1. DISASTER RISK REDUCTION (Disaster Risk Management) Definitions of Basic Terms

2. Key Terms in Disaster Risk Reduction
HAZARD
VULNERABILITY
CAPACITY
RISK
CALAMITY
CATASTOROPHE
CATACLYSM

3. DISASTER
Old French – Desastre – des = bad, aster = star, bad or evil star
Italian – disastro
Latin – dis + astrum
Greek – astron (ASTRAL), a star; ill-starred

4. DISASTER
A disaster is a serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing widespread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed to the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.

5. Main Features of a Disaster
unpredictability
unfamiliarity
speed
urgency
uncertainty
threat

6. Disasters are as old as human history.
Disasters, natural or man-made, are unwelcome guests.
The world has played unfortunate host to them innumerable times.
Recent incidents indicate that disasters are increasing in both frequency and intensity.

7. DISASTER
A disaster is a result from the combination of hazard, vulnerability and insufficient capacity or measures to reduce the potential chances of risk.
Hazard = a source of danger
Vulnerability = inadequate access to resources, sick and old people, extent of exposure to hazard impact

8. DISASTER Disaster occurs only when hazards and vulnerability meet.
Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability
Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability x Value (Value = anything of human value including life, property and/or livelihood)
With greater capacity of the individual / community and environment to face the disasters, the impact of a hazard reduces.
Disaster Risk = {(Hazard x Vulnerability) / (Capacity)}

9. Natural Disasters Slow onset Rapid onset Earthquakes Droughts Tsunamis
Volcanic eruptions
Cyclones / storms / hurricanes / typhoons
Floods
Landslides
Avalanches
Blizzards
Wildfires
Droughts
Desertification
Environmental degradation

10. Man-made Disasters Industrial accidents Mining accidents
Transport accidents
Fire accidents
Nuclear accidents
Crowd incidents (stampedes)
Wars
Conflicts
Terrorism

11. Complex Emergencies
Combination of war and conflict

12. HAZARD Old French – hasard Arabic – az-zahr
Both mean ‘chance’ or ‘luck’.
a dangerous condition or event
threatens.
has the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment.

13. HAZARD
A hazard is a phenomenon that puts humans in a potentially dangerous and disadvantageous position.

14. HAZARDS Two categories: natural and man-made are always prevalent.
A hazard becomes a disaster only when there is greater vulnerability and less capacity to cope with it.

15. VULNERABILITY
It is the extent to which a community, structure, geographic area or service is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of its nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrain or a disaster-prone area.

16. VULNERABILITY Two categories: Physical vulnerability
Socio-economic vulnerability

17. CAPACITY It entails resources, means, strengths, skills and knowledge.
These factors exist in households and communities.
These enable the people to cope with, withstand, prepare for, prevent, mitigate, or quickly recover from a disaster.
Capacities could be
Physical capacity or
Socio-economic capacity.

18. RISK
It is a measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event occurring in a given area over a specific time period.
Risk is a function of the probability of a particular hazardous event and the losses it would cause.
The frequency or likelihood of a hazard and the vulnerability of the community increase the risk of being severely affected.

19. RISK The level of risk depends on nature of the hazard,
vulnerability of the elements which are affected, and
economic value of those elements.

20. RISK Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability (conventional)
Risk = Likelihood x Consequence
Likelihood = probability, e.g. 15 %, 50 % or
as frequency, e.g. 1 in 10,00,000 or 5 times
a year.
Consequence is a measure of the effect of the
hazard on people or property.

21. Calamity, Catastrophe, Cataclysm
Calamity suggests a grave misfortune that brings deep distress or sorrow to an individual or to the people at large.
Catastophe is specifically applied to a disastrous end or outcome.
Cataclysm suggests a great upheaval, especially a political or social one that causes sudden and violent change with attending distress, suffering etc.