasters occur in, they tend to induce change in government and social life.
They may even alter the course of history by broadly affecting entire populations and exposing
mismanagement or corruption regardless of how tightly information is controlled in a society.

Types of Disasters
There are two types of disasters: Natural and Man-Made
Natural Disasters
A natural disaster is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other
health crises, damage to property and infrastructure, loss of livelihoods and services, social and
economic disruption, and environmental damage.
Various phenomena like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes,
blizzards, tsunamis, cyclones and pandemics are all natural hazards that kill thousands of people and
destroy great amounts of habitat and property each year.

For real life example –

Hurricane Katrina

August 29, 2005

 Fatalities: 1,422
 Individuals homeless: 770,000
 Jobless: 400,000
 No power for 2.5 Million homes
 Damages from Hurricane Katrina now estimated between $152-$200 billion

Man-Made/ Human-Made Disasters

Human-instigated disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. Examples
include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills, terrorist attacks, nuclear
explosions/nuclear radiation. War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category.
For real life example – Bomb blast of Beirut, Lebanon,2020 and Notre-Dame de Paris fire, 2019.

What is Disaster Management?

Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and
responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in
particular preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to lessen the impact of
disasters.
Importance of disaster management
1: Save lives, protect livelihoods, and prepare for and recover from disasters and crises
2: Enable healthy and safer living
3: Promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence
Common techniques of disaster management:
Geographic information systems. An increasing number of planning agencies throughout the region
are attempting to undertake natural hazard mitigation activities through development planning
studies.
Remote sensing in natural hazard assessments.
Special mapping techniques.

DROUGHTS
A drought is a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged
shortages in its water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water.It can have a
substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local
economy .Diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock

CAUSES of Drought

 Lack of rainfall. Droughts can occur when there is the lack of ‘expected’ precipitation.
 Surface water flow
Some regions are well distributed with surface water (streams and rivers) that have far away
sources from mountains and watersheds. These surface waters may dry out if the flow from
their sources upstream is affected.
 Global Warming
there are warmer temperatures, often resulting in more dryness and bush fires often causing
drought conditions.

EFFECTS OF DROUGHTS
 Diminished crop growth or yield productions and carrying capacity for livestock
 Dust storms, when drought hits an area suffering from desertification and erosion
 Famine due to lack of water for irrigation
 Habitat damage, affecting both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
 Mass migration, resulting in internal displacement and international refugees
 Reduced electricity production due to reduced water flow through hydroelectric dams of
water for industrial users
 Social unrest
 War over natural resources, including water and food

PROTECTION AGAINST DRAUGHTS

Strategies for drought protection, mitigation or relief include:
 Dams – many dams and their associated reservoirs supply additional water in times of
drought.
 Desalination – of sea water for irrigation or consumption.
For instance, analysis of water usage in Yemen has revealed that their water table
(underground water level) is put at grave risk by over-use to fertilize their Khat crop.
 Land use – Carefully planned crop rotation can help to minimize erosion and allow farmers
to plant less water-dependent crops in drier years.
 Outdoor water-use restriction – Regulating the use of sprinklers, hoses or buckets on
outdoor plants, filling pools, and other water-intensive home maintenance tasks.
 Rainwater harvesting – Collection and storage of rainwater from roofs or other suitable
catchments.
Recycled water – Former wastewater (sewage) that has been treated and purified for reuse.