23CE301 DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Unit 1: INTRODUCTION
Introduction, Etymology of disaster, Concepts and definitions: disaster, hazard,
vulnerability, risks, Resilience, prevention and mitigation.

Presented by
Dr. VIJAYAKUMAR NATESAN
Assistant Professor, Civil Engg., MITS
What is disaster?
“A disaster can be defined as any occurrence that cause damage, ecological disruption,
loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services on a scale, sufficient to
warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area”.
(W.H.O.)

A disaster can be defined as an occurrence either nature or manmade that causes human
suffering and creates human needs that victims cannot alleviate without assistance”.
American Red Cross (ARC)

A disaster is a serious disruption to a community or society that exceeds its ability to cope
using its own resources. Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made, or technological
hazards, and can include widespread human, material, economic, or environmental losses
and impacts. Disasters can be immediate and localized, or widespread and long-lasting

United Nations is given the definition of Disaster: The sudden event that leads to the
huge loss of life and property.
Founded in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners and
people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone,
everywhere can attain the highest level of health. WHO leads global efforts to expand
universal health coverage.

WHO’s work remains firmly rooted in the basic principles of the right to health and well-
being for all people, as outlined in our 1948 Constitution. The World Health Assembly is the
decision-making body of WHO and is attended by delegations from all Member States.

What is disaster management?

Disaster management is a process of effectively preparing for and responding to disasters. It
involves strategically organizing resources to lessen the harm that disasters cause. It also
involves a systematic approach to managing the responsibilities of disaster prevention,
preparedness, response, and recovery.
 Etymology: Disaster
The word ‘Disaster’ derives from Middle French désastre and that from Old Italian
disastro, which in turn comes from the Greek pejorative prefx δυσ-, (dus-) “bad”+
αστήρ (aster), “star”. The root of the word disaster (“bad star” in Greek and Latin)
comes from an astrological theme in which the ancients used to refer to the
destruction or deconstruction of a star as a disaster.

Word origins Disaster

The word ‘Disaster’ entered english from Middle French désastre which came from
the Italian disastro. The Italian version came from latin disastrum referring to bad
or ill starred. Disastrum refers to things that are unfavourable or bad. The latin
version came from the Greek Disastron. Which meant bad stars or bad movement
of stars. Ancient people often believed astrological and blamed most clamities and
bad events on the position of the events.
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 Definition:

Disaster
Disaster is an event or series of events, which gives rise to casualties and damage or loss
of properties, infrastructures, environment, essential services or means of livelihood on
such a scale which is beyond the normal capacity of the affected community to cope with.
Disaster is also sometimes described as a
“catastrophic situation in which the normal pattern of life or eco-system has been
disrupted and extra-ordinary emergency interventions are required to save and preserve
lives and or the environment”
 What Disaster Stand For
1. D : Detection: To find the bad events
2. I : Incident Command system: The Incident Command System (ICS) is used by public
agencies to manage emergencie
3. S : Safety and Security: Give the safety and security to the people/Nation
4. A : Assess Hazards: (Identify hazards, Determine the likelihood of harm, such as an
injury or illness occurring, and its severity. Identify actions necessary to eliminate
the hazard, or control the risk using the hierarchy of risk control methods)
5. S : Support: In terms of money or food
6. T : Triage and Treatment: Medical emergency
7. E : Evacuation: Bring the people from that disease/damage
8. R : Recovery
 Definition
Hazard Vulnerability Risk:
A hazard is a potentially Vulnerability refers to the extent Risk is the probability of
damaging physical event, to which a community, structure, harmful consequences or
phenomenon, or human service, or asset is likely to be expected losses resulting from
activity that may cause loss damaged or disrupted by the interactions between hazards
of life, injury, property impact of a hazard due to its and vulnerable conditions.
damage, social and nature, construction, location, or Formula (conceptual):
economic disruption, or socioeconomic condition. Risk = Hazard × Vulnerability
environmental degradation. Examples: Examples:
• Poor housing structures • High risk of landslide in a
Examples:
• Lack of early warning systems hilly area with weak soil and
•Earthquakes
• High population density poor housing.
• Floods
• Low education or awareness • Risk of disease spread in
•Cyclones
levels flood-affected, densely
•Industrial accidents populated slums.
Key Point:
Key Point: It represents the weakness or Key Point:
It is the source or trigger of susceptibility of the affected It is the likelihood and impact
disaster. elements. of a disaster occurring.
 Term Meaning Related To

Natural or man-made event Source of potential

Hazard
that can cause harm damage

Vulnerability The susceptibility of people, Level of exposure or

property, or systems to harm weakness

Risk The chance of loss due to Possibility of disaster

hazard and vulnerability impact
combined
 Resilience
Resilience is the ability of individuals, communities, systems, or societies to resist,
absorb, adapt to, and recover quickly from the effects of a disaster or hazard.

Key Features of Resilience:

1. Resistance – Ability to withstand the impact of the hazard.
2. Absorption – Capacity to absorb shocks and minimize damage.
3. Adaptation – Flexibility to adjust to new conditions after a disaster.
4. Recovery – Speed and effectiveness in bouncing back to normal or improved
conditions.

Example:
A coastal village that has elevated housing, evacuation plans, and trained
community members is considered resilient to cyclones because it can reduce
damage and recover faster.
 Types of Vulnerability in Disaster Management
Vulnerability refers to the conditions that increase the susceptibility of a community or system to the impact of
hazards. It is multidimensional—not just physical, but also social, economic, and environmental.

1. Physical 2. Social 3. Economic 4. Environmental 5. Institutional

Vulnerability Vulnerability Vulnerability Vulnerability Vulnerability
Refers to the Relates to social Refers to the Caused by the Relates to the
weakness or failure of
location, structure, characteristics that financial capacity of degradation or
governance, policies,
and materials of affect a community’s individuals or misuse of natural
or institutions in
buildings and ability to respond communities to resources, making the managing disaster risk.
infrastructure. and recover. prepare for, respond environment more Examples:
Examples: Examples: to, and recover from prone to hazards. • Poor urban
• Houses built on • Elderly, children, disasters. Examples: planning
floodplains or or disabled Examples: •Deforestation • Lack of early
unstable slopes populations • Low income or increasing landslide warning systems
• Poor • Lack of education poverty risk • Weak enforcement
of building codes
construction or awareness • Lack of insurance •Wetland destruction
• Corruption or
materials • Gender inequality • Dependence on a leading to flooding
inefficient disaster
• Lack of access to • Marginalized or single source of •Coastal erosion due response
roads or minority income (e.g., to sand mining
hospitals communities agriculture)
Type of Vulnerability Description Example

Structural and locational Houses on slopes or

Physical
weaknesses riverbanks
Demographic and societal Elderly population, low
Social
factors education
No savings, uninsured
Economic Financial limitations
properties
Degradation of natural Deforested areas,
Environmental
protection systems polluted rivers
Weak policies and Lack of planning or
Institutional
governance regulations
 Relation to Disaster Management:
Term Description Why Resilience is Important:
• Saves lives and property
Building resilience reduces risk • Reduces long-term social and
Before Disaster (e.g., better infrastructure, economic impacts
awareness). • Supports sustainable
Building resilience reduces risk development
Before Disaster (e.g., better infrastructure, • Strengthens community
awareness). confidence and preparedness
Building resilience reduces risk
Before Disaster (e.g., better infrastructure,
awareness).
Hazard
A hazard is a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition. It may
cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and
services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

Vulnerability
Vulnerability is the inability to resist a hazard or to respond when a disaster has
occurred. For instance, people who live on plains are more vulnerable to floods than
people who live higher up.

Risk
Risk (or more specifically, disaster risk) is the potential disaster losses (in terms of lives,
health status, livelihoods, assets and services) which could occur to a particular
community or a society over some specified future time period.
 Hazards
‘Hasard’ in Franch and ‘Az-Zahr’ in Arabic
Meaning is ‘chance’ or ‘Luck’
Definition: “A dangerous condition or event, that threat or have the potential for
causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment”
Earthquakes
Floods
Volcanisms
Landslides
Droughts
Forest Fire
Tsunamis
Chemical Accidents
Nuclear Accidents (etc.)

They are called hazards because they have potential to cause loss of life and damage to property

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 Vulnerability
Definition: “The degree of susceptibility and resilience of the community and
environment to Hazards ”
It is depends on the characteristic of a person and or a group in terms of capacity to
anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of hazard.

Susceptibility – Susceptibility is a tendency to be affected by something. Some people

have a greater susceptibility to colds than others. A susceptibility is a type of
weakness, but a particular kind. If your knee keeps getting injured, you may have a
susceptibility to knee problems.
Resilience – the ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune or change.
What is Vulnerability
Vulnerability: describes 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. This definition identifies
vulnerability as a characteristic of the element of interest (community, system or asset) which
is independent of its exposure. However, in common use the word is often used more broadly
to include the element’s exposure.
The above explanation was taken from the United Nations (UN) International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction (ISDR) Terminology on Disaster Risk Reduction.
 Types of Vulnerability

Four types of Vulnerability

• Physical Vulnerability
• Economic Vulnerability
• Social Vulnerability
• Attitudinal Vulnerability
1. Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population density levels,
remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure and
for housing (UNISDR).
Example: Wooden homes are less likely to collapse in an earthquake, but are more vulnerable to fire.
2. Social Vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations and societies to withstand
adverse impacts to hazards due to characteristics inherent in social interactions, institutions and
systems of cultural values. It is linked to the level of well being of individuals, communities and
society. It includes aspects related to levels of literacy and education, the existence of peace and
security, access to basic human rights, systems of good governance, social equity, positive traditional
values, customs and ideological beliefs and overall collective organizational systems (UNISDR).
Example: When flooding occurs some citizens, such as children, elderly and differently-able, may be
unable to protect themselves or evacuate if necessary.
3. Economic Vulnerability. The level of vulnerability is highly dependent upon the economic status
of individuals, communities and nations The poor are usually more vulnerable to disasters because
they lack the resources to build sturdy structures and put other engineering measures in place to
protect themselves from being negatively impacted by disasters.
Example: Poorer families may live in squatter settlements because they cannot afford to live in safer
(more expensive) areas.
4. Environmental Vulnerability. Natural resource depletion and resource degradation are key
aspects of environmental vulnerability.
Example: Wetlands, such as the Caroni Swamp, are sensitive to increasing salinity from sea water,
and pollution from storm water runoff containing agricultural chemicals, eroded soils, etc.
 Risk
Risk includes the two elements: Possibility and probability
Possibility – is just chance of occurrence, But we don’t know how
much chance (What degree possible, not measured)
Probability – Degree of possibility (measurement interns of risk )

The likelihood of something happening the probable consequences if it happens

“Risk occurs where factors and processes are sufficiently measurable for believable
probability distributions to be assigned to the range possible outcomes”
 In Disaster Management, there are different ways of dealing with risk, often referred to as Risk
Management Strategies. These approaches help reduce the impact of hazards and enhance the
resilience of communities.
1. Risk Avoidance 2. Risk Reduction 3. Risk Transfer 4. Risk Retention 5. Preparedness and
Eliminating exposure (Mitigation) Shifting the financial (Acceptance) Response
to hazards Taking actions to consequences of risk Accepting the risk Planning and
minimize the impact when it's too small
altogether. to a third party. training for effective
or unavoidable.
Example: of hazards. Example: response before a
Example:
• Avoiding Example: • Buying insurance • Minor seasonal disaster occurs.
construction in • Building for houses, crops, floods that Example:
flood-prone or earthquake- or businesses people prepare • Community
earthquake-prone resistant structures • Government for and tolerate disaster drills
zones. • Constructing disaster relief • Communities • Emergency
• Relocating embankments for funds adapting to response teams
communities flood control • Risk-sharing regular but low- • Stockpiling food,
• Reforestation to impact hazards
away from through water, and
Goal: To manage
landslide-prone reduce landslides community funds medical supplies
minor risks cost-
hills. • Goal: To reduce the Goal: To reduce the effectively. Goal: To save lives
• Goal: To prevent severity of the economic burden and reduce suffering
risk from arising impact. after a disaster. during a disaster.
in the first place.
Risk Strategy Description Example

No construction in hazard
Avoidance Eliminate exposure
zones
Stronger buildings, early
Reduction Minimize impact
warning

Transfer Share financial risk Insurance, relief funds

Retention Accept minor risks Seasonal rain adaptations

Emergency drills, evacuation

Preparedness Ready to respond
plans
What is Risk
Risk (or more specifically, disaster risk) is the potential disaster losses (in terms of lives, health
status, livelihoods, assets and services) which could occur to a particular community or a society
over some specified future time period. (Reference UNISDR Terminology)
It considers the probability of harmful consequences, or expected losses (deaths, injuries,
property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted or environmentally damaged) resulting from
interactions between natural or human induced hazards and vulnerable conditions.
Risk can be calculated using the following equation: Risk = Probability of Hazard x Degree of
Vulnerability.
There are different ways of dealing with risk, such as:
Risk Acceptance: an informed decision to accept the possible consequences and likelihood of a
particular risk.
Risk Avoidance: an informed decision to avoid involvement in activities leading to risk
realization.
Risk Reduction refers to the application of appropriate techniques to reduce the likelihood of risk
occurrence and its consequences.
Risk Transfer involves shifting of the burden of risk to another party. One of the most common
forms of risk transfer is Insurance.
 Disaster

“DIS + ASTRE” = “Bad Star”

A disaster is the consequence of an event

Causes significant loss to human lives and property

Disaster is a function of hazard, Risk, and Vulnerability

Examples of Disasters:
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Floods
• Landslides
• Hurricanes
• Wildfires
• Droughts,
• and volcanic eruptions are
some examples of natural
disasters.
Such disasters cause massive
loss of life, property, and many
other miseries.
 MITIGATION
Mitigation: Permanent reduction of the risk of disaster
“Primary” Mitigation: “Secondary” Mitigation:
• Reducing the PRESENCE of the Hazard • Reducing the EFFECTS of the Hazard
• Reducing Vulnerability

Principal Objectives Of Mitigation

• Save lives
• Reduce economic disruption
• Decrease vulnerability/increase capacity
• Decrease chance/level of conflict

RISK REDUCTION
 Prevention and Mitigation
Prevention and mitigation are both key components of disaster risk reduction, but they serve
different purposes:
Prevention Mitigation
•Goal: Eliminate or avoid the risk entirely. •Goal: Reduce the impact or severity of a disaster.
•Definition: Actions taken to stop a hazard from •Definition: Measures taken to lessen the adverse
becoming a disaster. effects of a hazard that cannot be prevented.
•Examples: •Examples:
• Building dams to prevent flooding. • Strengthening buildings to withstand
• Land-use planning to avoid construction in earthquakes.
earthquake-prone zones. • Planting trees to reduce landslides or soil
• Vaccination programs to prevent disease erosion.
outbreaks. • Installing early warning systems.

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.
 Aspect Prevention Mitigation

Reduce damage and

Aim Avoid the disaster entirely
losses

Focus Eliminate causes Reduce effects

Timeframe Long-term Long-term or ongoing

Summary: Stopping illegal logging Slope reinforcement

Example Hazard
(prevention of landslides) (mitigation of landslides)

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Mitigation and Prevention are used as synonyms. Some prefer to drop the term Mitigation
and use only Prevention. The term Mitigation can be comprised in the term Prevention.
Mitigation means to reduce the severity of the human and material damage caused by the
disaster. Prevention is to ensure that human action or natural phenomena do not result in
disaster or emergency. Primary prevention is to reduce -avert- avoid the risk of the event
occurring, by getting rid of the hazard or vulnerability, e.g. to avoid overcrowding,
deforestation and to provide services. Healthier people in a healthy environment will be less
vulnerable to most hazards. E.g. immunizing people against smallpox made them less
vulnerable to the virus, and slowly eradicated the disease. Secondary prevention means to
recognise promptly the event and to reduce its effects, e.g. by staying alert to possible
displacements of population; by being ready to provide immunisation, food, clean water,
sanitation and health care to refugees. Healthier people in a healthy environment will also be
more capable to overcome the emergency.
The objective of prevention is to reduce the risk of being affected by a disaster. Even if the
hazard cannot be removed, vulnerability can be decreased and in case of an impact, the
capacity to withstand, to respond and to recover will be stronger.