Module 3: Basic Concept of Hazard

• Define hazards;
• Give examples of the types of hazards;
and
• Explain the impact of various hazards on
different exposed elements.
• According to UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction) terminology (2017) a hazard is a process, phenomenon or
human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health
impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or
environmental degradation.
• Hazards may be natural, anthropogenic or socionatural in origin.
• In addition, according to the United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), a hazard is a natural process or
phenomenon that may pose negative impacts on the economy,
society, and ecology, including both natural factors and human factors
that are associated with the natural ones.
• Hazards are the origins of disasters.
• Hazards are detrimental to the development of human beings and
hinder the sustainability of the world.
Types of Hazards and its example
• Hazards are often categorized by whether they are natural
(sometimes termed physical) or technological (sometimes
called man-made or human-induced).
• Natural hazards can be classified into several broad
categories: geological hazards, hydrological hazards,
meteorological hazards, and biological hazards.
• Technological hazards includes health threats, radiological
and nuclear hazards, chemical hazards, pollution and
terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or
property
Geological hazards are hazards driven by geological (i.e., Earth)
processes, in particular, plate tectonics. This includes:
• Earthquakes- also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the
shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release
of energgy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves.
• Volcanic Eruptions- occurs when hot materials from the Earth's
interior are thrown out of a volcano. Lava, rocks, dust, and gas
compounds are some of these ejected materials
• Landslides- defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or
earth down a slope due to gravity
• Subsidence- is a gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth's
surface due to removal or displacement of subsurface earth
materials.
Meteorological hazards these are hazards related to atmospheric patterns or
conditions and are generally caused by weather factors such as precipitation,
temperature, wind speed, and humidity.
Meteorological hazards include:
• Typhoons/ tropical cyclones- an intense circular storm that originates over
warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high
winds, and heavy rain.
• Monsoons a seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and Southeast Asia,
blowing from the southwest between May and September and bringing rain
(the wet monsoon ), or from the northeast between October and April (the dry
monsoon ).
• Tornadoes- A violently rotating column of air touching the ground, usually
attached to the base of a thunderstorm. Tornadoes are nature’s most violent
storms. Spawned from powerful thunderstorms, tornadoes can cause fatalities
and devastate a neighborhood in seconds. Winds of a tornado may reach 300
miles per hour.
• Thunderstorms- is a localized storm which is accompanied with lightning and
thunder and often brings heavy rainfall, hail as well as strong gusty winds
• El Niño / La Niña- events are a natural part of the global climate system. They
occur when the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above it change from their
neutral ('normal') state for several seasons. El Niño events are associated with a
warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the
reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas. Wildfires - is an
uncontrolled fire that burns in rural areas.
• Wildfires can burn in forests, grasslands, savannas, and other ecosystems, and
have been doing so for hundreds of millions of years. They are not limited to a
particular continent or environment. Wildfires can start with a natural
occurrence— such as a lightning strike—or a human-made spark. However, it is
often the weather conditions that determine how much a wildfire grows. Wind,
high temperatures, and little rainfall can all leave trees, shrubs, fallen leaves, and
limbs dried out and primed to fuel a fire.
Hydrological hazards are hazards driven by hydrological (i.e.,
water) processes.
This includes:
• Flood - is an overflow of water that submerges land that is
usually dry. They are the most common and widespread
natural severe weather event
• Tsunami- is a Japanese word: 'tsu' meaning harbour and
'nami' meaning wave. Tsunami are waves caused by sudden
movement of the ocean surface due to earthquakes,
landslides on the sea floor, land slumping into the ocean, large
volcanic eruptions or meteorite impact in the ocean.
Biological hazards are hazards driven by biological processes.
This includes various types of disease, including infectious
diseases that spread from person to person, threatening to
infect large portions of the human population. Biological hazards
include:
• human, animal (livestock), and plant (agricultural)
epidemics- A more recent example is the COVID-19 pandemic
which had greatly affected nearly all aspects of human life as
it paralyzed the social as well as the economic status of the
affected population. Another example is the widespread
effect of the African Swine Fever among the animal industry.
Impacts of Various Hazards on People and the Environment
• Hazards vary in degrees of severity and duration.
• It only becomes a disaster when elements that are being affected and
exposed are not prepared and their ability to recover is slow. Let us take
for instance the preparedness of the developed countries when it comes
to foresight of disasters using advance technology with that of the
developing countries which find themselves struggling when faced with a
disaster and their ability to recover is rather slow
• The impacts of hazards are likely the outcome of a disaster.
• The exposed elements will initially receive all the negative impacts.
• Elements at risk are the people, properties, economic activities , and to
some extent, the public and private services which may be potentially
threatened by harmful events such as disasters.
However, not all impacts of hazards are adverse. Some natural hazards result
in changes that maybe beneficial or supportive of the other existing
However, not all impacts of hazards are adverse. Some natural hazards
result in changes that maybe beneficial or supportive of the other
existing elements:
1. PHYSICAL ELEMENTS
• People, buildings, roads, poles, bridges and all other material objects
may be ruined by hazards.
• Volcanic eruptions, explosions, fire, or lightning may instantly burn or
incinerate objects that it comes in contact with.
• Cracks, fissures, or total damage may happen if tremors, explosions
and landslides take place.
• All these again, are possibilities still depending on many factors that
increase or decrease the disaster risk of a community.
2. SOCIOECONOMIC ELEMENT
• The positive impacts of hazards on the socioeconomic elements may be in
the form of introducing new habits, practices, systems, or values that may
be geared towards the values of resiliency and recovery.
• The impacts will induce adaptation on the part of the affected community.
• They will tend to create new operations or ways of living that can withstand
the next possible occurrence of the same hazard.
• On the other hand, hazards can also bring negative impacts to these types
of elements. in the economic point of view, most frequented by hazards
usually would have lower standards of living or poor living conditions.
• One reason is their inability to join in market competitions given limited or
constrained resources. Or they may not be considered in the network of
trade because of their proneness to a hazard.
3.ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS
• Just like other exposed elements, perhaps the
initial impact of hazard to the ecosystem and
other organisms in them may be disastrous.
• However, in some cases, again due to
adaptation, or because natural hazards are
natural events and hence part of the natural
cycles on Earth, the occurrence may benefit
certain components of Earth.
Below is a table of short and long term impacts of natural hazards
Types of Impact Instances
Physical 1. Death( whether instant or as a complication)
impact 2. Injuries ( temporary or permanent disability for a person)
3. Destruction or loss os essential structures and
infrastructure system ( houses, schools, hospitals,
emergency center, transportation, electricity, water and
telecommunication)

Economic 1. Loss of livelihood and means of income( sari- sari store,

impact farms, fish pens, transportation and delivery trucks)
2. Loss of employment( closure of factories and offices)
3. Loss of assets( money, real estate, products, valuables)
4. Loss of agricultural commodities( unharvested rice or
corn, dead livestock and poultry, damaged food products
 Environmental 1.
2.
Spread of diseases and epidemics
Exposure to pathogens, toxic chemical and nuclear radiation
/ Biological
3. Loss of available potable water( due to contamination or exhaustion of water source)
impact 4. Loos of natural bodies of water or earth formation
5. Severe deforestation( due to forest fires or massive harvest for harvest homes)
6. Endangerment and or extinction of endemic flora and fauna
7. Disruption of the natural biological processes of the environment and its biodiversity

Psychological 1. Trauma due to death of family member or near- death experience( clinical
impact depression, post- traumatic stress disorder)
2. Conflicts between family members( breakdown of marriage and family)
3. Psychological illnesses like neurosis or psychosis ( depression due to loss of assets
and properties)
4. Chronic use of illegal substances to obtain temporary relief from trauma and pain
5. Trigger of psychological conditions on children ( selective mutism)
6. Displacement due to loss of homes
7. Racial, religious and ethnic conflicts
8. Loss of cultural and indigenous customs and practices due to adoption of foreign
customs and cultures
9. Anarchy, complete disregard for rules and authority, organized crime, formation of
rogue armies or paramilitary groups.
 

Stay safe
and
Thank you