W1-W2 DRRR

Disaster Definition:
- Sudden, calamitous occurrence causing great harm, injury, destruction, and devastation.
- Disrupts normal life, resulting in physical and emotional distress (helplessness, hopelessness).
- Affects two key elements: life (human or animal) and property (Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, ADPC, 2012).
FAO Definition (2008):
- Serious disruption of a community's functioning that leads to widespread losses, exceeding the community's coping resources.

Causes:
- Result from a combination of exposure to hazards, conditions of vulnerability, and insufficient capacity to cope or reduce impacts.
- Impacts: Loss of life, injury, diseases, destruction of property, social/economic disruptions, environmental degradation.
Classification:
- Natural Disasters: Events caused by natural forces (e.g., earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions).
  - Types:
    - Rapid onset (sudden) vs. progressive onset (e.g., drought).
- Man-made Disasters: Caused by identifiable human actions, either intentional or non-intentional.

Categories:
1. Technological/Industrial Disasters: Risks from unregulated industrial practices (e.g., hazardous leaks, explosions).
2. Terrorism/Violence: Involves major threats, such as nuclear, biological, or chemical attacks (e.g., bombs, shootings).
3. Complex Humanitarian Emergencies: Resulting from wars/civil conflicts disrupting basic services (e.g., food, electricity).

Damage Measurement: Varied based on geography, climate, and community vulnerability, impacting psychological and socio-economic conditions.
Risk Definition:
- Combination of probability of an event and its negative consequences (UNISDR, 2009).
Disaster Risk: Potential (not actual) losses caused by disasters, influenced by hazards, vulnerability, and community coping capacity.

Elements of Disaster Risk:
1. Exposure: Presence of people, property, or systems at risk.
2. Hazard: Dangerous occurrences or phenomena causing loss.
3. Vulnerability: Physical, social, economic, and environmental factors that increase susceptibility to hazards.
Risk Reduction: Focus on reducing exposure and vulnerability to minimize disaster impacts.

Factors Influencing Vulnerability:
- Poor building design, lack of public awareness, high poverty levels, and inadequate preparedness measures.
Formula for Risk: R = H x E x V (Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability).

Definitions:
- Hazard: Potential cause of harm.
- Risk: Likelihood of harm occurring based on exposure (e.g., crossing a road).

Important Factors:
- Severity of Exposure: Those experiencing disasters firsthand at highest risk for mental issues.
- Gender and Family: Women often face more adverse effects, especially with children.
- Age: Adults (40-60) and children show varying stress responses.
- Economic Status: Developing countries more prone to severe outcomes from disasters.

Climate Change: Alters frequency/intensity of hazards, increases vulnerability, and exposure.
Environmental Degradation: Reduces natural disaster resilience and impacts ecosystem and human needs.

Globalized Economic Development: Increases asset polarization, creating higher exposure to hazards. Resilient investments and strategies can reduce risks.
Poverty and Inequality: Vulnerable populations live in hazard-prone areas and lack resources to mitigate risk, perpetuating poverty cycles.
Urban Development: Unplanned urban growth in vulnerable regions increases disaster risk.
Weak Governance: Inefficiency in public sectors in risk management leads to high disaster vulnerability.

National Earthquake Information Center locates ~20,000 earthquakes/year (~55/day).
Expectation of 16 major earthquakes/year based on historical data, with variances observed in recent decades.