HAZARDS

DEFINITIONS

  • A HAZARD Is any event, natural or man-made that has the potential to cause harm and or destruction to man and his environment. Eg. volcanic eruption, hurricane, earthquake, oil spills (man-made)

  • A NATURAL HAZARD refers to any event created through the forces of nature, that is spontaneous climatic or physical phenomenon that is not caused by man, but has the potential to cause loss of life and property. Eg. earthquake, tsunami, flood

  • A TECHNOLOGICAL/MAN-MADE HAZARD refers to the threat or potential harm that can occur as a result of man’s direct or indirect influence on his physical and human or man-made environment

EXAMPLES OF HAZARDS

SEISMIC:EARTHQUAKES, VOLCANOES - ground shaking, tsunamis, ash clouds

METEOROLOGICAL - tropical storms, hurricanes, tropical depression

GEOMORPHOLOGICAL - mudflows, soil erosion, landslides

BIOLOGICAL - epidemics, plant and animal invasion, forest fires

TECHNOLOGICAL - waterborne pollution, industrial explosions, pipeline leakages

DEFINITIONS:

  • A DISASTER refers to the aftermath of a hazard; it is the resulting impact of a hazard on man and his environment

  • A NATURAL DISASTER is the aftermath of a natural hazard, not caused by man that can lead to or cause a level of destruction

HAZARD VS DISASTER

  • A hazard is an event that has the potential to cause harm to man and his environment, whereas a disaster is what happens after the hazard has passed through (level of destruction)

CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR A DISASTER TO OCCUR

  • 10 or more people killed

  • State of Emergency is declared

  • 100 people are reported affected

DEFINITIONS

VULNERABILITY describes the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system or asset that makes it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard. It is the degree at which you are or an area is at risk

Examples:

  • Poor design and construction of buildings

  • Inadequate protection of assets

  • Lack of public information and awareness

RISK is the potential disaster losses, which could occur to a particular community or a society over some specified future time period. It considers the probability of harmful consequences or expected losses (death, injury, property, livelihoods, economic activity disrupted)

RISK VS VULNERABILITY

WHY DO PEOPLE PLACE THEMSELVES AT RISK

  1. Lack of space - population is growing and some areas, like flat land, lack space, so people have to live in areas that are available. Some of the available areas would be mountains, which are susceptible to landslides or rivers, which are susceptible to flooding.

  2. Cost versus benefit- some areas maybe rich in resources or facilities that can only be found in that specific area. People choose to live there because they paid higher and can get access to things like jobs. In a sense, the benefit outweighs the cost. They value what they gain over the fact that their life maybe at jeopardy

  3. Lack of knowledge - people may not know what to do during a particular hazard and in turn, hurt/injure themselves. They also may not know how to protect their assets

A hazard is any event, natural or man-made that has the potential to cause harm and or destruction to man and his environment

A natural hazard is any event created through the forces of nature, that is spontaneous climatic or physical phenomena, not caused by man, but has the potential to cause loss of life and property

A technological hazard refers to the threat or potential harm that can occur due to man’s indirect or direct influence on his physical and human or man-made environment

Disaster is the aftermath of a hazard; it is the resulting impact of a hazard on man and his environment

A natural disaster is the aftermath of a natural hazard, not caused by man but can lead to or cause a level of destruction

Vulnerability describes the characteristics or circumstances of a community, system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.

A risk is the potential disaster losses that could occur to a particular community or society over a specified future time period