NATURE OF DISASTERS AND

DISASTER RISK

LESSON COVERS:
CONCEPT OF DISASTER, DISASTER RISK, NATURE
AND EFFECTS OF DISASTER
A hazard is a phenomenon that has the potential to cause
damage to human beings and their livelihoods. It can be either
natural (earthquake, storm, flood, landslide, drought, tsunami,
volcano) or man-made (industrial accident, violent conflict,
etc.). DRR deals
primarily with natural hazards; however, discussions of man-
made hazards can be part of DRR teaching. Hazards only
become a disaster if they affect human beings (for example, a
cyclone hitting an unpopulated island is not a disaster). How
they affect human beings mostly depends on the other two
elements in the equation — vulnerability and capacity.
Vulnerability is the characteristics and circumstances of a
community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the
damaging effects of a hazard. There are many aspects of
vulnerability, arising from
various physical, social, economic, and environmental factors.
Examples may include poor design and construction of
buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of public
information and awareness, limited official recognition of risks
and preparedness
measures, and disregard for wise environmental management.
Vulnerability varies significantly within a community and over
time, and is closely connected to socio-economic status, age,
gender, health and
Disabilities.
Capacity means the combination of all the strengths,
attributes and resources available within a community, society or
organization that can be used to achieve agreed goals. Capacity
may include infrastructure and physical means, institutions,
societal coping abilities, as well as human knowledge, skills and
collective attributes such as social relationships, leadership and
management.
Resilience means the ability of persons, communities and
societies to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the
effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner.
Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability
Capacity of Societal System
Disaster risk is a combination of the interactions of natural
hazard, vulnerability and capacity.
Let’s say the hazard is a 7.0 earthquake that hits a major town.
How badly the town is affected by the earthquake partly depends
on the vulnerabilities
of the town’s infrastructure and population. Are houses and
schools sturdy? Are hospitals still reachable and running when
an earthquake strikes? Here, the effects of this disaster are
partially mitigated by the town’s
Capacity. Strict building codes, for example, can guarantee that
houses and schools are built earthquake-safe. A population that
knows what to do in the case of an earthquake is likely to fare
better than an untrained population.
Risk can be mitigated by limiting exposure to hazards, by
reducing vulnerabilities, or by building capacity. The formula
also clearly shows us that there are no real ‘natural’ disasters.
Even when the hazard is natural, whether or not it becomes a
disaster (a serious disruption to the functioning of our
community or society, to the extent that, even with all the
resources we have, we are not able to cope) depends very much
on
human aspects —on how a society is built and prepared.
Disaster Risk Reduction is the concept and practice of reducing
disaster risk by:
1. Systematically studying the causes of disasters;
2. Reducing exposure to hazards;
3. Lessening the vulnerability of people and property; and
4. Improving the preparedness of people and communities to
face hazards.

DRR aims to strengthen the resilience of persons, communities

and societies.
 PEOPLE

INFRA-
STRUCTURE
AFFECTED
COMPONENTS

ECONOMY

ENVIRONM
ENT
PHYSICAL PERSPECTIVE
• includes visible materials, natural or man-made, which have been
affected by disaster

PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• people’s emotional, cognitive or interpersonal reaction to
difficulties

SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
• centers on people’s response, victims or not, to emergency
situations and to the kind of assistance they receive

ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
• deals with how government services are used to reduce loss or
damage by preparing for and preventing disasters

BIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
• considers the potential for infectious and communicable diseases
after a disaster strikes