CET445 NATURAL DISASTERS AND MITIGATION – MODULE I

MODULE I
SYLLABUS
Hazards and disasters: Introduction to key concepts and terminology: hazard, disasters and types
of classifications, vulnerability, exposure, risk, crisis, emergency, capacity, resilience, Carbon
footprint. Effect of subsystems of earth. Urbanisation, hazards and disasters.

COURSE OUTCOMES
CO1: Explain interaction between subsystems of earth that give rise to hazards and their
potential for disasters.
CO 2: Explain the evolving concepts and thoughts of management of hazards and disasters.
INTRODUCTION TO KEY CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY
HAZARD
Hazard may be defined as ―a dangerous condition or event that threat or have the potential for
causing injury to life or damage to property or the environment.‖ A Hazard is a threat. A future
source of danger. It has the potential to cause harm to:
• People - death, injury, disease and stress
• Human activity – economic, educational etc.
• Property - property damage, economic loss of
• Environment - loss fauna and flora, pollution, loss of amenities.
Some examples of hazards are earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, cyclones, floods, landslides, and
other such events.
Hazards can be grouped into two broad categories namely natural, Quasi-natural and manmade.
Natural hazards are hazards which are caused because of natural phenomena (hazards with
meteorological, geological or even biological origin). Examples of natural hazards are cyclones,
tsunamis, earthquake and volcanic eruption which are exclusively of natural origin. Landslides,
floods, drought, fires are socio‐natural hazards since their causes are both natural and manmade.
For example flooding may be caused because of heavy rains, landslide or blocking of drains with
human waste.
Quasi-natural hazards such as smog or desertification arise through the interaction of natural
processes and human activities.

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Manmade hazards (Technological) are hazards which are due to human negligence. Manmade
hazards are associated with industries or energy generation facilities and include explosions,
leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars or civil strife etc. The list of hazards is very
long. Many occur frequently while others take place occasionally.
However, on the basis of their genesis, they can be categorized as follows.
Various types of hazards

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Other Types of Hazards:

Secondary hazards
These are hazards that follow as a result of other hazard events. Hazards secondary to an
earthquake may be listed as follows to illustrate the concept. Primary hazard is the earthquake.
Secondary hazards are
• Building collapse
• Dam failure
• Fire
• Hazardous material spill
• Interruption of power/ water supply/ communication/ transportation/ waste disposal
• Landslide
• Soil liquefaction
• Tsunami (tidal wave)
• Water pollution
Chronic hazards
A group of hazards that do not stem from one event but arise from continuous conditions (e.g.,
famine, resource degradation, pollution, and large-scale toxic contamination), which accumulate
over time.
Characteristics of hazards
 Physical characteristics
 Spatial extent of hazard event
 Predictability
 Frequency
 Magnitude
 Duration
 Speed of onset
Physical characteristics
Physical characteristics refer to a descriptive account of what the hazard involves.

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Spatial Extent of Hazard Event

'Hazard event' refers to the occurrence of a hazard in a specific time and place regardless of the
impact on humans.
The spatial extent of hazard events depends on many things, including the magnitude of the
event and the duration in time.
Predictability
Hazards are generally predicted by looking at past events and looking for patterns.
Frequency, Duration and Speed of Onset
These are temporal aspects of the hazard.
Frequency refers to the number of hazard events in a given period of time.
Duration is how long the hazard event lasts.
Speed of onset is how quickly the peak of the hazard event occurs, with the starting time at the
first point of the process towards it becoming a hazard.
Magnitude
Magnitude refers to the size of the hazard event. Each hazard has a scale (or sometimes several
scales) which measure a certain aspect.
Effect of Hazard
Effect on Health
Hazards that would affect the health of exposed persons, usually having an acute or chronic
illness as the consequence. Fatality would not normally be an immediate consequence. Health
hazards may cause measurable changes in the body which are generally indicated by the
development of signs and symptoms in the exposed persons, or non-measurable, subjective
symptoms.
Effect on Safety
Hazards that would affect the safety of individuals, usually having an injury or immediate
fatality as the consequence of an incident.
Effect on Economy
Hazards that would affect property, wealth and the economy.

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Effect on Environment
Any single or combination of toxic chemical, biological, or physical agents in the environment,
resulting from human activities or natural processes, that may affect the health of exposed
subjects, including pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, biological contaminants, toxic
waste, and industrial and home chemicals. Hazards that would affect the environment,
particularly the natural environment and ecosystems.
DISASTER
A disaster can be defined as ―A serious disruption in the functioning of the community or a
society causing wide spread material, economic, social or environmental losses which exceed the
ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources‖.
A disaster is a result from the combination of hazard, vulnerability and insufficient capacity or
measures to reduce the potential chances of risk. A disaster happens when a hazard impacts on
the vulnerable population and causes damage, casualties and disruption.
For a better illustration of disaster is any hazard – flood, earthquake or cyclone which is a
triggering event along with greater vulnerability (inadequate access to resources, sick and old
people, lack of awareness etc) would lead to disaster causing greater loss to life and property.
Characteristics of disaster
Many of those who choose not to define a disaster by its origin/cause define it according to its
characteristics. These may include:
(1) Length of forewarning,
This is the gap between the identification of hazardous conditions and the actual effects on a
particular location. It refers how can people be prepared? (can machines predict when and where
it might occur?)
(2) Magnitude of impact,
Magnitude is the amount of energy released by a disaster.
(3) Scope and intensity of impact,
It is a measure of the breadth of damage caused by a disaster. It describes how extensively the
larger community is impacted, including the rescue and support infrastructure, which in turn
predicts how much help is available and how quickly recovery can proceed. Intensity refers to
level of damage in terms of injuries and deaths—the event‘s human cost.

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(how much area/ how many people will it affect? how strong/ weak will it‘s impact be?)
(4) Duration of impact.
It can refer to the length of the disaster itself, which could range from seconds to hours or days
and even to weeks. It is the the length of time people are affected by a disaster, including the
recovery period as physical damage is repaired and losses are adjusted to emotionally. In the case
of very large scope events that could take years, or could never be fully completed . (how long
does it last?)

(5) Predictability
Predictability is the key to understand the nature of any disaster phenomenon and thereby to
assess the chances of its recurrence.
(6) Controllability
Controllability means how a disaster and it‘s impact can be controlled/ managed/ diverted.
(7) Speed of onset
Speed of onset means how fast or slow does a disaster occur?
Classification of Disasters

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Effects of disasters
 The effects of a disaster vary depending on the characteristics of the exposed elements and
on the nature of the event itself.
 In general, the elements at risk are the population, the environment and physical structures in
housing, industry, trade and public services.
 The effects can be classified as direct and indirect losses.
 Direct losses are related to physical damage, expressed in the number of victims, in damage
to the infrastructure of public services, damage to buildings, the urban area, industry, trade,
and deterioration of the environment, that is, physical alteration of the habitat.
 The indirect losses can usually be broken down into social effects such as the interruption of
transportation, public services, and the media, and the unfavorable image that a region may
acquire with respect to others; and economic effects such as disruption of trade and industry
as a consequence of the decline in production, disincentives for investment, and the expense
of rehabilitation and reconstruction.
VULNERABILITY
Vulnerability may be defined as ―The extent to which a community, structure, services or
geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of particular hazard, on
account of their nature, construction and proximity to hazardous terrains or a disaster prone
area.‖
Vulnerabilities can be categorized into physical and socio‐economic vulnerability.
Physical Vulnerability: It includes notions of who and what may be damaged or destroyed by
natural hazard such as earth‐ quakes or floods. It is based on the physical condition of people and
elements at risk, such as buildings, infrastructure etc; and their proximity, location and nature of
the hazard. It also relates to the technical capability of building and structures to resist the forces
acting upon them during a hazard event. The settlements which are located in hazardous slopes.

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Site after pressures from population growth and urbanization

Figure shows the settlements which are located in hazardous slopes. Many landslide and flooding
disasters are linked to what you see in the figure below. Unchecked growth of settlements in
unsafe areas exposes the people to the hazard. In case of an earth‐ quake or landslide the ground
may fail and the houses on the top may topple or slide and affect the settlements at the lower
level even if they are designed well for earthquake forces.
Socio‐economic Vulnerability: The degree to which a population is affected by a hazard will
not merely lie in the physical components of vulnerability but also on the socio‐ economic
conditions. The socio‐ economic condition of the people also determines the intensity of the
impact.
For example, people who are poor and living in the sea coast don‘t have the money to construct
strong concrete houses. They are generally at risk and lose their shelters whenever there is strong
wind or cyclone. Because of their poverty they too are not able to rebuild their houses.

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CAPACITY
Capacity can be defined as ―resources, means and strengths which exist in households and
communities and which enable them to cope with, withstand, prepare for, prevent, mitigate or
quickly recover from a disaster‖. People‘s capacity can also be taken into account. Capacities
could be:
Physical Capacity: People whose houses have been destroyed by the cyclone or crops have been
destroyed by the flood can salvage things from their homes and from their farms. Some family
members have skills, which enable them to find employment if they migrate, either temporarily
or permanently.
Socio‐economic Capacity: In most of the disasters, people suffer their greatest losses in the
physical and material realm. Rich people have the capacity to recover soon because of their
wealth. In fact, they are seldom hit by disasters because they live in safe areas and their houses
are built with stronger materials. However, even when everything is destroyed they have the
capacity to cope up with it.
RISK
Risk is a ―measure of the expected losses due to a hazard event occurring in a given area over a
specific time period. Risk is a function of the probability of particular hazardous event and the
losses each would cause.‖ The level of risk depends upon:
 Nature of the hazard
 Vulnerability of the elements which are affected
 Economic value of those elements
A community/locality is said to be at ‗risk‘ when it is exposed to hazards and is likely to be
adversely affected by its impact.
Note:
Hazards are always prevalent, but the hazard becomes a disaster only when there is greater
vulnerability and less of capacity to cope with it. In other words the frequency or likelihood of a
hazard and the vulnerability of the community increases the risk of being severely affected.

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EXPOSURE
The presence and number of people, property, livelihoods, systems or other elements in hazard
areas (and so thereby subject to potential losses) is known as exposure. Exposure is one of the
defining components of disaster risk.

If a hazard occurs in an area of no exposure, then there is no risk. The extent to which exposed
people or economic assets are actually at risk is generally determined by how vulnerable they
are, as it is possible to be exposed but not vulnerable.
However, increasing evidence suggests that the case of extreme hazards the degree of disaster
risk is a consequence of exposure more than it is a result of vulnerability.
EMERGENCY
Emergency is a disruption of the functioning of society, causing human, material or
environmental damages and losses which do not exceed the ability of the affected society to cope
using only its own resources.
Emergency is a situation in which normal operations cannot continue and immediate action is
required so as to prevent a disaster Example – forest fire, oil spills, road accidents, outbreak of
epidemics etc.
When an emergency or a disaster affects a city or a region, efforts are conducted initially to care
for the wounded, to restore lifelines and basic services, and subsequently to restore livelihoods
and to reconstruct communities. Such efforts can be structured in three phases:
 Response phase where activities such as search & rescue, rapid damage and needs
assessments, and the provision of first aid are conducted; followed by the opening and
management of temporary shelters for those left homeless as well as the provision of
humanitarian assistance to those affected;

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 Rehabilitation phase where basic services and lifelines are restored, even on a temporary
basis, including the road network and other essential facilities including bridges, airports,
ports and helicopter landing sites;
 Recovery phase where reconstruction efforts are carried out on the basis of a more precise
assessment of damage and destruction of infrastructure. In addition, efforts are conducted to
reconstruct infrastructure when needed and to restore the livelihoods of those affected
Note:
An event is declared as a ―disaster‖ when there is a need for external assistance to cope with its
impacts. A national government declares a state of disaster or national calamity as a way to
request international humanitarian assistance and the support of the international community to
cope with the impacts of the disaster
CRISIS
It is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and dangerous situation
affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. Crisis is a smaller version which
may degenerate in to a disaster if not properly managed. Crisis develops over time and disaster is
sudden
RESILIENCE
―Resilire‖ (Latin word) ‐ to bounce back
Engineering resilience ‐ The time taken by a system to bounce‐back from shocks
Ecological resilience ‐ The extent of disturbance a system can take without undergoing structural
change
Disaster resilience is defined as ‗the ability of individuals, communities and states and their
institutions to absorb and recover from shocks, at the same time as positively adapting and
transforming their structures and means for living in the face of long‐term changes and
uncertainty‘
Disaster resilience is determined by the degree to which individuals, communities and public and
private organizations are capable of organizing themselves to learn from past disasters and
reduce their risks to future ones, at international, regional, national and local levels.
The core elements of disaster resilience as follows:

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Context: Whose resilience is being built – such as a social group, socio‐economic or political
system, environmental context or institution
Disturbance: What shocks (sudden events like conflict or disasters) and/or stresses (long‐term
trends like resource degradation, urbanization, or climate change) the group aims to be resilient
to.
Capacity to respond: The ability of a system or process to deal with a shock or stress depends
on exposure (the magnitude of the shock or stress), sensitivity (the degree to which a system will
be affected by, or will respond to, a given shock or stress), and adaptive capacity (how well it
can adjust to a disturbance or moderate damage, take advantage of opportunities and cope with
the consequences of a transformation).
Reaction: A range of responses are possible, including: bounce back better, where capacities are
enhanced, exposures are reduced, and the system is more able to deal with future shocks and
stresses; bounce back, where pre‐existing conditions prevail; or recover, but worse than before,
meaning capacities are reduced. In the worst‐case scenario, the system collapses, leading to a
catastrophic reduction in capacity to cope with the future.

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INTERACTION BETWEEN SUBSYSTEMS OF EARTH THAT BRINGS HAZARDS

Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and
biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms.
Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to Earth
(geology, meteorology, oceanography, etc). Although environmental and earth science cover
essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological
territory, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical territory.
Environmental and earth science study the interactions of four major systems or ―spheres‖.
● The geosphere consists of the core, mantle and crust of the Earth.
● The atmosphere contains all of the Earth‘s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.
● The hydrosphere contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on Earth, extending from
the depths of the sea to the upper reaches of the troposphere where water is found. Ninety-
seven percent of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans, and the remainder is found as
vapor or droplets in the atmosphere and as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and
snowfields.
● The biosphere is the collection of all Earth‘s life forms, distributed in major life zones known
as biomes: tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, temperate grassland, desert,
savannah, tropical rainforest, chaparral, freshwater, and marine.

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● Although the four systems have their unique identities, there is substantial interaction
between them. Environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other
spheres.
● For example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct and indirect
effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows:
Example 1 (Volcano)
● The following are the interactions resulting from a volcanic eruption.
● Volcano >> geosphere >> atmosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere
Volcanoes (an event in the geosphere) release a large amount of particulate matter into the
atmosphere. These particles serve as nuclei for the formation of water droplets
(hydrosphere). Rainfall (hydrosphere) often increases following an eruption, stimulating
plant growth (biosphere). Particulate matter in the air (atmosphere) falls out, initially
smothering plants (biosphere), but ultimately enriching the soil (geosphere) and thereby
stimulating plant growth (biosphere).
● Volcano >> geosphere >> hydrosphere >> biosphere
Volcanoes (events in the geosphere) may release a substantial amount of hot lava
(geosphere), which causes mountain glaciers (hydrosphere) to melt. Mudflows (geosphere)
and flooding may occur downstream from volcanoes and may flood streamside communities
(biosphere).
● Volcano >> geosphere >> atmosphere >> biosphere >> geosphere
Volcanoes (events of the geosphere) release a large amount of carbon dioxide (atmosphere),
the raw material for sugar production in plants (biosphere). This may increase photosynthetic
production and eventually increase the amount of biomass, which, after a very long time,
forms coal and oil deposits (geosphere).
● Volcano >>complexinteractions
Volcanoes (geosphere) may emit large quantities of sulfur dioxide (atmosphere). When
atmospheric sulfur dioxide combines with water (hydrosphere), sulfuric and sulfurous acid
form. Rain (hydrosphere) may bring these acids to the Earth, acidifying soils (geosphere),
lakes and rivers (hydrosphere). Acidic water leaches nutrients from the soil (geosphere) into
the water table (hydrosphere), making the soil less fertile for plants (biosphere), and the

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subterranean water supply (hydrosphere) less potable for humans (biosphere). Acid rain
falling on lakes and streams reduces the pH of the water (hydrosphere), which may result in a
decrease in phytoplankton and zooplankton growth (biosphere). If photosynthesis is reduced,
atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide can build up and stimulate global warming
(atmosphere) which may contribute to increased melting of glaciers (hydrosphere).

CARBON FOOTPRINT
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event,
organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbon dioxide and methane, can be
emitted through the burning of fossil fuels, land clearance and the production and consumption
of food, manufactured goods, materials, wood, roads, buildings, transportation and other
services.
In most cases, the total carbon footprint cannot be calculated exactly because of inadequate
knowledge of data about the complex interactions between contributing processes, including the
influence of natural processes that store or release carbon dioxide.
It is calculated as carbon dioxide equivalent using the relevant 100-year global warming
potential (GWP100).
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol has extended the range of gases.
The standard covers the accounting and reporting of seven greenhouse gases covered by the
Kyoto Protocol – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PCFs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen
trifluoride (NF3).

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Effects of carbon footprint on environment

Impact of a carbon
footprint on the Effect
environment

The ever-increasing CO2 emissions trigger global warming,

Carbon emissions
which leads to climate change with devastating weather
cause climate change
events.

Carbon emissions
Toxic urban smog hanging over big cities causes an alarming
contribute to urban air
number of respiratory infections and even cancer.
pollution

Carbon emissions lead Acid rain in the presence of other chemicals in the atmosphere
to toxic acid rain has a devastating effect on human health, fauna, and flora.

Acidic waters are the reason behind the extinction of many

Carbon emissions add
marine species. In combination with the rising temperatures,
to coastal and ocean
acid is bleaching coral reefs that offer protection and serve as
acidification
home to much marine wildlife.

Carbon emissions worsen Fast-melting glaciers and polar ice incapacitate the Earth‘s
the melting of glaciers and ability to reflect sunlight and have cascading effects on the
polar ice Arctic food webs.

Control measuresfor reducing carbon footprint

 Using sustainable transport whenever possible. Walking or riding a bike can
completely avoid carbon emissions from driving (although the production of shoes and a
bicycle contributes to carbon emissions). Using public transportation can drastically
reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, low carbon vehicles are an option available
that allow driving but reduce carbon emissions overall. Electric cars emit no carbon
dioxide if the electricity they're charged with has no associated carbon emissions.
 Drive more efficiently by not speeding and accelerating unnecessarily, as these driving
styles can reduce mileage by 33%. Also, avoiding traffic whenever possible is important
as idling contributes to CO2 emissions.

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 Improving home energy efficiency by insulating and sealing it properly. Utilize weather
stripping and caulking to ensure windows, doors, and skylights do not have air leaks. In
addition, using energy efficient appliances—especially furnaces, air conditioners,
and refrigerators, can reduce emissions that contribute to a carbon footprint. Upgrading
incandescent light bulbs to fluorescents or LEDs is also a way to reduce emissions, along
with setting thermostats to an appropriate level (using a programmable model also helps).
 Recycling and composting helps to reduce carbon emissions associated with the
"provision of goods", or the extraction of resources, transport, manufacturing, and
disposal of goods.
 Think about "food miles" by eating locally grown foods. A significant amount of
greenhouse gas emissions are produced as a result of producing and transporting food, so
the emissions can be reduced by eating food grown close to home.
 Reduce water usage in the home. This lowers the amount of energy required to pump,
treat, and heat water. Conservation along with using water saving shower heads, toilets,
dishwashers, and washing machines can help here.

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