NATURE OF

DISASTERS
AND
DISASTER RISK
UNDERSTANDING HAZARDS
HAZARD
• Elements of the physical environment, harmful
to man and caused by forces extraneous to him.
• A source of potential harm or situation with a
potential to cause loss
• A natural event that has the potential to cause a
harm or loss
• A phenomenon or situation, which has the
potential to cause the disruption or damage to
people, their services and their environment
• It is anything that may cause harm or loss.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF
HAZARD
1. Natural hazard such as earthquakes or floods
arise from purely natural processes in the
environment.
2. Technological (or human – made) hazards such
as the toxicity of pesticides to agricultural
lands, accidental leaks of chemicals from
chemical laboratories or radiation from a
nuclear plant. These arise directly as a result of
human activities.
3. Quasi – natural hazard such as smog or
desertification that arise through the interaction
of natural processes and human activity.
TYPES OF HAZARD
Atmospheric

(Single Element) (Combined Element)

Excess Rainfall Hurricanes
Freezing Rain (Glaze) Glaze storm
Hail Thunderstorm
Heavy Snow Falls Blizzard
High wind speeds Tornadoes
Extreme Temperature Heat/Cold Stress
TYPES OF HAZARD
Hydrologic
• Floods
• Wave Action
• Drought
• Rapid glacier advance
Geologic
• Mass movement (Landslides, Mudslides,Avalanche)
• Tsunami
• Earthquake
• Volcanic Eruption
• Rapid sediment movement
TYPES OF HAZARD
Biologic
• Epidemic in humans, plants, animals
• Locusts

Technologic
• Transportation accident
• Industrial explosions and fire
• Accidental release of toxic elements
• Nuclear accidents
• Collapse of public buildings
• Cyber Terrorism
DISASTER
• Any event that causes widespread human,
economic and environmental losses or impacts
that seriously disrupt the normal functioning of a
community.
• Can be considered when an event causes a
significant number of dead or missing people in
an area.

• Can also be considered according to the

assessed cost of repairing or rehabilitating of
structures and infrastructures that been
damaged or destroyed.
DISASTER
• Can also be considered based on the amount of
income lost from work, livelihood and other
economic activities that have been stopped or
slowed down.
• The level of siverity of a disaster is determined
based on the number of human lives missing or
condition of survivors, property damaged and
effect to economic status of a community.
DISASTER RISK
• Can be specific to a location or condition of a
community.
• Determines the tendency of a community to face
disaster.
• For example, the disaster risk of a storm surges
for a community living 100 kilometers away from
the seashore is lower compared with that of a
community that is 110 kilometers near the shore.
Remember

“We CANNOT eliminate hazard,

but we CAN MITIGATE the risk.”
Ban Ki-moon
UN, Secretary General
IMPACTS OF VARIOUS ON
DIFFERENT EXPOSED ELEMENTS
According to the International Center for
integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) the
impacts of various hazards vary in severity and vary in
regard to how long they last. In many ways wealth and
development assist in the way people recover from
hazards. A more economically developed country can
prepare for and predict hazards more effectively and
they have more resources to support a faster recovery.
However there is also a need for resilience. In many
developing countries people who experienced
hardship can often recover more quickly from hazard
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Physical
• Death of People
• Destruction and loss of
vital infrastructure like
transport system , roads,
bridges, power, lines and
communication lines.
• Wide spread loss of
housing
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Psychological impact
• Grief and psychological
trauma
• Marital conflicts
• Depression due to loss
of loved ones and
properties
• Chronic anxiety among
children severely
affected
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Socio – Cultural Impact
• Displacement of
population
• Loss of Cultural Identity
• Forced adoption of new
sets of culture
• Ethnic conflicts
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Economic Impact
• Loss of job due to
displacement
• Loss of harvest and
livestock
• Loss of farms, fish cages,
and other sources of
living
• Loss of money and other
valuables like jewelries,
furniture and appliances
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Environmental Impact
• Loss of forest due to
forest fires
• Loss of fresh water due
to salination (intrusion of
salt water to fresh water
sources)
• Disturbance of
biodiversity
• Loss of natural rivers and
other tributaries
COMMON LONG TERM IMPACTS
OF NATURAL HAZARD
Biological Impact
• Epidemic to people, flora
and fauna
• Chronic and permanent
illness due to nuclear
radiation
• Mental disorder developed
from consumption of
contaminated foods
• Proliferation of different
viral and bacterial
diseases
ASSIGNMENT
1. Define Earthquake
2. What are the different earthquake hazard?