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{{short description|Event resulting in major damage, destruction or death}}
:''For the ] episode, see ].''
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{{Split-multiple|natural disaster|man-made disaster|disaster management}}
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], one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States|300x300px]]A '''disaster''' is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone.<ref name="ifrc" /><ref name="EHA" />{{bsn|reason=brochure type sources are not the best available|date=December 2024}} ''Natural disasters'' like ]s, ]s, ]s, and ] are caused by natural ]s.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Natural Hazards {{!}} National Risk Index |url=https://hazards.fema.gov/nri/natural-hazards |access-date=2022-06-08 |website=hazards.fema.gov}}</ref> ''Human-made disasters'' like ], ] and ]s are caused by people. Nowadays, it is hard to separate natural and human-made disasters because human actions can make natural disasters worse.<ref name=":12">{{cite web |date=2020-11-26 |title=Why natural disasters aren't all that natural |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/why-natural-disasters-arent-all-that-natural/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129131113/https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/why-natural-disasters-arent-all-that-natural/ |archive-date=2020-11-29 |access-date=2020-12-29 |website=openDemocracy}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Kevin A. |last2=Garcia |first2=M. Magdalena |last3=Remes |first3=Jacob A.C. |date=1 December 2016 |title=Beyond 'natural-disasters-are-not-natural': the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile |journal=Journal of Political Ecology |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=93 |doi=10.2458/v23i1.20181 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Neil |date=2006-06-11 |title=There's No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster |url=https://items.ssrc.org/understanding-katrina/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-natural-disaster/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122104324/https://items.ssrc.org/understanding-katrina/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-natural-disaster/ |archive-date=2021-01-22 |access-date=2020-12-29 |website=Items}}</ref> ] also affects how often disasters due to ] hazards happen.
A '''disaster''' (from ] meaning, "bad star") is the impact of a ] or man-made ] that negatively affects ] or ]. Disasters occur when hazards strikes in ] areas. The word's roots is from ] and imply that when the ]s are in a bad position, a bad event is about to happen.


Disasters usually hit people in ] harder than people in wealthy countries. Over 95% of deaths from disasters happen in low-income countries, and those countries lose a lot more money compared to richer countries. For example, the damage from natural disasters is 20 times greater in developing countries than in ].<ref name="WB" /><ref name="PESOS" /> This is because low-income countries often do not have well-built buildings or good plans to handle emergencies.
==Disaster management==
{{main articles|], ]}}
Chances of survival after a disaster are greatly improved when people, local governments and emergency services, businesses and national governments prepare survival plans and assemble survival gear beforehand. What constitutes sufficient preparation is highly dependent on the location and the disasters that are likely to occur in the area.


To reduce the damage from disasters, it is important to be prepared and have fit for purpose infrastructure. ] (DRR) aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. It focuses on actions to reduce risk before a disaster occurs, rather than on ] after the event. DRR and ] measures are similar in that they aim to reduce ] and places to natural hazards.
==Natural disasters==
{{main|natural disaster}}
A ] can cause a natural disaster. Appearing to arise without direct human involvement, natural disasters are sometimes called an ]. A natural disaster requires inappropriate human actions in areas at ] prior to the strike of a hazard for it to develop into a disaster. A specific disaster may spawn secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example, is an ] that cause a ] which result in coastal ]ing.


When a disaster happens, the response includes actions like warning and evacuating people, rescuing those in danger, and quickly providing food, shelter, and medical care. The goal is to save lives and help people recover as quickly as possible. In some cases, national or international help may be needed to support recovery. This can happen, for example, through the work of ].
===Avalanche===
{{main|Avalanche}}
An ] is a slippage of built-up snow down an incline, possibly mixed with ice, rock, soil or plantlife in what is called a debris avalanche. Avalanches are categorized as either slab or powder avalanches. Avalanches are a major danger in mountainous areas during winter.


===Cold=== ==Definitions==
] and the ] after the ], by ], 1827]]
Extreme cold snaps are hazardous to humans and their livestock. A 2003 ]n cold snap, locally known as a ], killed almost 30,000 livestock.
The UN defines a disaster as "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale".<ref name="UNGA">UNGA (2016). . United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).</ref>{{rp|13}} It results from hazards in places where people live in exposed or vulnerable conditions. Some human failures make ] to ]. These are poor planning or development, or a lack of preparation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 September 2017 |title=Why natural disasters aren't all that natural |url=https://www.preventionweb.net/news/why-natural-disasters-arent-all-natural |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=www.preventionweb.net |language=en}}</ref>


Disasters are events that have an effect on people. A hazard that overwhelms or injures a community is considered a disaster.<ref>Zibulewsky, Joseph (April 14, 2001). "Defining disaster: the emergency department perspective". ''National Library of Medicine''. Retrieved October 21, 2023.</ref> The international disaster database ] defines a disaster as “a situation or event that overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request for external assistance at the national or international level; it is an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering.”<ref name=":6">CRED. 2023 Disasters in Numbers: Climate in Action. (2024). https://files.emdat.be/reports/2023_EMDAT_report.pdf</ref> The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.<ref name="UNGA" />{{rp|13}}
===Cyclones===
]
{{main|Tropical cyclone}}
A cycone is a low-pressure cyclonic ] system. It is caused by evaporated ] which comes off of the ] and becomes a ]. The ] causes the storms to spin, and a cyclone is declared when this spinning mass of storms attains a wind speed greater than 74mph. Hurricanes are known as ]s in the Americas and ] in eastern Asia. The most damaging hurricane in the United States was ], which hit the United States Gulf Coast in ] and inundated a heavily populated ], ]. Cyclones can lead to disasters when they make landfall. Once above land they are reduced in intensity and die out.


] (1984) defined a disaster in a more qualitative fashion as:<ref name="Smith 1996">Smith 1996 quoted in {{cite book |last=Kraas |first=Frauke |title=Urban Ecology: An International Perspective on the Interaction Between Humans and Nature |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |year=2008 |isbn=9780387734125 |editor1-last=Marzluff |editor-first=John |edition=illustrated |page=588 |chapter=Megacities as Global Risk Areas |access-date=23 August 2017 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwyObkXjvk0C&q=an+event%2C+concentrated+in+time+and+space%2C+in+which+a+community+undergoes+severe+danger+and+incurs+such+losses+to+its+members+and+physical+appurtenance&pg=PA588}}</ref> "an event, concentrated in time and space, in which a community undergoes severe danger and incurs such losses to its members and physical appurtenances that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfilment of all or some of the essential functions of the society is prevented." Like other definitions this looks beyond the social aspects of the disaster impacts. It also focuses on losses. This raises the need for emergency response as an aspect of the disaster.<ref name="Smith 1992">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Keith |title=Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster |date=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415012171 |edition=first |series=Routledge Physical Environment Series}}</ref> It does not set out quantitative thresholds or scales for damage, death, or injury.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}
===Drought===
{{main|Drought}}
A drought is a long-lasting ] pattern consisting of dry conditions with very little or no ]. During this period, ] and ] supplies can run low, and other conditions, such as ], can result. Droughts can last for several years and are particularly damaging in areas in which the residents depend on ] for survival. The ] of the 1930's is a famous example of a severe drought.


A study in 1969 defined ''major disasters'' as conforming to the following criteria, based on the amount of deaths or damage:<ref name="Smith 1992" /><ref name="Sheehan and Hewitt 1969">{{cite report |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44480318 |title=A Pilot Survey of Global Natural Disasters the Past Twenty Years. |last1=Hewitt |first1=K. |last2=Sheehan |first2=L. |publisher=University of Toronto |location=Toronto |access-date=21 June 2017 |year=1969 |series=Natural Hazards Research Working Paper, No. 11}}</ref> At least 100 people dead, at least 100 people injured, or at least $1 million damage. This definition includes indirect losses of life caused after the initial onset of the disaster. These could be the effects of diseases such as cholera or dysentery arising from the disaster. This definition is still commonly used. However it is limited to the number of deaths, injuries, and damage in money terms.<ref name="Smith 1992" />
===Earthquake===
]
{{main articles|], ], and ]}}
An earthquake is a sudden shift or movement in the ] in the ] crust. On the surface, this is manifested by shaking of the ground, and can be massively damaging to poorly built structures. Earthquakes occur along ], and are unpredictable. Single earthquakes have killed hundreds of thousands of people, such as in ], the ], the 1964 ] that hit ], ], and the ] earthquake.


===Epidemics=== == Types ==
The scale of a disaster matters. ''Small-scale disasters'' only affect local communities but need help beyond the affected community. ''Large-scale disasters'' affect wider society and need national or international help.<ref name="UNGA" />
{{main articles|], ], and ]}}
A disease becomes a disaster when it spreads in a pandemic or epidemic as a massive outbreak of an infectious agent. Disease is historically the most lethal natural disaster with examples like the ], ], ], and ].


It is usual to divide disasters into natural or human-made. Recently the divide between natural, man-made and man-accelerated disasters has become harder to draw.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Kevin A. |last2=Garcia |first2=M. Magdalena |last3=Remes |first3=Jacob A.C. |date=1 December 2016 |title=Beyond 'natural-disasters-are-not-natural': the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile |journal=Journal of Political Ecology |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=93 |doi=10.2458/v23i1.20181 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":42"/> Some manufactured disasters such as ] and ] have been wrongly attributed to nature.<ref name="China.NYT">{{cite news |author=Didi Kirsten Tatlow |date=15 December 2016 |title=Don't Call It 'Smog' in Beijing, Call It a 'Meteorological Disaster |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/world/asia/beijing-smog-pollution.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/world/asia/beijing-smog-pollution.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |newspaper=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
===Famine===
{{main|Famine}}
Famine, or ], is characterized by a widespread lack of food in a region, and can be characterized as a lack of agriculture foodstuffs, a lack of livestock, or a general lack of all foodstuffs required for basic ]. Famine is almost always caused by pre-existing conditions, such as drought, but its effects may be exacerbated by social factors, such as ]. Particularly devastating examples include the ], which lasted for many years, and the ], which was human-induced.


=== Related to natural hazards ===
===Fire===
{{Main|Natural disaster}}
]
{{main articles|], ], ], and ]}}
Bush fires, forest fires and mine fires are generally started by ], but also by human negligence or ]. They can burn thousands of square kilometers. If a fire intensifies enough to produce its own winds and "weather", it will form into a ]. One example of a past severe forest fire is the mine fire near ] in 1962 that decimated the town and continued to burn down the surrounding region. Some of the biggest city-related fires are The ] and The ] in 1666.


Disasters with links to ]s are commonly called ]s. However experts have questioned this term for a long time.<ref>Cannon, Terry. (1994). . Disasters, Development and Environment.</ref>
===Flood===
{| class="wikitable"
]
|+
{{main|Flood}}
Disasters with links to natural hazards
A flood is caused by excess ] in a location, usually due to ] from a ] or ], or the rapid melting of ]. Other causes can include flooding from water displacement, such as in a ], the failure of a ], an earthquake-induced ], a hurricane's ], or ] from ] activity. The ] casued massive floods that covered almost three quarters of the nation and left behind a situation of disease and famine. An example of a man-made flood is the one caused by the building of the ] in northern ] in the 1960's; a ] into the reservoir sent a wave over the dam's crest and into the densely populated valley below.
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! style="width:8em" | Example
! Profile
|-
|]||The sudden, drastic flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers, such as loading from new snow or rain, or artificial triggers, such as explosives or backcountry skiers.
|-
|]||A severe snowstorm characterized by very strong winds and low temperatures
|-
|]||The shaking of the Earth's crust, caused by underground volcanic forces of breaking and shifting rock beneath the Earth's surface
|-
|]||Fires that originate in uninhabited areas and which pose the risk to spread to inhabited areas (see also ])
|-
|]||Flash flooding: Small creeks, gullies, dry streambeds, ravines, culverts or even low-lying areas flood quickly (see also ])
|-
|]||Rain occurring when outside surface temperature is below freezing
|-
|]||A prolonged period of excessively hot weather relative to the usual weather pattern of an area and relative to normal temperatures for the season (see also ]).
|-
|]||Geological phenomenon which includes a range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows
|-
|]||An electrical discharge caused by lightning, typically during thunderstorms
|-
|]||The sudden eruption of carbon dioxide from deep lake water
|-
|]
|Rapidly rotating ] characterized by a ] center, a closed low-level ], ], and a spiral arrangement of ]s that produce heavy rain and ]s (see also ])
|-
|]||A series of waves hitting shores strongly, mainly caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake, usually caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water
|-
|]||The release of hot magma, volcanic ash and/or gases from a volcano
|}{{excerpt|Natural disaster|paragraphs=1-3|file=no}}


=== Unrelated to natural hazards ===
===Hail===
{{See also|Hazard}}
]
]es and ]s are examples of man-made disasters: they kill and injure people, destroy and damage property, and cause pollution. One example is the ] in 2001 at the ] in New York City.]]
{{main|Hailstorm}}
Human-made disasters are serious harmful events caused by human actions and social processes. Technological hazards also fall into this category. That is because they result in human-instigated disasters. Human-made hazards are sometimes called anthropogenic hazards.<ref name="UNGA" />{{rp|18}} Examples include ], ], ]es, ]s, ], ]s, power outages, ], ], and ]s/].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Cueto |first1=Lavinia Javier |last2=Agaton |first2=Casper Boongaling |year=2021 |title=Pandemic and Typhoon: Positive Impacts of a Double Disaster on Mental Health of Female Students in the Philippines |journal=Behavioral Sciences |language=en |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=64 |doi=10.3390/bs11050064 |pmc=8147095 |pmid=33946801 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Catastrophic ], ], and ] also fall into this category.
A hailstorm occur when a thunderstorm produces a large amount of ]s. Hailstorms can be especially devastating to ] fields, ruining ]s and damaging farming equipment. The largest recorded hailstones were the size of ]s.


Climate change and environmental degradation are sometimes called socio-natural hazards. These are hazards involving a combination of both natural and human factors.<ref name="UNGA" /> {{rp|18}} All disasters can be regarded as human-made, because of failure to introduce the right ] measures.<ref name="atrisk">Blaikie, Piers, Terry Cannon, Ian Davis & Ben Wisner. ''At Risk – Natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters'', Wiltshire: Routledge, 2003, {{ISBN|0-415-25216-4}}</ref>
===Heat===
{{main|Heat wave}}
A heat wave is a hazard characterized by extreme ] in an unexpected area. Heat waves are worsened by ]s, ], and other phenomena. The worst heat wave in recent history was the ], which struck Western and Southern ].


]s may be caused locally by drought, flood, fire or pestilence. In modern times there is plenty of food globally. Long-lasting local shortages are generally due to government mismanagement, violent conflict, or an economic system that does not distribute food where needed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Famine |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/famine |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}</ref>
===Hypernova===
A ] is the universe's most extreme and cataclysmic force. A hypernova occurs when a ] star (a star at least 95-210 times bigger than our own ]) explodes. A hypernova may have been the cause of the ]. When a hypergiant exploded, it sent a large ] to Earth destroying 90-95% of all living species on Earth at that time. A hypergiant star within at least 1500-2000 ] from Earth, when it explodes to a hypernova, is an automatic Earth extinction event. All species would be wiped out. The nearest hypergiant that could explode within 10000 to 2 million years from now, is ].


{| class="wikitable"
===Impact event===
|+Disasters without links to natural hazards
]
|'''Disaster'''
{{main|Impact event}}
|'''Profile'''
Impact events are caused by the ] of large ]s, ]s or ]s (generically: ]s) with ] and may sometimes be followed by ]s of life. The ] event of the early 20th century is one example of what scientists believe was a close-call major impact event. There are also theories that the great dinosaurs as well as around 97.9% of Earth's life was extinguished 65 million years ago by a large impact in Mexico.
|-
|]||The intentional release or dissemination of biological agents as a means of coercion
|-
|]||A disturbance caused by a group of people that may include ]s and other forms of obstructions, riots, sabotage and other forms of crime, and which is intended to be a demonstration to the public and the government, but can escalate into general chaos
|-
|]||Even with strict building fire codes, people still perish in fires
|-
|]||The escape of solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property or the environment, from their intended controlled environment such as a container.
|-
||]||An event involving the significant release of radioactivity to the environment or a reactor core meltdown and which leads to major undesirable consequences to people, the environment, or the facility
|-
|]||Caused by summer or winter storms, lightning or construction equipment digging in the wrong location
|}


===Landslide=== === Others ===
''Complex disasters'', where there is no single root cause, are more common in ]. A specific hazard may also spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an ] that causes a ]. This results in ], damaging a ] plant on the coast. The ] is a case in point. Experts examine these cascading events to see how risks and impacts can amplify and spread. This is particularly important given the increase in ]s.<ref name=":10">Ara Begum, R., R. Lempert, E. Ali, T.A. Benjaminsen, T. Bernauer, W. Cramer, X. Cui, K. Mach, G. Nagy, N.C. Stenseth, R. Sukumar, and P. Wester, 2022: . In: . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 121–196, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.003.</ref>{{rp|143–145}}
{{main articles|], ], ]}}
A landslide is caused when soil, rocks, ]s, structures and other items on slope comes into motion. Landslides can be initiated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or by general instability in the surrounding land caused by ] or lack of ]. Mudslide, rockslides, and lahars are particular types of landslides. Mudslides, or mud flows is the result of heavy rainfall causing loose soil on steep terrain to collapse and slide. Rockslides is the result of loose rocks and boulders coming into motion. The deadliest recorded landslide occurred in 1985 in ], Peru, when a volcanic eruption caused snow melt to pile up and destroy the town below, killing over 25,000 people.


Some researchers distinguish between ''recurring events'' like seasonal flooding and ''unpredictable one-off events''.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=L. Bull-Kamanga |author2=K. Diagne |author3=A. Lavell |author4=E. Leon |author5=F. Lerise |author6=H. MacGregor |author7=A. Maskrey |author8=M. Meshack |author9=M. Pelling |date=1 April 2003 |title=From everyday hazards to disasters: the accumulation of risk in urban areas |journal=Environment and Urbanization |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=193–204 |bibcode=2003EnUrb..15..193B |doi=10.1177/095624780301500109 |issn=0956-2478 |s2cid=17439273}}</ref> Recurring events often carry an estimate of how often they occur. Experts call this the ].
===Limnic eruption===
{{main|Limnic Eruption}}
]
A limnic eruption is a sudden release of asphyxiating or inflammable gas from a lake. Three lakes that are examples of limnic eruptions include ], ], and ]. A ] limnic eruption of 1.6 million tonnes of CO<sub>2</sub> from Lake Nyos suffocated 1,800 people in a 20 mile radius.


===Sinkhole=== == Impacts ==
{{Further|Natural disaster#Impacts}}
{{main|Sinkhole}}
The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.<ref name="UNGA" />{{rp|13}}
A sinkhole is a localized depression in the surface ], usually caused by the collapse of a subterranean structure, such as a ]. Although rare, large sinkholes that develop suddenly in populated areas can lead to the collapse of buildings and other structures. Florida experiences the majority of America's severe sinkholes.


The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) records statistics about disasters related to natural hazards. For 2023, EM-DAT recorded 399 disasters, which was higher than the 20-year average of 369.<ref name=":6" />
===Solar flare===
{{main|Solar flare}}
]
A solar flare is a violent explosion in the ]'s atmosphere. Solar flares take place in the solar ] and ]. They produce ] across the spectrum at all wavelengths. Solar flare emissions are a danger to orbiting satellites, manned space missions, communications systems, and power grid systems. It is expected that the next extreme solar storm may occur in the year 2011.


===Storm surge=== === Economic losses ===
Between 2016 and 2020 the total reported economic losses amounted to $293 billion. This figure is likely to be an underestimation. It is very challenging to measure the costs of disasters accurately, and many countries lack the resources and technical capacity to do so.<ref name="UNDRR-2">UNDRR (2023). UNDRR: Geneva, Switzerland.</ref>{{rp|50}} Over the 40-year period from 1980 to 2020 losses were estimated at $5.2 trillion.
{{main articles|], ]}}
A storm surge is an onshore rush of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically a ]. A storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea level. Storm surges are particularly damaging when they occur at the time of a ], combining the effects of the surge and the tide. The highest storm surge ever recorded was produced by the 1899 ] Hurricane, which caused a 13 m (43 feet) storm surge to pummel the small ]n town. In the US, the greatest recorded storm surge was generated by ], which produced a storm surge of 9 m (30 feet) that slammed against the ].


===Thunderstorm=== === Human impacts ===
In 2023, natural hazard-related disasters resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people.<ref name=":6" /> Whilst the number of deaths was much higher than the 20-year average of 64,148, the number affected was much lower than the 20-year average of 175.5 million.
{{main|Thunderstorm}}
]
A thunderstorm is a form of ] characterized by the presence of ] and ], often accompanied by copious ], ] and on occasion ] and ]. Thunderstorms can happen anywhere.


According to a UN report, 91% of deaths from hazards from 1970 to 2019 occurred in developing countries.<ref name="United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-2023">{{cite web |year=2023 |title=Concept Note: International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2023. |url=https://www.undrr.org/quick/79692 |accessdate=October 17, 2023 |publisher=United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction}}</ref> These countries already have higher vulnerability and lower resilience to these events, which exacerbates the effects of the hazards.
===Tornado===
]
{{main|Tornado}}
A tornado is a natural disaster resulting from a ] of severe conditions, and is a large funnel of extremely high pressure winds cycling and twisting at random. Tornadoes are measured in power according to the ]: an F1 being the least powerful and an F5 being the most powerful. Though normally within the American Midwest in a region known as "]", tornadoes can occur almost anywhere. Tornadoes can occur one at a time, or can occur in large ]s along a ]. The most powerful tornado ever recorded in terms of wind speed was the monster which swept through ] in 1999 and reached windspeeds of up to 318 mph..one mile below the maximum F5 speed ever considered. Tornadoes do not just stay within rural regions of the world: major cities have had small yet terrifying tornadoes touch down in their downtown sectors before, such as the 1997 waterspout in ], Florida, the small twister which touched down in ], Utah in 1999, and a 2001 tornado hitting ] in the United Kingdom.


=== Effects of climate change ===
===Tsunami===
] such as ]s, ]s, and ]s are naturally occurring phenomena.<ref>Ara Begum, R., R. Lempert, E. Ali, T.A. Benjaminsen, T. Bernauer, W. Cramer, X. Cui, K. Mach, G. Nagy, N.C. Stenseth, R. Sukumar, and P. Wester, 2022: . In: . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 121–196, {{doi|10.1017/9781009325844.003}}</ref> However, ] has caused these hazards to become more unreliable, frequent and severe. They thus contribute to disaster risks. Countries contributing most to climate change are often at the lowest risk of feeling the consequences.<ref name=":5">IPCC, 2023: Sections. In: . IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647</ref> As of 2019, countries with the highest vulnerability per capita release the lowest amount of emissions per capita, and yet still experience the most heightened droughts and extreme precipitation.<ref name=":5" />
]
{{main|Tsunami}}
A tsunami is a giant ] of ] which rolls into the shore of an area with heights that can be anywhere from 15 feet to even 50 feet in height. It comes from ] meaning "] wave". Tsunamis are caused by undersea earthquakes or landslides, and are not noticed until reaching the shore, where the wave lifts form the rising sea floor. In the 1950's an earthquake in ], ] caused a massive landslide to fall into the bay's rear, forming the highest recorded wave in history when the wave past through the bay's head: over 1720 feet in height. Only 5 people were killed. The tsunami generated by the ] currently ranks as the deadliest tsunami in recorded history. The tsunami was caused by a 9.2 Richter earthquake caused by a massive shift in pressure between two plates near Sumatra. Currently, the Cascadia Fault along the Northwest coast of the Americas is experiencing the same amount of extreme pressure and may have the same outcome in the near future: a tsunami threatening coastal cities such as ] and ].


==Prevention and response==
===Volcanic eruption===
===Disaster risk reduction===
]]]
]
{{main|Volcano}}
{{excerpt|Disaster risk reduction|paragraphs=1-2|file=no}}
A volcanic eruption is the point in which a ] is active and releases its power, and the eruptions come in many forms. They range from daily small eruptions which occur in places like ] in ], or extremely infrequent ] eruptions in places like ] in Indonesia or ] in Wyoming. Some eruptions form ], which are high-temperature clouds of ash and steam that can trial down mountainsides at speed exceeding an airliner. The eruption of ] of the Caribbean in the 19th century incinerated the entire town of Martinique below. The more famous example is of ], which buried the city of ], Italy in 79 A.D. and its resident in heaps of ash, and the remains were later recovered preserved and intact. Recent large volcanic eruptions include that of ] in Washington and ] in Indonesia, occurring in ] and ], respectively. The latter was one of the loudest eruptions in the world. Mount St. Helens spewed ash all across the Western states, and even caused the sun to appear green in areas. Some volcanoes are dormant, or "sleeping", but may erupt soon, such as ] in Washington and ] in Japan.


===Waterspout=== ===Disaster response===
{{excerpt|Disaster response}}
{{main|Waterspout}}
]
A waterspout is a tornadic weather phenomenon normally occurring over tropical waters in light rain conditions. They form at the base of cumulus-type clouds and extend to the water surface where winds pick up water spray. Waterspouts are dangerous to boats, planes and land structures. Most of the time waterspouts are produced in semitropical regions of the world, but the majority of them occur in the ] and are suspected of being the cause of the many missing ships and planes in that region. One unruly waterspout made its way into downtown ] in 1997 and caused quite a scare with the locals.


===Winter storm=== ==Etymology==
The word ''disaster'' is derived from ] ''{{Lang|frm|désastre}}'' which comes from ] ''{{lang|it|disastro}}''. This in turn comes from the ] pejorative prefix {{Lang|grc|δυσ|italic=no}}- (''{{Transliteration|grc|dus}}-'') "bad"<ref>{{cite web |title=Dus, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2328613}}</ref> and {{Lang|grc|ἀστήρ|italic=no}} (''{{Transliteration|grc|aster}}''), "star".<ref>{{cite web |title=Aster, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2316528}}</ref> So the word ''disaster'' ("bad star" in Greek) comes from an ] sense of a calamity blamed on the position of planets.<ref> in Etymology online</ref>
]
{{main articles|], ], and ]}}
A snowstorm is a winter storm in which the primary form of precipitation is ]. When such a storm is accompanied by winds above 32 mph that severely reduce visibility, it becomes a ]. Hazards from snowstorms and blizzards include traffic-related accidents, hypothermia for those unable to find shelter, as well as major disruptions to transportation and fuel and power distribution systems. The ] that diminished the Northeast coast of the United States produced snowpiles around 10-15 feet in height, sometimes even more. a later one struck ] and the Northeast again in 1975, and left drivers stuck inside their snow-covered vehicles along interstates. Another force of the cold is an ] which is basically rain that freezes instantly at contact with a surface. One devastating ice storm struck the city of ], Canada in 1998 and destroyed communications and transportation systems.


==Man-made disasters== ==See also==
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Disasters having an element of human ], ], ] or involving a failure of a system are called man-made disasters. Man-made disasters like power or telecommunication outages may be caused by thunderstorms, tornados or earthquakes and though the root cause is a natural phenomenon, they are considered to be man-made disasters.
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* {{annotated link|Act of God}}
===Aviation===
* {{annotated link|Emergency management}}
An aviation incident is an occurrence other than an accident, associated with the operation of an aircraft, which affects or could affect the safety of operations, passengers or pilots. The category of the vehicle can range from a ], an ], or a ]. One of the more devastating events occurred in ], when an airliner en route to Egypt incinerated over the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket, killing all passengers. A much later example was in the 1970's on the island of ] of the Canary Islands, when a miscommunication between air traffic control and pilot caused two filled jets to collide head-on, killing over 500 of the combined passengers.
* ]

* ]
===Arson===
]
{{main|Arson}}
Arson is the criminal intent of setting a ] with intent to cause damage. The definition of arson was originally limited to setting fire to ]s, but was later expanded to include other objects, such as ]s, ]s, and ]. Arson is the greatest cause of fires in data repositories. Sometimes, human-induced fires can be accidental: failing machinery such as a kitchen stove is a major cause of accidental fires.

===CBRNs===
{{main|CBRN}}
A catch-all initialism meaning ] ] ] ]. The term is used to describe a non-conventional terror threat that, if used by a nation, would be considered use of a weapon of mass destruction. This term is used primarily in the United Kingdom. Planning for a CBRN event may be appropriate for certain high-risk or high-value facilities and governments. The usage of any of these weapons is astronomically disastrous: the only true example used on humans is not terrorist-involved, but in the end was catastrophic: in the 1940's, nearing the end of ] American pilots dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of ] and ], instantly killing over half the cities' populations in plumes of fire and radiation.

===Civil disorder===
{{main|Civil disorder}}
Civil disorder is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance. Examples of disastrous civil disorder include, but are not necessarily limited to: riots; sabotage; and other forms of crime. Although civil disorder does not necessarily escalate to a disaster in all cases the event may escalate into general chaos. Rioting has many causes, from low minimum wage to racial segregation. There were riots in the ] neighborhood of Los Angeles, California in 1968 and 1992. The 1992 riots which started at the intersections of Florence and Normandee streets started immediately after the ] verdict was announced on live TV. About 50 people died in the 1992 riots.

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===Power outage===
A power outage is an interruption of normal sources of electrical power. Short-term power outages (up to a few hours) are common and have minor adverse effect, since most businesses and health facilities are prepared to deal with them. Extended power outages, however, can disrupt personal and business activities as well as medical and rescue services, leading to business losses and medical emergencies. Extended loss of power also interferes with law enforcement, creating opportunities for ], including ], ], ] and ], even leading to ], as in the ]. One other example happened in New York City and in the rest of the Northeast United States in ], and this time hampered millions of commuters' routes back and forth to work and home. Thousands were seen jumbled in the city's streets, confused and baffled. Only very rarely do power outages escalate to disaster proportions, however, they often accompany other types of disasters, such as ]s and ]s, which hampers relief efforts.

===Public relations crisis===
A public relations crisis may threaten the long term survival of an organization. For this reason, many organization's ] include PR crisis responses to control the delivery of bad news, the initial statements made to media and thereby control first impressions. A successfully managed PR crisis may actually improve public opinion about an organization. A poorly managed PR crisis may eventually bankrupt an organization.

===Radiation contamination===
When nuclear weapons are detonated or nuclear containment systems are otherwise compromised, airborne radioactive particles (]) can scatter and irradiate large areas. Not only is it deadly, but it is also a long-term affect on the next-generation for those who are contaminated. Ionizing radiation is hazardous to living things, and in such a case much of the affected area could be unsafe for human habitation. In the 1940's United States troops dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of ] and ]: as a result, the radiation fallout contaminated the cities' water supplies and food sources, and half of the populations of each city were stricken with disease. The ] republics of ] and ] are part of a scenario like this after a reactor at the ] Nuclear Power Plant suffered a ] in ]. To this day, several small towns and the city of Chernobyl remain abandoned and uninhabitable due to fallout. in the 1970's a similar threat scared millions of Americans when a presumed failure occurred at the ] Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania, which only turned out to be a minor problem and as a result no contamination occurred.

===Space disasters===
Space disasters, either during operations or training, have killed around 20 astronauts and cosmonauts, and a much larger number of ground crew. These disasters include either malfunctions on the ground or in orbit with technology, or of natural forces. Not all are space disasters result in human fatalities: unmanned orbiting satellites that drop to the Earth can incinerate and send debris spewing across the sky. One of the worst manned space disasters, the ] explosion of 1986, costed all of the lives on board. The shuttle exploded several seconds after taking off from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Another example is the ] which disintegrated during a landing attempt over Texas in 2003, with a loss of 7 astronauts on board. The debris field extended as far as from eastern New Mexico to Mississippi.

===Telecommunication outage===
]
A telecommunications outage is not immediately a disaster, however, an extended telecommunications outage can strain a company's ability to stay solvent by cutting them off from their clients, vendors and business partners. For this reason, ] normally addresses the possibility of an outage on the organization's core functions. A telecommunication outage at the same time as another disaster may exacerbate the serverity of the incident by hampering disaster response teams. One cause of a loss of telecommunications is by a ], which can also wipe out all electronics in the region of the storm's path.

===Terrorism===
] on ], ]]]
{{main articles|] and ]}}
Terrorism is a controversial term with multiple definitions. One definition means a violent action targeting civilians exclusively. Another definition is the use or threatened use of violence for the purpose of creating fear in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological goal. Under the second definition, the targets of terrorist acts can be anyone, including civilians, government officials, military personnel, or people serving the interests of governments. In the early 21st century, terrorism has been considered a constant threat to all people of the world, after the worst disaster of its kind struck in 2001 (predominantly known as ], the date of the attack), in which four airliners were hijacked from American international airports: two were sent into the ] towers in New York City, causing both to collapse, another into the ] in Arlington, Virginia, and a final into a small field outside of ]. A total of over 3,000 lives were lost that day. In 2004, a series of bombings struck several waiting passenger cars in a ] train station, and in 2005 the transportation systems of ] were bombed in three synchronized locations.

===War===
{{main|War}}
War is conflict, between relatively large groups of people, which involves physical force inflicted by the use of weapons. Warfare has destroyed entire cultures, countries, economies and inflicted great suffering on humanity. Other terms for war can include armed conflict, hostilities, and police action. Acts of war are normally excluded from insurance contracts and disaster planning.

==See also==
{{wikibookspar||Historical Disasters and Tragedies}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]


==References== == References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
*
<ref name="ifrc">{{cite web |website=www.ifrc.org
*
|title=What is a disaster?
* Barton A.H. (1969). Communities in Disaster. A Sociological Analysis of Collective Stress Situations. SI: Ward Lock
|url=http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster
* Quarantelli E.L. (1998). Where We Have Been and Where We Might Go. In: Quarantelli E.L. (ed). What Is A Disaster? London: Routledge. pp146-159
|publisher=International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
*
|access-date=21 June 2017}}</ref>
*
<ref name="EHA">{{Cite web |date=March 2002 |title=Disasters & Emergencies: Definitions |url=http://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/7656.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106004804/http://apps.who.int/disasters/repo/7656.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-06 |url-status=live |language=en-GB-oxendict|location=Addis Ababa|publisher=Emergency Humanitarian Action |access-date=26 November 2017 |via=World Health Organization International}}</ref>
<ref name="WB">{{cite web|url= http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTDISMGMT/0,,menuPK:341021~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:341015,00.html|title= World Bank: Disaster Risk Management}}</ref>
<ref name="PESOS">Luis Flores Ballesteros. 54Pesos.org, 4 October 2008 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903043315/http://54pesos.org/2008/10/04/who%E2%80%99s-getting-the-worst-of-natural-disasters |date=3 September 2017 }}</ref>
}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikibooks|History|Historical Disasters and Tragedies}}
*United States
{{Sister project links}}
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* ] of the ] –
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* ] –
*** Preparing an emergency survival kit
* ] – a joint initiative of the ] (OCHA) and the ]
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** United States Egov reference
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*Other
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** information on man-made and natural disasters from 1900 to today.
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{{Disasters}}


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Latest revision as of 07:33, 24 December 2024

Event resulting in major damage, destruction or death For other uses, see Disaster (disambiguation).

Ruins from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States

A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. Natural disasters like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by natural hazards. Human-made disasters like oil spills, terrorist attacks and power outages are caused by people. Nowadays, it is hard to separate natural and human-made disasters because human actions can make natural disasters worse. Climate change also affects how often disasters due to extreme weather hazards happen.

Disasters usually hit people in developing countries harder than people in wealthy countries. Over 95% of deaths from disasters happen in low-income countries, and those countries lose a lot more money compared to richer countries. For example, the damage from natural disasters is 20 times greater in developing countries than in industrialized countries. This is because low-income countries often do not have well-built buildings or good plans to handle emergencies.

To reduce the damage from disasters, it is important to be prepared and have fit for purpose infrastructure. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. It focuses on actions to reduce risk before a disaster occurs, rather than on response and recovery after the event. DRR and climate change adaptation measures are similar in that they aim to reduce vulnerability of people and places to natural hazards.

When a disaster happens, the response includes actions like warning and evacuating people, rescuing those in danger, and quickly providing food, shelter, and medical care. The goal is to save lives and help people recover as quickly as possible. In some cases, national or international help may be needed to support recovery. This can happen, for example, through the work of humanitarian organizations.

Definitions

Painting of the Cathedral and the Academy building after the Great Fire of Turku, by Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg, 1827

The UN defines a disaster as "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale". It results from hazards in places where people live in exposed or vulnerable conditions. Some human failures make communities vulnerable to climate hazards. These are poor planning or development, or a lack of preparation.

Disasters are events that have an effect on people. A hazard that overwhelms or injures a community is considered a disaster. The international disaster database EM-DAT defines a disaster as “a situation or event that overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request for external assistance at the national or international level; it is an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering.” The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.

UNDRO (1984) defined a disaster in a more qualitative fashion as: "an event, concentrated in time and space, in which a community undergoes severe danger and incurs such losses to its members and physical appurtenances that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfilment of all or some of the essential functions of the society is prevented." Like other definitions this looks beyond the social aspects of the disaster impacts. It also focuses on losses. This raises the need for emergency response as an aspect of the disaster. It does not set out quantitative thresholds or scales for damage, death, or injury.

A study in 1969 defined major disasters as conforming to the following criteria, based on the amount of deaths or damage: At least 100 people dead, at least 100 people injured, or at least $1 million damage. This definition includes indirect losses of life caused after the initial onset of the disaster. These could be the effects of diseases such as cholera or dysentery arising from the disaster. This definition is still commonly used. However it is limited to the number of deaths, injuries, and damage in money terms.

Types

The scale of a disaster matters. Small-scale disasters only affect local communities but need help beyond the affected community. Large-scale disasters affect wider society and need national or international help.

It is usual to divide disasters into natural or human-made. Recently the divide between natural, man-made and man-accelerated disasters has become harder to draw. Some manufactured disasters such as smog and acid rain have been wrongly attributed to nature.

Related to natural hazards

Main article: Natural disaster

Disasters with links to natural hazards are commonly called natural disasters. However experts have questioned this term for a long time.

Disasters with links to natural hazards
Example Profile
Avalanche The sudden, drastic flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers, such as loading from new snow or rain, or artificial triggers, such as explosives or backcountry skiers.
Blizzard A severe snowstorm characterized by very strong winds and low temperatures
Earthquake The shaking of the Earth's crust, caused by underground volcanic forces of breaking and shifting rock beneath the Earth's surface
Fire (wild) Fires that originate in uninhabited areas and which pose the risk to spread to inhabited areas (see also Wildfire § Climate change effects)
Flood Flash flooding: Small creeks, gullies, dry streambeds, ravines, culverts or even low-lying areas flood quickly (see also Effects of climate change)
Freezing rain Rain occurring when outside surface temperature is below freezing
Heat wave A prolonged period of excessively hot weather relative to the usual weather pattern of an area and relative to normal temperatures for the season (see also Effects of climate change § Heat waves and temperature extremes).
Landslide Geological phenomenon which includes a range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows
Lightning strike An electrical discharge caused by lightning, typically during thunderstorms
Limnic eruption The sudden eruption of carbon dioxide from deep lake water
Tropical cyclone Rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls (see also Tropical cyclones and climate change)
Tsunami A series of waves hitting shores strongly, mainly caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake, usually caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water
Volcanic eruption The release of hot magma, volcanic ash and/or gases from a volcano
This section is an excerpt from Natural disaster.
Economic loss risk for six natural disasters: tropical cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and volcanoes.

A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community after a natural hazard event. Some examples of natural hazard events include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides, tropical cyclones, volcanic activity and wildfires. Additional natural hazards include blizzards, dust storms, firestorms, hails, ice storms, sinkholes, thunderstorms, tornadoes and tsunamis. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property. It typically causes economic damage. How bad the damage is depends on how well people are prepared for disasters and how strong the buildings, roads, and other structures are. Scholars have been saying that the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned. Instead, the simpler term disaster could be used. At the same time the type of hazard would be specified. A disaster happens when a natural or human-made hazard impacts a vulnerable community. It results from the combination of the hazard and the exposure of a vulnerable society.

Nowadays it is hard to distinguish between natural and human-made disasters. The term natural disaster was already challenged in 1976. Human choices in architecture, fire risk, and resource management can cause or worsen natural disasters. Climate change also affects how often disasters due to extreme weather hazards happen. These "climate hazards" are floods, heat waves, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and the like.

Some things can make natural disasters worse. Examples are inadequate building norms, marginalization of people and poor choices on land use planning. Many developing countries do not have proper disaster risk reduction systems. This makes them more vulnerable to natural disasters than high income countries. An adverse event only becomes a disaster if it occurs in an area with a vulnerable population.

Unrelated to natural hazards

See also: Hazard
Airplane crashes and terrorist attacks are examples of man-made disasters: they kill and injure people, destroy and damage property, and cause pollution. One example is the September 11 attacks in 2001 at the World Trade Center in New York City.

Human-made disasters are serious harmful events caused by human actions and social processes. Technological hazards also fall into this category. That is because they result in human-instigated disasters. Human-made hazards are sometimes called anthropogenic hazards. Examples include criminality, social unrest, crowd crushes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, power outages, oil spills, terrorist attacks, and nuclear explosions/nuclear radiation. Catastrophic climate change, nuclear war, and bioterrorism also fall into this category.

Climate change and environmental degradation are sometimes called socio-natural hazards. These are hazards involving a combination of both natural and human factors. All disasters can be regarded as human-made, because of failure to introduce the right emergency management measures.

Famines may be caused locally by drought, flood, fire or pestilence. In modern times there is plenty of food globally. Long-lasting local shortages are generally due to government mismanagement, violent conflict, or an economic system that does not distribute food where needed.

Disasters without links to natural hazards
Disaster Profile
Bioterrorism The intentional release or dissemination of biological agents as a means of coercion
Civil unrest A disturbance caused by a group of people that may include sit-ins and other forms of obstructions, riots, sabotage and other forms of crime, and which is intended to be a demonstration to the public and the government, but can escalate into general chaos
Fire (urban) Even with strict building fire codes, people still perish in fires
Hazardous material spills The escape of solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property or the environment, from their intended controlled environment such as a container.
Nuclear and radiation accidents An event involving the significant release of radioactivity to the environment or a reactor core meltdown and which leads to major undesirable consequences to people, the environment, or the facility
Power failure Caused by summer or winter storms, lightning or construction equipment digging in the wrong location

Others

Complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific hazard may also spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami. This results in coastal flooding, damaging a nuclear power plant on the coast. The Fukushima nuclear disaster is a case in point. Experts examine these cascading events to see how risks and impacts can amplify and spread. This is particularly important given the increase in climate risks.

Some researchers distinguish between recurring events like seasonal flooding and unpredictable one-off events. Recurring events often carry an estimate of how often they occur. Experts call this the return period.

Impacts

Further information: Natural disaster § Impacts

The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.

The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) records statistics about disasters related to natural hazards. For 2023, EM-DAT recorded 399 disasters, which was higher than the 20-year average of 369.

Economic losses

Between 2016 and 2020 the total reported economic losses amounted to $293 billion. This figure is likely to be an underestimation. It is very challenging to measure the costs of disasters accurately, and many countries lack the resources and technical capacity to do so. Over the 40-year period from 1980 to 2020 losses were estimated at $5.2 trillion.

Human impacts

In 2023, natural hazard-related disasters resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people. Whilst the number of deaths was much higher than the 20-year average of 64,148, the number affected was much lower than the 20-year average of 175.5 million.

According to a UN report, 91% of deaths from hazards from 1970 to 2019 occurred in developing countries. These countries already have higher vulnerability and lower resilience to these events, which exacerbates the effects of the hazards.

Effects of climate change

Hazards such as droughts, floods, and cyclones are naturally occurring phenomena. However, climate change has caused these hazards to become more unreliable, frequent and severe. They thus contribute to disaster risks. Countries contributing most to climate change are often at the lowest risk of feeling the consequences. As of 2019, countries with the highest vulnerability per capita release the lowest amount of emissions per capita, and yet still experience the most heightened droughts and extreme precipitation.

Prevention and response

Disaster risk reduction

Disaster risk reduction progress score for some countries in 2011. The score of 5 is best. Assessments include four indicators that reflect the degree to which countries have prioritized disaster risk reduction and the strengthening of relevant institutions.
This section is an excerpt from Disaster risk reduction.

Disaster risk reduction aims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. In technical terms, it aims to make them more resilient or less vulnerable. When DRR is successful, it makes communities less the vulnerable because it mitigates the effects of disasters. This means DRR can make risky events fewer and less severe. Climate change can increase climate hazards. So development efforts often consider DRR and climate change adaptation together.

It is possible to include DRR in almost all areas of development and humanitarian work. People from local communities, agencies or federal governments can all propose DRR strategies. DRR policies aim to "define goals and objectives across different timescales and with concrete targets, indicators and time frames."

Disaster response

This section is an excerpt from Disaster response.
Relief camp at Bhuj after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake

Disaster response refers to the actions taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety, and meet the subsistence needs of the people affected. It includes warning and evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance, and the immediate restoration or construction of infrastructure. An example of this would be building provisional storm drains or diversion dams. Emergency response aims to provide immediate help to keep people alive, improve their health and support their morale. It can involve specific but limited aid, such as helping refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food. Or it can involve establishing semi-permanent settlements in camps and other locations. It may also involve initial repairs to damage to infrastructure, or diverting it.

The response phase focuses on keeping people safe, preventing the next disasters and meeting people's basic needs until more permanent and sustainable solutions are available. The governments where the disaster has happened have the main responsibility for addressing these needs. Humanitarian organisations are often present in this phase of the disaster management cycle. This is particularly so in countries where the government does not have the resources for a full response.

Etymology

The word disaster is derived from Middle French désastre which comes from Old Italian disastro. This in turn comes from the Ancient Greek pejorative prefix δυσ- (dus-) "bad" and ἀστήρ (aster), "star". So the word disaster ("bad star" in Greek) comes from an astrological sense of a calamity blamed on the position of planets.

See also

References

  1. "What is a disaster?". www.ifrc.org. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  2. "Disasters & Emergencies: Definitions" (PDF). Addis Ababa: Emergency Humanitarian Action. March 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 November 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2017 – via World Health Organization International.
  3. "Natural Hazards | National Risk Index". hazards.fema.gov. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Why natural disasters aren't all that natural". openDemocracy. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. Gould, Kevin A.; Garcia, M. Magdalena; Remes, Jacob A.C. (1 December 2016). "Beyond 'natural-disasters-are-not-natural': the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile". Journal of Political Ecology. 23 (1): 93. doi:10.2458/v23i1.20181.
  6. ^ Smith, Neil (11 June 2006). "There's No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster". Items. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  7. "World Bank: Disaster Risk Management".
  8. Luis Flores Ballesteros. "Who's getting the worst of natural disasters?" 54Pesos.org, 4 October 2008 Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ UNGA (2016). Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology for disaster risk reduction. United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
  10. "Why natural disasters aren't all that natural". www.preventionweb.net. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  11. Zibulewsky, Joseph (April 14, 2001). "Defining disaster: the emergency department perspective". National Library of Medicine. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  12. ^ CRED. 2023 Disasters in Numbers: Climate in Action. (2024). https://files.emdat.be/reports/2023_EMDAT_report.pdf
  13. Smith 1996 quoted in Kraas, Frauke (2008). "Megacities as Global Risk Areas". In Marzluff, John (ed.). Urban Ecology: An International Perspective on the Interaction Between Humans and Nature (illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 588. ISBN 9780387734125. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  14. ^ Smith, Keith (1992). Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster. Routledge Physical Environment Series (first ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9780415012171.
  15. Hewitt, K.; Sheehan, L. (1969). A Pilot Survey of Global Natural Disasters the Past Twenty Years (Report). Natural Hazards Research Working Paper, No. 11. Toronto: University of Toronto. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  16. Gould, Kevin A.; Garcia, M. Magdalena; Remes, Jacob A.C. (1 December 2016). "Beyond 'natural-disasters-are-not-natural': the work of state and nature after the 2010 earthquake in Chile". Journal of Political Ecology. 23 (1): 93. doi:10.2458/v23i1.20181.
  17. Didi Kirsten Tatlow (15 December 2016). "Don't Call It 'Smog' in Beijing, Call It a 'Meteorological Disaster". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022.
  18. Cannon, Terry. (1994). Vulnerability Analysis and The Explanation Of 'Natural' Disasters. Disasters, Development and Environment.
  19. ^ "Natural Hazards | National Risk Index". hazards.fema.gov. FEMA. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  20. G. Bankoff; G. Frerks; D. Hilhorst, eds. (2003). Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters, Development and People. Routledge. ISBN 1-85383-964-7.
  21. ^ "Why natural disasters aren't all that natural". openDemocracy. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  22. Kevin Blanchard #NoNaturalDisasters – Changing the discourse of natural disaster reporting (16 November 2018)
  23. Cannon, Terry. (1994). Vulnerability Analysis and The Explanation Of 'Natural' Disasters. Disasters, Development and Environment.
  24. ^ "Why natural disasters aren't all that natural". preventionweb.net. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
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