Disaster, hazard, vulnerability and risk
Disaster
The term 'Disaster' derives from the latin dis, 'again' and astruvr, 'stars' and is translated as 'the stars are evil'.
Although a standard definition of disaster is yet to be universally accepted and used a few are in good use:
The International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction defined disaster as ‘a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources’ (DHA/IDNDR 1992).
WHO has added an emphasis on health in their definition: 'A disaster is any occurrence that causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, or deterioration of health and health services on a scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected community or area'. (World Health Organization, Coping with emergencies: WHO strategies and approaches to humanitarian action, 1995, Geneva)
At a country level, the working definition of disaster in Australia is worth citing:
'A serious disruption to community life which threatens or causes death or injury in that community and/or damage to property which is beyond the day-to-day capacity of the prescribed statutory authorities and which requires special mobilization and organization of resources other than those normally available to those authorities'. (Natural Disasters Organization, Australian Emergency Manual, 1987, Canberra)
Disasters are the consequence of inappropriately managed risk and a product of hazards and vulnerability.
Hazard is a phenomenon, an event or occurrence that has the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment (e.g. flood, tornado , volcano eruption, earthquake, landslide or man-made hazards). The magnitude of the phenomenon, the probability of its occurrence, and the extent and severity of its impact may vary. In many cases, these effects can be anticipated or estimated. Through careful study and understanding of the nature and prevalence of hazards, a community or public authority could anticipate future hazards and their impact and minimize the risk of a disaster.
Vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of a community to a hazard and the prevailing condition, including physical, socio-economic and political factors that adversely affect its ability to respond to hazards or disaster events. The community and its members may or may not be contributing intentionally or directly to the prevailing conditions. However, altogether, they create factors and situations that define the vulnerability of the community. Vulnerabilities can be manifested as physical, social, or attitudinal vulnerability. The disruption of a community can reduced if it is better prepared, e.g. if there is suitable infrastructure and human systems and coordination. Poor countries and citizens are always more prone to disasters through their greater vulnerability to hazard and risk than higher income countries and citizens. For example, epidemics within poor communities often increase during and after hazardous events such as floods, droughts and cyclones.
Risk, essentially, is the probability that injury to life or damage to property and the environment will occur. However, in disaster management, risk refers to the combined susceptibility and vulnerability of the community to potential damage caused by a particular hazard within a specified future time period. Risk is rooted in conditions of physical, social, economic and environmental vulnerability that need to be assessed and managed on a continuing basis.
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