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Natural Hazards and Disasters: Understanding, Impact, and Resilience

June 21, 2024 1565 0

History and Impact of Natural Hazards & Disasters

Disasters are as old as human history but the dramatic increase and the damage caused by them in the recent past have become a cause of national and international concern. 

A Disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. 

Disasters can be caused by naturally occurring events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, or tornadoes, or they can be due to man-made events, either accidental (such as an accidental toxic spill or nuclear power plant event), or deliberately caused (such as various terrorist bombings and poisonings).

  • Definition: It can be defined as “A serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a society causing widespread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources”.

Word Origin

The term disaster owes its origin to the French word “Desastre” which is a combination of two words ‘des’ meaning bad and ‘aster’ meaning star. Thus the term refers to ‘Bad or Evil star’.

  • The Interplay of Elements: It is a result of the combination of Natural Hazards, vulnerability and insufficient capacity  to reduce the potential chances of risk (Refer Figure)

Meeting of Vulnerability and Hazard Causing Disaster

Meeting of Vulnerability and Hazard Causing Disaster

  • The Lethal Impact: Drought and famine have proved to be the deadliest disasters globally, followed by floods, technological disasters, earthquakes, wind storms, extreme temperature, etc. 
    • Global economic loss related to disaster events averages around US $880 billion per year. Figure shows the deadliest disasters of the decade (1992 – 2001).

Relationship between Hazard, Vulnerability and Disaster 

  • Any Natural Hazards– flood, earthquake or cyclone which is a triggering along with greater vulnerability would lead to disaster causing greater loss to life and property.
    • However, with greater capacity of the individual/community and environment to face these disasters, the impact of Natural Hazards reduces. 
    • Therefore, we need to understand the three major components namely Natural Hazards, vulnerability and capacity to have a basic understanding of disaster management.
    • For example, an earthquake in an uninhabited desert isn’t a disaster; it becomes one when it affects people and their assets. 
    • Hence, disasters occur when hazards and vulnerability intersect.

Danger Defined: Manmade and Natural Hazards

  • Definition: Natural Hazards may be defined as a dangerous condition or event that threatens or has the potential for causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment’’.
  • Classification: Hazards can be grouped into two broad categories namely natural and manmade:
    • Natural hazards:
      • These hazards have natural origin such as meteorological, geological or even biological origin.
      • Geological origins such as cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes etc.
      • Biological origins such as viral, fungal etc.

Classification Hazards

  • Manmade hazards: These occur due to human negligence and are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars etc.

Additional Information

Hazards are always prevalent, but the hazard becomes a disaster only when there is greater vulnerability and inadequate capacity to cope with it.

Vulnerability: Physical and Socio-economic Aspects

  • Definition: Vulnerability may be defined as the extent to which a community, structure, services or geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrains or disaster-prone area”.

POINTS TO PONDER

Disasters cause large scale destruction and damage to life and property. However, the disaster’s effect is amplified with increased vulnerability . Can you think of the factors that can make some people more vulnerable than others?

  • Classification: Vulnerabilities  can be categorised into physical and socio-economic vulnerability. 
    • Physical Vulnerability: Impact of Natural Hazards on Structures
      • It includes notions of who and what may be damaged or destroyed by natural hazards. 
      • It is based on the physical condition of people and elements at risk, such as buildings, infrastructure etc.

Reported Deaths from all Disasters (1992-2001) 

    • Socio-Economic Vulnerability:   Disparities in Natural Hazards & Disaster Vulnerability
      • It refers to the degree to which individuals and communities are susceptible to harm from disasters due to their social and economic status.
      • Example: People who are poor and living on the sea coast are generally at higher risk vis-a-vis rich people in case of cyclones and floods.

Risk: Assessing Natural Hazards and Losses

  • Meaning: Risk is a measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event occurring in a given area over a specific time period.
  • Risk Assessment and Loss Estimation: 
    • It is a function of the probability of a particular hazardous event and the losses each would cause. 
    • A community is said to be at ‘risk’ when it is exposed to hazards and is likely to be adversely affected by its impact.

POINTS TO PONDER

Natural Hazards such as Floods, Tsunamis, Landslides etc. are known for wreaking havoc and leading to loss of life and property. Are natural hazards  truly natural ?Do humans play a significant role affecting their intensity and frequency?

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हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध
Quick Revise Now !
UDAAN PRELIMS WALLAH
Comprehensive coverage with a concise format
Integration of PYQ within the booklet
Designed as per recent trends of Prelims questions
हिंदी में भी उपलब्ध

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