JAFFAR MASTOI

LECTURE 6 : Physical Science-III

Natural Hazards and Disasters: Earth Quake, Volcanic Eruption,
Tsunami, Floods, Avalanche, Travelling Cyclone (Tropical Cyclone,
Middle Latitude Cyclone and Tornadoes), Drought, Wildfire, Urban Fire.
Disaster Risk Management.

Earthquake
 Earthquake is a sudden shaking movement of the surface of the
earth due to seismic waves through rocks.
 It is also known as Quake, Tremblor or Tremor.
 Earthquakes occur most often along geologic faults, narrow zones
where rock masses moves in relation to one another.
 Intensity of the Earthquake can vary from weak to a violent one.
 Seismicity or Seismic Activity of an area refers to the frequency, type
and size of the earthquakes experienced over a period of time.
 Seismology, which involves the scientific study of all aspects of
earthquakes.

Measuring the Earthquake

 An Earthquake is measured in Richter’s Scale.
 A Seismometer detects the vibrations caused by an Earthquake.
 The Strength, or Magnitude of an Earthquake is measured using
the Richter scale.

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Causes/Factors
1. Techtronic Movements: The disturbances inside the Earth are
called tectonic movements. Most disastrous earthquakes are
caused by tectonic forces. Tectonic forces create tension and
pressure and the stress begins to build up inside the Earth.
2. Volcanic Eruptions: The volcanic eruptions are often very violent
and cause vibrations in the Earth Crust. Sometimes the vent of a
volcano is blocked temporarily and explosive eruption takes place
suddenly causing tremors in the Earth crust.
3. Nuclear Explosion or Nuclear Material Dumping: Nuclear
Explosions also release massive energy to cause tremors in the
Earth’s crust.

Effects of Earthquake
1. Loss of Property: Loss of Infrastructure from huts to palaces and
single story to multistory buildings.
2. Loss of Life: Earthquakes tremors of a few seconds and takes the
lives of thousands of people. People become homeless and injured
and dumped into the waste of the buildings.

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3. Changes in the course of Rivers: On account of the impact of

earthquakes, sometimes rivers also change their course.
Consequently, when floods come they play havoc with people’s lives.
4. Cracks in the Earth’s Crust: Earthquake cause cracks in Earth’s
crust anywhere in fields, roads, parks and even hills.

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Tsunami
 Term ‘Tsunami’ came from the Japanese word meaning ‘Harbor
Wave’.
 A Tsunami is a water wave or a series of waves, with long
wavelengths and long periods, caused by an impulsive vertical
displacement of the body of water by ear quakes, landslides, or
volcanic explosions.
 Tsunami are one of the most catastrophic wave motions, which
cover a large parts of the sea and behave badly especially in coastal
areas.

Cause of Tsunami
1. Under Sea Earthquakes: Earthquakes under the sea are the main
caused of Tsunami.
2. Landslides: Landslides cause Tsunami when the debris fall into the
water.
3. Volcanic Eruptions: It causes Tsunami when there is an eruption.
4. Meteorites Fall: There is a danger of tsunami being formed by the
fall of meteorites in the ocean.

Effects of Tsunami
1. Increased Infrastructure Destruction: The amount of energy and
water contained in a huge tsunami can cause extreme destruction
when it strikes land.
2. Loss of Life: One of the biggest and worst effects of a tsunami is
the cost to human life because unfortunately escaping a tsunami is
nearly impossible.

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3. Spread of Diseases: Tsunami waves causes flooding and

contamination of drinking water which can cause disease to spread
in the tsunami hit areas.
4. Environmental Impacts: Tsunamis not only destroy human life,
but have a devastating effect on insects, animals, plants and
natural resources. A tsunami changes the landscape. It uproots
trees and plants and destroys animal habitats such as nesting sites
for birds.

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Floods
 Floods are natural occurrences where an area or land that is
normally dry abruptly becomes submerged in water.
 It is an overflow of large quantities of water onto a normally dry land.
 Flooding happens in many ways due to overflow of streams, rivers,
lakes or oceans or as a result of excessive rain.

Kinds of Floods
1. Overland Flooding: It is the most common type of flooding event
which commonly occurs when rivers overflow because of excessive
rains.
2. Flash Flooding: Flash floods can occur within few minutes or hours
of excessive rainfall, a dam or levee failure, or a sudden release of
water held by ice jam.

Causes of Floods
1. Heavy Rainfall: Heavy Rain is the leading contributor to most of
the flooding cases witnesses across the world.
2. Overflow of Rivers: Rivers or streams can overflow their banks.
This happens when the river or stream holds more water upstream
than usual, and it flows downstream to the neighboring low-lying
area, typically referred to as the floodplains.
3. Dam Breakage: Dams are man-made structures used to hold water
from flowing down from a raised ground. The walls can become
weak and break because of overwhelming carriage capacity. Due to
this reason, breakage of the dam can cause extensive flooding in the
adjacent areas.
4. Melting of the Glaciers and Mountains Top: In the cold regions,
ice and snows build up during the winters. When the temperatures

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rises in summer, the accumulated snows and ice are subjected to

melting resulting in vast movements of water into lands that are
normally dry.

People Most Effected by Flood

1. Farmers: Flood destroys the crop and food supplies are shorted.
Farmers also lose their livestock and precious belongings.
2. Local Residents: Local residents get their houses cut off from
shops and services. Mud houses and huts get collapsed and
waterborne diseases spread.
3. Transport Authorities: The roads and the railway tracks get
damaged by the floodwater. This disturbs the whole system of
transport and the price of the daily commodities.

Precautions against Floods

1. Generous Planting of the Trees on the foothills to check the flow of
running water.
2. Building dams and reservoirs.
3. Building extra channels to take flood water away from town through
storms sewers.
4. Strengthening of watershed management.

Benefits of Flood
1. Floods return nutrients to the land and contribute to the health of
wetlands as in Pakistan.
Floods recharge ground water supplies

Role of MOONSOON
 Word monsoon means a season.

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 Monsoon winds are seasonal which blow during the summer and
winter.
 Summer winds are called southwest monsoon which are giant sea
breezes which bring heavy rainfall and cause floods in Pakistan.

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Wildfire
 Wildfires are uncontrolled blazes fueled by weather wind and dry
underbrush.
 It is typically a forest that started out of a lightning strike, or people
carelessly starting it or accidently, that went un-notices and got out
hand.
 These fires sometimes burn for days and weeks.
 Wildfires can wipe out an entire forest and destroy almost every
organic matter in it.
 Wildfires can also be termed as Forest Fires, Grass Fires.
 Wildfires tend to thrive in very warm and dry climates, rather than
the think, moist rainforest types.

Conditions for Wildfires

1. Fire Triangle:

2. Fuel: Fuel is any inflammable material surrounding a fire, including

trees, grasses, bushes and even homes.
3. Oxygen & Heat Source: Air supplies the oxygen a fire need to burn.
Heat sources held spark the wildfires and bring fuel to temperatures.

Causes of Wildfire
1. Lightning: When lightning strikes, it can produce a spark and then
wildfires starts.

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2. Campfires: People, both young and the old spend time in the woods
to enjoy great outdoors. Sometimes fires is need for various things
during camping and then can start wildfires if not put out properly.
3. Burning Debris: Refuse and junk wastes are common items that
are permitted to burn in many places.

How to Control Wildfires

1. Firefighters Control wildfires.
2. Water dousing and spraying the retardants to extinguish fires.
3. Rapid Wildfire Extinguishing Authority.

Effects of Wildfire
1. Destroying the Lungs of Environment (Trees):
2. Destroy wild life:
3. Polluting the Environment
4. Increase in Climate catastrophe

Benefits of Wildfires
1. Wildfires return nutrients to soil by burning dead or decaying
matter.
2. Wildfires act as disinfectant, removing disease ridden plants and
harmful insects from a forest ecosystem.
3. Wildfires allow sunlight to reach the forest floor enabling a new
generation of seeding.

Urban Fire
 Urban Fires describe an uncontrolled burning fire like wildfires
usually in town, cities and wild land which can cause damage to
forestry agriculture, infrastructure and buildings.

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Causes of Wildfire
1. Accidently Firing: Urban fires can become by accident, maliciously
or as the result of an unseen ignition for example by an electrical,
mechanical or chemical process.
2. Natural Causes: Urban fires may also result of a natural cause such
as lightning.
3. Careless/Mismanagement: Most of the fires occur in the kitchen
due to cooking carelessness and often rubbish fires are left
unattended, spreading to vegetation and ultimately to property.
Factories located in the suburban area catch fire because of
mismanagement or leakage of fuels and result in loss.

Effects of Wildfire
1. Human Displacement:
2. Threat to Human life:
3. Extinguishing of Valuable Items:

Remedial Measures
1. Appropriate Response: Early intervention is critical in all fires,
most start small but escalate in minutes, events caught early with
appropriate responses will be easier to control or contain.
2. Home Sprinklers: The installation of home sprinklers are
absolutely will protect the family and the home from the dangers of
fires.
3. Firefighting Instruments: Quality firefighting instruments are
absolutely necessary for the protection of the factories from urban
fire.

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Avalanche
 Avalanche us a mass of snow that slides rapidly down an inclined
slope, such as a mountain slide or the roof of a building.
 Avalanche represent a major danger only in the mountainous area
of the earth where geographic and meteorological conditions give
rise to heavy rains and accumulation of snow and ice prone to
hunting down in the valleys inhabited by men.

Types/Classification of Avalanche
1. Large Scale Avalanche: Large scale avalanches are caused by very
heavy rains which threaten localities, buildings and communication
links in all parts of a valley.
2. Flash Avalanche: Under the influence of masses of Arctic or
Antarctic winds, which cause a sharp fall in the normal
temperatures, cold spells can strike even temperate regions.
3. Restricted Avalanche: Restricted avalanche typically occur when
a large mass of ice breaks off from sleep glacier.
4. Blizzards: Blizzards occur mainly in the cold regions of the
northern and southern hemisphere, when the snowfall is
accompanied by strong winds.
Causes of Avalanche
1. Earthquake: Trembling of the earth causes avalanche to occur.
2. Warming Temperatures: Rising temperatures cause ice melt and
avalanche occur.
3. Heavy Rainfall: Heavy rainfall and storage of water with force can
create avalanche in mountains.
4. Man-Made Explosion there: Mad-made explosions in mountains
can cause the problem of avalanches and displace the population.

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Effects of Avalanche
1. Destroying the Ecosystem:
2. Killing Animals and Plants:
3. Population Displacement:

Protection & Rescue Measures against Avalanche

1. Preparation: Wear an avalanche rescue beacon that signals your
location. Learn how to use the rescue equipment. Practice using the
rescue equipment.
2. Awareness: Constantly evaluate avalanche conditions. Areas with
fresh accumulation of wind-driven snow are particularly vulnerable.
3. Availability of Rescue Services: Carry a small shovel and a long
probe to locate a buried partner. Evaluate the avalanche hazard
before attempting a rescue.
.

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Tornadoes
 A tornado is a violent rotating column of air extending from a
thunderstorm to the ground.
 A tornado is a strong, turbulent column of air, moving fast and
keeping in contact with the earth’s surface and a vertically formed
cloud carrying dense water vapors.
 Tornadoes are shaped like a funnel, but the shape and structure
can vary according to climatic conditions.
 Tornadoes are formed from the extremely large thunder storms
called supercells.
 The most violent tornadoes are capable of tremendous destruction
with wind speeds of up to 300 mph.
 Tornadoes are also known as Twister, Cyclone, and Funnel.

Types of Tornadoes
1. Multiple Vortex Tornado: A tornado with more than one spinning
tube of air.
2. Water Spout Tornado: A waterspout forms over water. They
usually dissipate when they hit land.
3. Land Spout Tornado: A land spout is similar to a water spout, but
on land. It is weak and is not associated with a vortex of air from a
thunderstorm.
4. Dust - Devil Tornado: A supercell is large long lived thunderstorm.
It can produce some of the largest and most violent tornadoes.
5. Gustnado Tornado: A small tornado formed at a weather front by
gusts of wind.

Formation of Tornadoes/ Steps

1. Step 1: A large thunderstorm occurs in a cumulonimbus cloud.

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2. Step 2: A change in wind direction and wind speed at high altitudes

causes the air to swirl horizontally.
3. Step 3: Rising air from the ground pushes up on the swirling air
and tips it over.
4. Step 4: The funnel of swirling air begins to suck up more warm air
from the ground.
5. Step 5: The funnel grows longer and stretches toward the ground
6. Step 6: When the funnel touches the ground it becomes a tornado.
7. Step 7: Tornadoes form when warm, humid air collides with cold,
dry air.

Characteristics of a Tornado
1. Shape: Tornadoes typically look like a narrow funnel reaching from
the clouds down to the ground.
2. Size: Tornadoes can vary widely in size. A typical tornado in the
United States is around 500 feet across.
3. Wind Speed: The wind speed of a tornado can vary from 65 to 250
miles per hour.
4. Color: Tornadoes may appear different colors depending on the
local environment.
5. Rotation: When viewed from above, most tornadoes rotate
counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the
southern hemisphere.

Tornado Categories
 Tornadoes are categorized by their wind speed and the amount of
damage they cause using a scale called the "Enhanced Fujita" scale.
 It is usually abbreviated as the "EF" scale.

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Category Wind Speed Strength

EF-0 65-85 MPH Weak
EF-1 86-110 MPH Weak
EF-2 111-135 MPH Strong
EF-3 136-165 MPH Strong
EF-4 166-200 MPH Violent
EF-5 over 200 MPH Violent

Causes of Tornadoes
1. Instability & wind Shear Conditions: The cooler layer prevents the
warm and humid air from moving upwards, creating instability. Wind
shear occurs when the direction of the wind changes and increases in
speed and height. The combination of instability and wind shear thus
brings about the formation of the tornado
2. Updrafts and Downdrafts: The ingredients that can influence the
occurrence of tornadoes is the presence of dry air in the middle of the
atmosphere which can quickly be cooled by ta hunderstorm,
intensifying updrafts and downdrafts that aid the formation of
tornadoes.

Effects of Tornadoes
1. Tornadoes are extremely destructive.
2. They sheep of sand and stones, pull up tress and smash buildings
pf solid structure to dust.
3. High winds sometimes kill or injure people by rolling them.
4. Extremely high winds tear homes and businesses apart and can
also destroy bridges, flip trains, send cars and trucks flying.

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Drought
 Drought is a protracted period of deficient precipitation resulting in
extensive damage to crops, and a consequential loss of yield.
 It is an insidious hazard of nature.
 It is a long period of weather that is drier than usual.
 It is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a
shortage of water.

Types of Drought
1. Permanent Drought: It exists when crop cultivation is not possible
without irrigation. Thar in Sindh.
2. Seasonal Drought: It is the result of a water deficiency that reduces
crop yields but it not severe enough to destroy them.
3. Unpredictable drought: It occurs in the areas where there's
abnormally low rain and has humid climates

Causes of Drought
1. Natural Factors: The dry and hot winds can reduce the moisture
contents of the sandy soil by lowering the of the humidity in the air.
Global Climate is constantly changing leading to changes in
Pakistan's climate.
2. Human Factors: Deforestation on the foothill of mountains
increases soil erosion and this reduces rainfall. Mismanagement of
the water resources through seepage of unlined canals.

Effects of Droughts
Developing Countries Developed Countries
Farming lands dries out. Farming lands dries out.
Animals die and crops fail. Reservoirs become empty.

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People starve, farmers lose Water supply is difficult and

income. costly.
People die or migrate. Emergency measures are taken.
Foreign Aid has to be given to Water storage capacity is
people. increased and less water
consumption is encouraged.

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Volcanoes
 A volcano is an opening on the surface of a planet or moon that
allows material warmer than its surroundings to escape from its
interior.
 A volcano is an opening in Earth's crust that allows molten rock
from beneath the crust to reach the surface.
 Molten rock is called magma when it is beneath the surface and
lava when it erupts or flows from a volcano.
 Volcanoes form at the edges of Earth's tectonic plates.
 Volcanoes are our most direct link to the inside of the earth.
 They are source for samples of material that normally lie deep
beneath our feet.
 More than 8 % of Earth's surface has been formed by volcanic
activity of one kind or another.
 Volcanism is a major process in the evolution of rocky planets and
moons.
 An eruption of volcano can be explosive, sending material high into
the sky. Or it can be calmer, with gentle flows of material.

Classification of Volcanoes
1. Active Volcano: A volcano is considered active if it has erupted
within the last few hundred years.
2. Dormant: If it has erupted within the last several thousand years.
3. Extinct: If it has not erupted within ten thousand years or more.

Types of Volcanoes
1. Cinder Cone Volcanoes: These are the simplest type of volcano.
They occur when particles and blobs of lava are ejected from a

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volcanic vent. Cinder cone volcanoes rarely grow larger than about
1,000 feet above their surroundings.
2. Composite Volcanoes: These volcanoes have a conduit system
inside them that channels magma from deep within the Earth to the
surface. They can grow thousands of meters tall.
3. Shield Volcanoes: These are large, broad volcanoes that look like
shields from above - hence the name.
4. Lava Domes: Volcanic or lava domes are created by small masses
of lava which are too viscous (thick) to flow very far.

Volcanic Eruption
 When the pressure within the magma chamber is greater than the
strength of the crust, it begins to break through then it is called
volcanic eruption.
 Magma rises to the Earth's surface for various combinations of
reasons. Inside the magma chamber there are a number of gases
that are mixed with the magma.
 The bubbles of gas rise to the surface of the magma chamber,
pushing against the Earth's crust.

Causes of Volcanoes Eruption

1. Lower Density: The lower density of the magma relative to the
surrounding rocks causes it to rise. The gas bubbles exert
tremendous pressure.
2. Pressure: The pressure inside the volcano helps to bring the magma
to the surface and forces it in the air, sometimes to great heights.

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Effects of Volcanic Eruption

Bad Effects
1. Natural Causes: Volcanic eruptions can cause earthquakes, fast
floods, mud slides, and rock falls.
2. Displacement of Population: Lava can travel very far and burn,
bury, or damage anything in its path, including people, houses, and
trees.
3. Pollute Environment: The large amount of dust and ash can cause
roofs to fall, makes it hard to breathe, and is normally very smelly.

Good Effects
1. Vitamins the soil: Volcanic ash contains minerals that help plants
grow, and if the ash is very soft, it will quickly get mixed into the
soil.
2. Source of Water & Earth: Volcanoes are a very important source
of life. Their gases are what created our water and atmosphere.
3. Manufacture of Glass: The important good effects of volcanoes
include the creation of natural glass, sulfur, copper, and nickel.

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Cyclones
 A system of winds rotating towards an area of low barometric
pressure with an anticlockwise (northern hemisphere) or clockwise
(southern hemisphere) circulation.
 Cyclone refers to any spinning storm that rotates around a low -
pressure center. The low – pressure center is also referred to as the
'eye' of the storm, which is well known for being eerily calm
compared with the areas under the spinning 'arms' of the storm.

Types of Cyclones
1. Tropical Cyclones: These are what most people are familiar with
because these are cyclones that occur over tropical ocean regions.
Hurricanes and typhoons are actually types of tropical cyclones, but
they have different names so that it's clear where that storm is
occurring.
2. Polar Cyclones: These are the cyclones that occur in Polar Regions
like Greenland, Siberia and Antarctica.
3. Mesocyclones: It occurs when part of a thunderstorm cloud starts
to spin, which may eventually lead to a tornado.
4. Middle Latitude cyclone: Middle latitude or frontal cyclones are
large traveling atmospheric cyclonic storms up to 2000 kilometers
in diameter with centers of low atmospheric pressure. Mid - latitude
cyclones are the result of the dynamic interaction of warm tropical
and cold polar air masses at the polar front.

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Hurricane
 A hurricane is a type of storm called a tropical cyclone, which forms
over tropical or subtropical waters.
 Hurricanes are large, swirling storms. They produce winds of 119
kilometers per hour (74 mph) or higher. That's faster than a cheetah,
the fastest animal on land.
 The scientific name for a hurricane is a tropical cyclone.
 Tropical cyclones go by different names in different places.
 In North America and the Caribbean they are called "hurricanes",
in the Indian Ocean they are called "cyclones", and in Southeast
Asia they are called Typhoons".
 Hurricanes rotate counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere
and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. This is due to the
rotation of the Earth called the Coriolis Effect.
 Hurricanes are also known as cyclones and typhoons.
 They are gigantic storms that occur in the tropical seas of the world.

Parts of a Hurricane
1. Eye: The eye is the "hole" at the center of the storm. Winds are light
in this area. Skies are partly cloudy, and sometimes even clear.
2. Eye wall: The eye wall is a ring of thunderstorms. These storms
swirl around the eye. The wall is where winds are strongest and
rain is heaviest.
3. Rain Bands: Bands of clouds and rain go far out from a hurricane's
eye wall. These bands stretch for hundreds of miles. They contain
thunderstorms and sometimes tornadoes.

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Cause of Hurricane
1. Water Vapors Temperature: Warm water, moist warm air, and
light upper-level winds are the key ingredients to the formation of
hurricanes, Water vapor is the "fuel" for the hurricanes because it
releases the "latent heat of condensation". If the water temperature
increases, the hurricane development also increases.
2. Formation of a Tropical Cyclone: A tropical storm becomes a
hurricane if its winds reach 119 km/ hr (74 mph).

Effects of Hurricane
Positive effects
1. Drought relief: The vast amount of rainfall that comes along with
hurricanes provides a great deal of relief from drought conditions.
2. Heat relief: The sea surface is able to cool if a hurricane forms .This
frictional force causes the violent mixing of layers, driving colder water
high up the surface. This blocks warm water necessary for hurricanes
require to last.
3. Archaeological benefit: The strength of hurricanes has benefitted
archaeologists by unearthing the remains of downed airplanes,
shipwrecks and other historical relics. For example, Hurricane Isaac
exposed the fragments of the Rachel in 2012. The Rachel was a
Schooner built in the course of the First World War.

Negative Effects
1. Impact on Ecosystem: Plants and animals can be exterminated
during hurricanes because of the devastating winds, storm surges,
and flooding. Creatures that thrive on beaches can be washed away
by severe hurricanes.

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2. Agricultural impact: Hurricanes can mightily affect agriculture. For

instance, the products of hurricanes such as heavy rains and strong
winds can damage crops and kill livestock. The overflowing water can
contaminate certain crop species.
3. Effect on humans: Hurricane can collapse building can lead to injury
and death, but the biggest impacts of hurricane occur after the storm.

Categories of Hurricane
 There are five types, or categories, of hurricanes.
 The scale of categories is called the Saffir – Simpson Hurricane Scale.
 The categories are based on wind speed.
1. Category 1: Winds 119-153 km/ hr (74-95mph) - faster than a
cheetah.
2. Category 2: Winds 154-177 km/ hr (96-110 mph) - as fast or
faster than a baseball pitcher's fastball.
3. Category 3: Winds 178-208 km/ hr (111-129 mph) - similar, or
close, to the serving speed of many professional tennis players.
4. Category 4: Winds 209-251 km/ hr (130-156 mph) - faster than
the world's fastest rollercoaster.
5. Category 5: Winds more than 252 km/ hr (157 mph) similar, or
close, to the speed of some high - speed trains.

How Does a Storm Become a Hurricane?

 A hurricane starts out as a tropical disturbance. This is an area over
warm ocean waters where rain clouds are building.
 A tropical disturbance sometimes grows into a tropical depression.
 A tropical depression becomes a tropical storm if its winds reach 63
km/ hr (39 mph)

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 A tropical storm becomes a hurricane if its winds reach 119 km/ hr

(74 mph).

How Are Hurricanes Named?

 A storm is given a name if it becomes a tropical storm. That name
stays with the storm if it goes on to become a hurricane. (Tropical
disturbances and depressions don't have names.
 Each year, tropical storms are named in alphabetical order. The
names come from a list of names for that year.
 There are six lists of names. Lists are reused every six years by a
 If a storm does a lot of damage, its name is sometimes taken off the
list. It is then replaced new name that starts with the same letter.

Hurricane Watch
 Meteorologists can detect hurricanes through satellite images when
they are far from land, and track them as they approach.
 Special aircrafts repeatedly fly through the storm to obtain accurate
measurements that help to predict its violence and likely path.

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Disaster Risk Management

 Disaster Risk Management is the application of disaster risk
reduction policies and strategies, to prevent new disaster risks,
reduce existing disaster risks, and manage residual risks,
contributing to the strengthening of resilience and reduction of
losses.
 Disaster risk management actions can be categorized into;
prospective disaster risk management, corrective disaster risk
management and compensatory disaster risk manage.

Disaster Risk
 It is defined as " the potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or
damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a
community in a specific period of time, determined probabilistically
as a function of hazard, exposure, and capacity ". In the technical
sense, it is defined through the combination of three terms: hazard,
exposure and vulnerability.

Components of Disaster Risk

1. Hazard: It is defined as "a process, phenomenon or human activity
that may cause loss of life, injury other health impacts, property
damage, social and economic disruption or environmental
degradation". Hazard is characterized by its "location, intensity or
magnitude, frequency, and probability".
2. Exposure: It is defined as "the situation of people, infrastructure,
housing, production capacities and other tangible human assets
located in hazard – prone areas". As stated in the UNISDR glossary,
"measures of exposure can include the number of people or types of
assets in an area.

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3. Vulnerability: It is defined as "the conditions determined by physical,

social, economic and environmental factors or processes which
increase the susceptibility of an individual, a community, assets or
systems to the impacts of hazards". Examples includes poor design
and construction of buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of
public information and awareness etc.

Disaster Risk Reduction

 UNISDR definition states that "disaster risk reduction is the policy
objective of disaster risk management, and its goals and objectives are
defined in disaster risk reduction strategies and plans".
 Disaster Risk Reduction strategies and policies define goals and
objectives across different timescales, with concrete targets, indicators
and time frames.

Impacts of Disaster
1. Individual Impact: At the individual level, the impact can often be felt
physically, mentally and emotionally.
2. Community Impact: Communities that experience a natural disaster
must also absorb the impacts of these destructive events. Disasters
cause destruction of property, loss of financial resources, and personal
injury or illness. The loss of resources, security and access to shelter
can lead to massive population migrations in lesser – developed
countries.
3. Economic Impact: In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New
Orleans and the Mississippi gulf coast. Loss of overall gross domestic
product within one year of the disaster as a direct result of the
hurricane and its impact on this important international port city.

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4. Environment: Just as natural can change the landscape of our

personal lives as well as aspects of our community.

International Strategy
1. UN and Disaster Risk Reduction: United Nations has been promoting
efforts to change the paradigm of disasters, advocating for the
incorporation of disaster risk reduction efforts worldwide as a way to
reduce the effects of natural hazards on vulnerable communities. In
2015, UNISDR facilitated the negotiations amongst Member States,
experts and collaborating organizations; which led to the adoption of
the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.
Between 2015 and 2030, Member States around the world will
conduct a variety of efforts within the context of the four Priority Areas
contained in the Sendai Framework.
FOUR Priority Areas are:
1. Priority 1: Understanding disaster risk.
2. Priority 2: Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage
disaster risk.
3. Priority 3: Investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience.
4. Priority 4: Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective
response.

2. Role of World Bank: World Bank has emerged as the Global, Leader in
disaster Risk Management (DRM) over the past 10 years and it is
supporting the client countries to assess exposure to hazards and
address disaster risks. The World Bank promotes a comprehensive,
multisector approach to managing disaster risk.
It helps inn the following areas.
A. Technical and financial Support for Risk Assessment
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B. Risk Reduction
C. Preparedness
D. Financial Protection
E. Reconstruction

Major Initiatives Taken by World Bank

1. Open Data for Resilience Initiatives (Open DRI): It is key component
of the World Bank's commitment to building disaster and climate
resilience in some of the world poorest regions.
2. Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT - DDO): It is an
innovating financing mechanism expanding the Caribbean
Catastrophe Risk Facility to Central America and pilot facility in the
pacific islands.
3. Metro Manila Flood Management Master Plan: The world bank is
providing cutting - edge country capacity building and technical
assistance initiatives on disaster risk reduction and climate change
adaptation
4. Post Disaster Needs Assessments (PDNAs): It provides assistants to
affected areas to regain recover and reconstruction investment.
5. Knowledge Based Global DRM Publications: Publications informing
the Global DRM agenda with knowledge products include:
A. Disaster Recovery Framework Guide
B. Understanding Risk Framework Guide
C. Building Resilience
D. Sendai Report
E. Learning from Mega disaster

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 What is tsunami? How the tsunamis generated and what are

their characteristics?

2016  What is an earth quake? Discuss Richter Scale in this

context. What was the intensity of the earth quake in
Pakistan dated 26 October 2015 and where was the locus?
 Describe different causes of ‘Tsunami’. Is there any difference
2018 between a Tsunami and a tidal wave? Name the worst
Tsunami ever recorded.
2019  What is the most dangerous part of a hurricane and how do
cyclones affect humans?
 On 7th April 2012 an Avalanche hit a Pakistan military base
in the Gayari sector trapping 140 soldiers and civilians under
deep snow. What is Avalanche; describe its four types with
focus on most dangerous type?
2020
 World largest earthquake was assigned a magnitude of 9.5 by
the United States Geological Survey on 22 May 1960 in
southern Chile Valdivia. What do you know about
earthquake? Also explain shallow-focus and deep-focus
earthquakes.
 Differentiate between Middle Latitude Cyclones and
Tornadoes.
 What do you know about Volcanoes? Discuss the causes and
2022 effects of volcanic eruptions.
 What is a Tornado? How it formed and what is are the effects
of tornadoes? Explain briefly.

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