Disasters management

DISASTERS
MANAGEMENT
Gift Pon Lazarus D

Introduction

Disaster is defined as a crisis situation causing wide
spread damage which far exceeds our ability to recover.
 Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great
damage, loss, destruction and devastation to life and
property.
 The damage caused by disaster is immeasurable and
varies with the geographical location, climate and the
type of the earth surface.
 Natural disasters are relatively sudden and cause large
scale, widespread death, loss of property and
disturbance to social systems and life over which people
have a little or no control.
 Thus, any event can be classed as disaster when the

A Natural Hazard
 Within nature nothing is constant. Indeed, nature is
typified by continual changes, in some cases by
predictable evolution or the normal sequence of cyclical
events as in seasonal weather.
 Much of nature, though, is unpredictable. When
unpredictable natural events become extreme in their
occurrence, they may constitute a danger to humans
and to the other members of an environment. Such an
event, then, defines a natural hazard.

Definition
 A threat (natural or human) that has a potential to cause
loss of life, injury, socio-economic disruption or
environmental degradation ( UNISDR 2009)
 A potential threat to humans and their welfare arising
form a dangerous phenomena or substance that may
cause loss of life, injury property damage and other
community losses or damage (smith k 2013)
Characteristics :
 Magnitude
 Duration
 Seasonality
 Spatial extent

Vulnerability
 The characteristics and circumstances of a community,
system or asset that make it susceptible to the damaging
effect of a hazard. ( UNISDR 2009)
 A state or condition which describes factors
or constraints of economic, social, physical or
Geographic nature which reduce the ability of
the community to cope with resist to and
recover from the impact of hazards.
 Human vulnerability leads to financial structural
and human losses
Adaptive
capacity
Potential
threat
(hazard)
Vulnerability

Vulnerability
Characteristics of a person or group and their situation that
influence their
 Capacity to anticipate
 Cope with
 Resist
 Recover

Risk
 The probability of a hazard event causing harmful
consequences, expected losses, death injury etc.
 The combination of the probability of a hazardous events and
its consequences and vulnerability of respect community.
Risk= Hazard x Vulnerability
 Risk& Hazard
 Hazard is a naturally occurring , or human induced process or
event with the potential to creating loss, general source of
future danger.
 Riskis the actual exposure of something of human value to a
hazard and is often measured as the product of probability
and loss.

Disasterdefinition
 “A disaster can be defined as any occurrence that cause damage,
ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and
health services on a scale, sufficient to warrant an extraordinary
response from outside the affected community or area”.(W.H.O.)
 “A disaster can be defined as an occurrence either nature or
manmade that causes human suffering and creates human needs
that victims cannot alleviate without assistance”. American Red
Cross (ARC) ’

TYPES OF DISASTER
 Earthquake,
 Volcanic eruption,
 Tsunami,
 Tropical cyclone (typhoon, hurricane),
 Flood,
 Landslide,
 Bushfire (or wildfire),
 Drought,
 Epidemic,
 Major accident, and
 Civil unrest.

TYPES OF DISASTER
 Earthquake
 An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the
Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
 At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration,
shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations
may vary in magnitude.
 Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults,
but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine
blasts, and nuclear tests.

Earthquake
 Characteristics
 Usually no warning. However, following a major earthquake,
secondary shocks may warn of a further earthquake.
 Speed of onset usually sudden.
 Earthquake-prone areas are generally well identified and well-
known.
 Major effects arise mainly from land movement, fracture, or
slippage; specifically, they include damage (usually very severe) to
structures and systems and considerable casualties due to lack of
warning.

Effects
 Severe and extensive damage, creating the need for urgent
countermeasures, especially search and rescue, and medical
assistance;
 Difficulty of access and movement;
 Widespread loss of or damage to infrastructure, essential services ,
and life-support systems;
 Recovery requirements (e.g., restoration and rebuilding) may be
very extensive and costly; and
 Rarity of occurrence in some areas may cause problems for
economies of countermeasures and public awareness.
General countermeasures
 Developing possible warning indicators,
 Land-use regulations, Building regulations,
 Relocating communities, and Public awareness and education
programs.

Volcanic eruptions
 Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent
disaster in several ways.
 The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause
harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock.
 Second, lava may be produced during the eruption of a volcano.
As it leaves the volcano, the lava destroys many buildings and
plants it encounters.
 Third, volcanic ash generally meaning the cooled ash - may form
a cloud, and settle thickly in nearby locations.

Volcanic eruptions
 Characteristics
 Volcanic blast can destroy structures and environmental surrounds,
and also cause fires, possibly including forest fires.
 Land surface cracking, resulting from volcanic explosion, may affect
buildings and other structures.
 Lava flow can bury buildings and crops. It may also cause fires and
render land unusable.
 Ash, in its airborne form, can affect aircraft by ingestion into
engines.
 Ground deposit of ash may destroy crops and also affect land use
and water supplies.

Effects
 Access during eruption.
 Timely and accurate evacuation decision(s).
 Public apathy, especially if there is a history of false alarms or small
eruptions. Thus, it may be difficult to maintain public awareness and
also to implement evacuation plans.
 Control of incoming sightseers when evacuation programs are
being implemented.
 Land-use regulations , Lava control systems,
 Developing a monitoring and warning system,
 Evacuation plans and arrangements,
 Relocating the population, and
 Public awareness and education programs.

Tsunami
 Tsunamis can be caused by undersea earthquakes as the one
caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
 Characteristics
 The velocity of the wave depends on the depth of water where the
seismic disturbance occurs. Initial wave velocity may be as high as
900 kilometer per hour (kph) (560 miles per hour [mph]), slowing to
approximately 50 kph (31 mph) as the wave strikes land.
 Warning time depends on the distance from the point of wave origin.
 Impact on a shoreline can be preceded by a marked recession of
normal water level prior to the arrival of a wave. This can result in a
massive outgoing tide, followed by the incoming tsunami wave.
 People may be trapped when they investigate the phenomenon of the
outgoing tide and then be struck by the incoming wave.
 The tsunami wave can be very destructive; wave heights of 30 meters
have been known.

Effects
 Impact can cause flooding; saltwater contamination of crops, soil,
and water supplies; and destruction of or damage to buildings,
structures, and shoreline vegetation.
 Timely dissemination of warning because of the possible short
period between receipt of warning and the arrival of the tsunami
wave;
 Effective evacuation time-scale;
 Search and rescue; and
 Recovery problem may be extensive and costly because of severe
destruction and damage.
 Optimum arrangements for receipt and dissemination of warning;
 Evacuating threatened communities from sea level/low-level areas
to high ground, if sufficient warning is available;
 Public awareness and education programs.

Flood
 A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land.
 In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the
inflow of the tide.
 Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of
water, such as a river or lake, which overflows or breaks levees,
with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.

Flood
 Characteristics
 Long, short, or no warning, depending on the type of flood (e.g.,
flooding within parts of a major river system may develop over a
number of days or even weeks, whereas flashfloods may give no
usable warning);
 Speed of onset may be gradual or sudden;
 There may be seasonal patterns to flooding; and
 Major effects arise mainly from inundation and erosion; specifically,
they may include isolation of communities or areas, and involve the
need for large-scale evacuation.

Effects
 Difficulties of access and movement; Rescue;
 Medical and health difficulties (e.g., arising from sanitation
problems);
 Evacuating; Loss of relief supplies; and
 Large-scale relief may be required until next crop harvest.
 Flood control (e.g., by walls, gates, dams, dikes, and levees);
 Land-use regulations; Building regulations;
 Forecasting, monitoring, and warning system(s);
 Relocating population; Planning and arranging evacuation;
 Emergency equipment, facilities, and materials such as special
flood boats, sandbags, supplies of sand, and designated
volunteers who will implement emergency measures;

TropicalCyclones (Typhoon,
Hurricane)
 Cyclo ne , tro pical cyclo ne , hurricane , and typho o n are diffe re nt
nam e s fo r the sam e phe no m e no n a cyclo nic sto rm syste m that
fo rm s o ve r the o ce ans .
 Extratropical Cyclones
 Extra tropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones,
are a group of cyclones defined as synoptic scale low pressure
weather systems that occur in the middle latitudes of the Earth
(outside the tropics) not having tropical characteristics, and are
connected with fronts and horizontal gradients in temperature
and dew point otherwise known as "bar clinic zones".

Tropical Cyclones
 Characteristics
 Usually long warning, derived from systematic international
meteorological observation (including remote sensing);
 Speed of onset gradual;
 Tends to conform to seasonal pattern;
 Major effects arise mainly from destructive force winds,
storm surge (producing inundation), and flooding from intense
rainfall.
 Landslides may follow flooding and heavy rainfall; and
 Destruction and/or severe damage to buildings and other
structures, roads, essential services, crops, and the
environment generally.
 Major loss of life and livestock may occur.

Effects
 Assessing effects and needs may be difficult, especially due to
bad weather following the impact of main disaster and to
problems of access and movement caused by high damage
levels;
 Widespread destruction or loss of counter-disaster resources
(e.g., transport, emergency food and medical supplies, shelter
materials);
 Difficulty of access and movement in carrying out urgent relief
operations, especially emergency feeding, shelter and medical
assistance programs;
 Search and rescue;
 Widespread destruction/disruption of essential services;
Evacuating; and
 Rehabilitating agriculture, especially tree crops.

Ge ne ralco unte rm e asure s
 Effective warning arrangements;
 Precautionary measures during warning period (e.g., boarding up
buildings, closing public facilities);
 Moving people to safe shelters;
 General readiness and cleanup measures prior to an expected
cyclone season (especially to reduce the risk of flying objects);
 Building regulations, and Public education and awareness.

Drought
 Drought is unusual dryness of soil, resulting in crop failure and
shortage of water for other uses, caused by significantly lower
rainfall than average over a prolonged period. Hot dry winds, high
temperatures and consequent evaporation of moisture from the
ground can contribute to conditions of drought.

Drought
 Characteristics
 Major areas liable to drought are usually well-known; Periods of
drought can be prolonged;
 Area(s) affected may be very large; Long warning;
 Effects on agriculture, livestock, rural industry production, and
human habitation may be severe. This may lead to prolonged food
shortages or famine;
 Long-term effects can be in the form of severe economic loss,
erosion which affects future habitation and production, and
sometimes abandonment of large tracts of land;
 Man-made activities may aggravate the possibility and extent of the
drought problem (e.g., overgrazing of agricultural land, destruction
of forests or similar areas); and
 The inability and/or unwillingness of the population to move from
drought-prone areas may exacerbate the problem.

Effects
 Response requirements (e.g., feeding programs) may be extensive
and prolonged, thus involving major commitment and expenditure of
resources.
 Prolonged drought may undermine self-reliance of affected
communities, thus making it difficult to withdraw disaster
management assistance.
 Logistic requirements may exceed in-country capability, particularly
if large inputs of outside (international) commodities are involved.
 Land management and special plans (e.g., for irrigation);
 Response to drought-caused emergencies usually includes
providing food and water supply, medical and health assistance
(including monitoring of sanitation and possibility of epidemic), and
emergency accommodation (may be on an organized camp or
similar basis); and

Landslide
 Characteristics
 Warning period may vary. Little or no warning may be available if
the cause is an earthquake. However, some general warning may
be assumed in the case of landslide arising from continuous heavy
rain.
 Minor initial landslips may give warning that heavy landslides are to
follow. Natural movement of land surface can be monitored, thus
providing long warning of possibility of landslides.
 Speed of onset is mostly rapid. Damage to structures and systems
can be severe (buildings may be buried or villages swept away).
 Rivers may be blocked, causing flooding. Crops may be affected.
Sometimes areas of crop-producing land may be lost altogether
(e.g., in the major slippage of surface soils from a mountainside).
 When landslides are combined with very heavy rain and flooding,
the movement of debris (e.g., remains of buildings, uprooted trees)
may cause high levels of damage and destruction.

Effects
 Difficulties of access and movement in affected areas;
 Search and rescue;
 Risk of follow-up landslides may hamper response operations;
 Relocation, as distinct from temporary evacuation, may be resisted
by indigenous communities;
 Rehabilitation and recovery may be complex and costly; and
 In severe cases, it may not be possible and/or cost-effective to
rehabilitate the area for organized human settlement.
 Land-use and building regulations;
 Monitoring systems, where applicable;
 Evacuating and/or relocating communities. Relocation has proved
successful where crop-growing land areas have been lost; and
 Public awareness programs

Bushfire (or wildfire)
 Wildfires are large fires which often start in wild land
areas.
 Common causes include lightning and drought but
wildfires may also be started by human negligence or
arson.
 They can spread to populated areas and can thus be a
threat to humans and property, as well as wildlife.

Bushfire (or wildfire)
 Characteristics
 Most bushfire-prone areas are well-known and well
defined. Bushfire threat tends to be seasonal.
 Speed of onset may vary. It can be rapid under
conditions of high temperatures and high wind, when
major fire fronts advance very quickly. Also, fragments
of fire from a main front may be carried forward by the
wind, starting new fires further ahead. This is sometimes
known as “spotting.”
 Effects can be very destructive, especially in loss of
buildings, timber, and livestock (and human life if
counter-disaster arrangements are
inadequate).Recovery from effects on the environment
may take several years.
 Evacuating communities may be difficult and dangerous
in the face of a major fire front.

Effects
 Maintaining adequate community awareness and preparedness;
 The arsonist problem is difficult to counter;
 Establishing and maintaining adequate firefighting resources,
especially if the threat is spasmodic;
 Establishing an adequate warning system, particularly the meaning
of signals (e.g., sirens) and their interpretation by threatened
communities;
 Timely dissemination of warning and, if applicable, decision to
evacuate;
 Long-term recovery may be prolonged due to high levels of
environmental damage and destruction; and
 Evacuation movements, either out of affected areas or to safe
havens within such areas.

Ge ne ralco unte rm e asure s
 Accurate risk assessment;
 Effective monitoring and warning systems, including remote
sensing to define “curing” or drying out of vegetation;
 Fire prevention regulations;
 Seasonal mitigation measures (e.g., fuel reduction);
 Building regulations; and
 Public awareness and education programs, especially to ensure
that individuals, families, and communities cooperate in applying
measures for prevention and mitigation, and especially that they
maintain adequate standards of preparedness during the high risk
season.

Epidemic
 An epidemic is an outbreak of a contractible disease that spreads
through a human population.
 A pandemic is an epidemic whose spread is global. There have
been many epidemics throughout history, such as the Black Death.

Epidemic
 Characteristics
 Disaster-related epidemic arises generally from the disrupted
living conditions which follow disaster impact.
 Epidemic may arise from: food sources; water sources;
inadequate medical and health facilities/standards;
malnutrition; and vector-borne sources (e.g., mosquitoes).
 Types of disease include: hepatitis, typhoid, diphtheria,
malaria, cholera, influenza, enteritis, diarrhea, skin diseases,
and food poisoning.
 Under post-impact conditions, when personnel and facilities
may be limited, outbreaks may prove difficult to contain and
control.
 This may particularly apply if community health education is
sub standard. Warning (i.e., risk) is self-evident in most post-
impact circumstances.
 Speed of onset is mostly rapid.

Effects
 Loss of medical and health resources (e.g., clinics, medical supplies)
during disaster impact (e.g., by a cyclone) may inhibit response
capability;
 In-country shortage of special equipment (e.g., water purifying
plant).
 Integrating outside (international) medical and health assistance with
local systems; and
 Containing and controlling common diseases (e.g., enteritis and
diarrhea) which can have a mass effect, especially if relevant
medical and health resources are severely limited.
 An effective medical and health sub-plan within the overall local or
area counter-disaster plan. This medical and health plan needs
particularly to cover preparedness measures and the capability to
deal with post-disaster eventualities;
 Close post-disaster monitoring of medical and health aspects;

Civil disorder
 Civil disorder is a broad term that is typically used by law
enforcement to describe forms of disturbance.
 Although civil disorder does not necessarily escalate to a
disaster in all cases, the event may escalate into general
chaos.
 Rioting has many causes, including large-scale criminal
conspiracy, socioeconomic factors (unemployment,
poverty), hostility between racial and ethnic groups and
mass outrage over perceived moral and legal
transgressions.

Terrorism
 Terrorism is a controversial term with varied 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.

War
 War is a 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 sometimes from disaster planning.

Civil unrest
Characteristics
 Usually the responsibility of police, paramilitary, and armed forces.
 However, other emergency services such as fire services, medical
authorities, and welfare agencies become involved;
 Violent and disruptive activities occur (e.g., bombing, armed
clashes, mob demonstrations, and violence);
 Patterns of civil unrest are difficult to predict. Therefore, effective
warning may also be difficult;
 In many civil unrest circumstances, especially terrorism, the
instigators have the initiative, thus complicating the task of law
enforcement authorities.

Effects
 Overloading of resource organizations (e.g., medical authorities,
welfare agencies, and essential services) because of demands of
civil unrest incidents, in addition to normal commitments; and
 Difficulty of integrating “peacetime” resource organizations
(noncombatant in nature) with “military type” operations which are
necessary to deal with violent civil unrest.
 Firmly applying law and order regulations and requirements;
 Imposing special emergency measures and regulations (e.g.,
restricted movement, curfews, and security checks); and
 Positive information programs aimed at maintaining majority public
support for government action against disruptive elements/factions.

MajorAccident
 Industrial disasters occur in a commercial context, such
as mining accidents. They often have an environmental
impact.
 The Bhopal disaster is the world's worst industrial
disaster to date, and the Chernobyl disaster is regarded
the worst nuclear accident in history.

MajorAccident
 Characteristics
 Usually violent in nature (e.g., industrial or other
explosion, aircraft crash, major fire, train collision);
 Can have limited or widespread effect (e.g., an aircraft
crash may affect only those on board, whereas an
explosion involving hazardous chemicals may affect a
wide area of the population);
 Mostly limited or no warning, though there may be
longer warning of effects of, say, chemical or oil spill;
and Speed of onset usually rapid.

Effects
 Unexpected nature of accidents may pose problems of reaction and
response time;
 Response problems may be severe, extensive, and difficult (e.g.,
rescue from a building collapse, or in circumstances where a
chemical or radiation hazard exists, or where there are multiple
casualties such as in a major rail accident); and
 Identifying victim may be difficult in some cases.
 Good physical planning (e.g., the sitting of potentially accident-prone
buildings or complexes);
 Special building regulations, if applicable;
 Good in-house safety and management
standards/procedures,including evacuation plans and periodic tests;

 Effective organizational emergency services (e.g., fire services and
rescue teams) which are available to immediately respond prior to
the arrival of public emergency services;
 Effective community or area disaster plans so that coordinated
response can be achieved; and
 Training in handling the effects of specific hazards.

Disasters management

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Disasters management