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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
Disaster Management

Lecture – 03
Hazards and Hazard Management
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Hazards and Hazard Management

Types of Vulnerabilities:
Physical Vulnerability:
❖ The remoteness of Settlements, Especially on Islands: Isolated settlements, particularly on islands, face
heightened vulnerability due to poor connectivity during disasters. Limited access can impede timely
assistance and hinder evacuation efforts, increasing the risk to residents. For example: Coastal communities.
❖ Population Density: High population density in urban areas increases vulnerability as more people are
exposed to potential hazards, making evacuation and emergency response challenging.
❖ Construction Quality: The quality of construction materials and techniques directly impacts vulnerability.
Poorly constructed buildings are more likely to collapse during disasters, increasing the risk to occupants.
❖ Construction (Urban) Planning: Inadequate urban planning can contribute to vulnerability. Poorly planned
cities may lack proper infrastructure and evacuation routes, hindering effective disaster management.
➢ For example: In earthquake-prone regions like Nepal and Japan, high-rise buildings are vulnerable due
to inadequate seismic-resistant construction strategies, heightening the risk of structural damage.
❖ Inadequate Construction Materials in Turkey: The use of substandard construction materials and designs
in Turkey increases vulnerability, as these structures are more likely to fail during earthquakes or other
disasters.
Social Vulnerability:
❖ It arises from the elements of society because of the inability of the people, organizations, and communities in
the society to resist the negative impact of disaster.
❖ This may be due to weaknesses in social interactions, institutional governance, and social-cultural interaction.
❖ Various groups in society: children, women, elderly, differently-abled.
❖ During disasters, floods, cyclones, etc.: they are least protected due to poor infrastructure, awareness, and
social interaction.
Economical Vulnerability:
❖ Emerges from the impoverished economic conditions of individuals, communities, or countries.
❖ Limited financial resources hinder the ability to develop infrastructure, implement preventive measures, and
carry out recovery and rescue efforts.
❖ For instance, island nations lacking resources often face challenges in implementing high-quality disaster
preparedness measures, resulting in higher casualties and extensive damage.
❖ African nations situated near the Sahara, characterized by low national income, tend to exhibit lower
resilience to disasters, leading to increased mortality during events like heatwaves and droughts.
Environmental vulnerability:
❖ It may arise due to the depletion of natural resources: (land, air, water system).
❖ Example:
➢ Depletion of mangroves lead to vulnerability to coastal communities.
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➢ Removal of sand from river banks by ‘Sand Mafias’ lead to river settlements vulnerable to flooding.
➢ Degradation of the air lead to severe pollution in Beijing, China; Delhi-NCR.
Institutional Vulnerability:
❖ Arises from inadequacies within state institutions, characterised by a lack of effective governance.
❖ Results in the inability to protect the population from disaster-induced harm.
❖ Lack of preparedness can lead to the destruction of critical infrastructure and loss of life.
❖ For example: Policy paralysis and an absence of planning and strategy hinder disaster response, as evidenced
by the Afghanistan earthquake.
Attitudinal Vulnerability:
❖ Involves the reluctance of communities and societies to grasp the inherent risks and respond adequately.
❖ For example: Some tribes resist relocation due to their cultural attachment to the forest, despite the potential
risks, which may lead to adverse consequences.

Vulnerabilities in India:
Vulnerabilities in India vary across
different physiographic zones, each
facing unique risks:
Himalayas:
❖ Vulnerable to landslides,
exemplified by the Prayag region in
Garhwal, Uttarakhand.
❖ Earthquake-prone, as seen in the
Himalayan region, including Nepal.
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❖ Susceptible to cloudbursts, like the

one in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, and
Glacial Lake Outburst floods
(GLOF), such as the Kedarnath
disaster.
Indo-Gangetic Plains:
❖ Vulnerable to floods along the River
Kosi.
❖ Heat Waves due to high temperatures
and drought in northern India.
Coastal Regions:
❖ Susceptible to disasters like tsunamis
and cyclones, particularly in Tamil
Nadu and Odisha.
Peninsular India:
❖ Earthquake vulnerability, is evident
in Bhuj, Gujarat.
❖ Drought-prone areas, like the
Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.
❖ Vulnerable to floods in the
Narmada-Tapi basin.
North and North-West India:
❖ Vulnerable to drought and heat
waves, as observed in the region.
Hazard:
❖ It is the benevolent danger that remains in existence in the life and ecosystem of humans and doesn’t cause
any harm on its own.
➢ Example: smoking is a health hazard.
❖ It is a potential loss causing risk to an element (human, infrastructure, etc) which may cause deleterious
harm when the disaster strikes.
❖ Habitation in the coastal areas (bare region, without any vegetation) faces potential risk of the cyclone.
Risk:
❖ Risk is the possibility or probability of harm/injury/damage to humans or an asset while pursuing certain
activities.
❖ It is a potential loss of life or potential damage/harm to an asset or infrastructure when at a specific time
a region, group of people or society or community is exposed to certain disaster (phenomenon which may
cause damage).
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(NOTE: Assets include home, cars, machines, anything which is taking part in productivity.)
Hazard Escape:
❖ It discusses the hazard profile of a locality or an area of a region i.e. what kind of hazard exists there, and
focuses on making assessment of the hazards in the life of the people who are staying in a particular region.
➢ For instance, in the Himalayan region, the focus would be on avalanches, landslides, and seismic
activities due to its geographical characteristics.
❖ It pays attention towards potential risks existing which may cause harm to people, society or community.
❖ Hazardescape studies complex relation/interaction between social vulnerabilities and existing natural
hazards.
➢ For example: In coastal regions, it considers factors like population density, infrastructure, and socio-
economic conditions influencing vulnerability to tsunamis or storms.
Hazard Risk Management Framework:
❖ It is a complete structure to analyze, access, and manage the risk.
Steps To Hazard Risk Management:
❖ Step I: Risk Analysis: Risk analysis is the foundational step in hazard risk management.
➢ It involves studying the data collected, which consists of two essential components: hazard analysis and
consequences analysis.
✓ Hazard Analysis: It focuses on identifying and understanding the various hazards that a particular
region or system is exposed to. It includes assessing the probability, intensity, and frequency of these
hazards, such as earthquakes, floods, or industrial accidents.
✓ Consequences Analysis: It assesses the potential impact and repercussions of these hazards. It looks
at how these hazards can affect people, property, the environment, and the economy. It quantifies
the potential losses and damages that may occur in the event of a disaster.
❖ Step II: Risk Assessment: Risk assessment involves further evaluation of the information gathered in the risk
analysis phase.
➢ It includes:
✓ Risk Estimation: Estimating the level of risk associated with various hazards and their potential
consequences. This involves assigning probabilities and severity levels to different scenarios.
✓ Risk Evaluation vs. Risk Tolerance: The estimated risks are compared to predefined risk tolerance
levels. Risk tolerance is the threshold beyond which a risk is considered unacceptable. If the
estimated risk exceeds the predetermined tolerance, it requires immediate attention and mitigation.
❖ Step III: Risk Management: Risk management is the action-oriented phase of hazard risk management.
➢ It involves:
✓ Risk Mitigation and Control Plan: Developing a comprehensive risk management plan that
includes all relevant stakeholders. This outlines the specific actions and measures that need to be
taken to reduce or eliminate the identified risks. It may involve structural changes, policy
adjustments, and the implementation of early warning systems.
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✓ Implementation on the Ground: This involves putting the risk mitigation and control plan into
action. All coordinated steps are taken to minimize the identified risks and enhance the
community's resilience to potential disasters.
✓ Review, Monitoring, and Feedback Mechanism: After implementation, it's essential to continually
review and monitor the effectiveness of the risk management measures. Feedback mechanisms help
assess whether the risk has been adequately reduced and if further adjustments are needed.
This iterative process ensures that risk management strategies remain current and effective.
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