some important disaster aspects

This part is going to look into the definition of terms related to disasters

Definition of disaster

According to the DHA/UNDRO  (Department of Humanitarian Affairs/United Nations Disaster Relief Office)(1992),a disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to copy using only its own resources. Disasters are often classified according to their speed of onset (sudden or slow), or according to their cause (natural or man-made).

Disaster= Hazard × Vulnerability

Hazard

A hazard is a rare or extreme event in the natural or human-made environment that adversely affects human life, property or activity to the extent of causing a disaster.

A potentially damaging physical event or phenomena which may cause loss of life, injury, property damage, social and economic disruption. It is characterized by magnitude, probability and location.

Vulnerability

Propensity of human beings and their livelihood to suffer damage and loss when affected by external physical  phenomenon. Vulnerability can be explained by diverse processes and conditions such as presence of insecure buildings, limited economic resources poverty , inadequate education etc.

Disaster management According to DHA/UNDRO (1992), disaster management is the body of policy and administrative decisions and operational activities which pertain to the various stages of a disaster at all levels.

Human-made  disasters are disasters or emergency situations where the principal, direct cause(s) are identifiable human actions, deliberate or otherwise. Apart from “technological” and “ecological” disasters, this mainly involves situations in which civilian populations suffer casualties, losses of property, basic services and means of livelihood as a result of war or civil strife, for example. Human-made disasters/emergencies can be of the rapid or slow onset types, and in the case of internal conflict, can lead to “complex emergencies” as well

Risk –Probability of harmful consequences o expected loss, eg loss of life, property, livelihood resulting from interaction from loss e.g. loss of life

Risk   Hazard×Vulnerability

                   Capacity

Capacity-Combination of all strength and resources available within a community or organization that can reduce the level of risk or effects of a disaster .May include physical institution as well as skilled personnel or collective attributes such as leadership and strength.