Hazard & Disaster

Management:
Basic terms and concepts
By,
USMAN ILYAS
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
University of Management & Technology, Lahore
 Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Define basic terms and concepts used in

hazard & disaster management

• Differentiate between these terms and

concepts
Source: http://www.local.com.pk/hunza/

Source: FOCUS Islamabad

Hazard or Attabad
Disaster? Landslide

Source: www.pamirtimes.net
 Hazard
A hazard is a potentially damaging physical event
or phenomenon or human activity that may cause
the loss of life, property damage, social and
economic disruption (ie…a Volcano).
 Hazard
Hazard has a probability of occurrence…once
it occurs (ie. A Volcano erupting) , it can turn into
a disaster.
 There is a
Potential for occurrence
 Multiple Hazard
When one or more hazard event impacts the
same area, these arises a multiple hazard
situation. These different hazard events may
occur at the same time or may be spaced out in
time.
 Return Period
Majority of hazards have return periods on a
human time-scale. Examples are five-year flood,
fifty-year flood and a hundred year flood. This
reflects a statistical measure of how often a
hazard event of a given magnitude and intensity
will occur. The frequency is measured in terms of
a hazard’s recurrence interval.
 Disaster
A disaster occur when a significant number
of vulnerable people experience a hazard and
suffer severe damage /and or disruption of their
livelihood in such a way that recovery is impossible
without external aid.
 Difference
Hazard is a threat while Disaster is an event.

Disaster is a tragedy occurring as a consequence

of a hazard.

For example, working in Chemical factory is a

hazard, when there is a mishap in the factory
taking lives, then it becomes a disaster.
 Emergency
A sudden and usually unforeseen situation that
calls for immediate measures to minimize its
adverse consequences.
 Crisis
An event that is, or expected to lead to, an
unstable and dangerous situation affecting an
individual, group, community or whole society. It is
considered to bring negative changes in the
security, economic, political, societal or
environmental affairs, especially when they occur
abruptly with little or no warning.
 Catastrophe
An extremely large-scale disaster, a horrible event.
Those positive condition or abilities
which increase a community’s ability to
deal with hazards.
 Risk
RISK is the probability that negative
consequences may arise when hazards
interact with vulnerable areas, people,
property, environment.

Source: www.pamirtimes.net
Risk
Disaster risk:
It is widely
recognized as the
consequence of the
interaction between
a hazard and the
characteristics that
make people and
places vulnerable
and exposed.
Hazard x Vulnerability = Disaster Risk
Capacity
Disaster Risk
 Acceptable risk
The level of potential losses
that a society or community
considers acceptable given
existing social, economic,
political, cultural, technical and
environmental conditions.
 Elements at Risk
Persons, buildings, crops
or other such like societal
components exposed to
known hazard, which are
likely to be adversely
affected by the impact of
the hazard.
Mitigation is of two types.
The first is before the
disaster, when it is possible
to lessen the impact of any
disaster using proper
designs. The second aspect
of mitigation is after the
disaster has occurred when,
by proper management of
resources and available
facilities, we can reduce the
impact, thus saving lives
and reducing damage to
property.
 Mitigation
Measures taken prior to the
impact of a disaster to
minimize its effects
(sometimes referred to as
structural and non-structural
measures).
Training Course on “Gender and Disaster Risk Management”
Mitigation
Preparedness - includes planning
for any disaster, forecasting likely
disasters, keeping a disaster
management plan ready, training
personnel and members of the
society to manage disasters, and
having alternative communication
systems ready for coordination.
Natural disasters can be expected
to damage vital links and these
must be provided for.
Preparedness
 Prevention
The complete
avoidance of
adverse impacts
of hazards and
related disasters
 Response
Response - Once a disaster occurs, two
types of actions will be required. The first
Source: FCUS Islamabad

action is the response to emergency needs.

This will include limiting the impact of the
disaster by relocating people, providing food
and shelter, preventing diseases, and
ensuring the establishment of vital links such
as communication, road, and rail networks.
This phase of disaster management is known
as response. This is a vital phase as this is
when the management of disaster calls for
speedy and timely actions.
Source: www.pamirtimes.net
 Relief
Measures that are required in search and
rescue of survivors, as well to meet the basic
needs for shelter, water, food & health care.
Source: FOCUS Islamabad

Source: www.pamirtimes.net
 Recovery
Recovery is the second phase of
the response to disaster. This, in
many situations, is a long-term
process. Depending upon the
disaster type, it may take months
or years to achieve recovery. This
is the process of bringing the
area to its earlier state, which
may not be fully attainable. In the
case of a nuclear disaster, for
example, the danger from
exposure to radiations continues
for a long period of time. The
process of bringing the
neighborhood to its former state
would take a very long time and
continuous monitoring of the area
would be required.
Disaster Management
A collective term
encompassing all
aspects of planning
for preparing and
responding to
disasters. It refers
to the management
of the
consequences of
disasters.
Disaster risk reduction (DRR)
is a systematic approach to
identifying, assessing and
reducing the risks of disaster. It
aims to reduce socio-economic
vulnerabilities to disaster as
well as dealing with the
environmental and other
hazards that trigger them.
 Coping capacity
The ability of people, organizations and systems,
using available skills and resources, to face and
manage adverse conditions, emergencies or
disasters.
 DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

Disaster Risk Management is the

application of disaster risk
reduction policies and strategies,
to prevent new disaster risks,
reduce existing disaster risks,
and manage residual risks,
contributing to the strengthening
of resilience and reduction of
losses.
 Rehabilitation
Restoration of an entity to its normal or near-
normal functional conditions after the
occurrence of a disaster. It includes;
• Re-establish essential services;
• Revive key economic and social activities
 Reconstruction
Permanent measures to repair or replace
infrastructure and to set the economy back on
course.
 Muzaffarabad City,
New Secretariat building at Muzaffarabad
after 2005 Earthquake
 Development
Sustained efforts intended to improve
or maintain the social and economic
well-being of a community
 What is the difference
between DM and DRM?
Disaster Management

A collective term
encompassing all
aspects of planning
for preparing and
responding to
disasters. It refers to
the management of
the consequences of
disasters.
Disaster Risk Management
A broad range of activities
designed to:

 Prevent the loss of lives

 Minimize human suffering
 Inform the public and
authorities of risk
 Minimize property damage
and economic loss
 Speed up the recovery
process