CHAPTER-1

UNDERSTANDING HAZARDS AND

DISASTERS

What are Hazards and Disasters?

Hazards are potential threats that can cause harm to
people, property, or the environment. They can be
natural, like earthquakes and hurricanes, or human-
made, such as industrial accidents or pollution. Hazards
are potential sources of harm or adverse effects on
people, property, or the environment. They represent
conditions or situations that have the potential to cause
damage, injury, or loss, but do not necessarily lead to a
disaster on their own. Hazards can be natural,
technological, environmental, or social in origin.
Hazards may occur naturally or be human-made, and
their consequences can range from minor injuries to
catastrophic damage, depending on the severity and
preparedness to handle them. Identifying and
mitigating hazards is crucial in reducing risks and
ensuring safety in various settings, from workplaces to
communities.
Types of Hazards
Depending upon the source of origin hazards can be
classified into various types. These hazards can be
natural or human-made and are categorized into the
following types:
1. Natural Hazards
These are events that occur due to natural processes of
the Earth. They are often unpredictable and can cause
large-scale destruction.
 Geological Hazards: These include events related
to the Earth's structure, such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis. For
example, earthquakes can cause infrastructure
collapse, while volcanic eruptions pose threats like
lava flows and ash clouds.
 Hydrometeorological Hazards: These involve
extreme weather and water-related phenomena, such
as floods, cyclones, droughts, and thunderstorms.
These hazards can result in flash floods, storm
surges, and widespread water shortages, leading to
loss of life and property damage.
 Climatological Hazards: Related to long-term
climate processes, these hazards include heatwaves,
cold waves, and wildfires, often exacerbated by
climate change. For example, prolonged heatwaves
can lead to health emergencies and crop failure.
 Biological Hazards: These include events such as
epidemics or pandemics caused by viruses, bacteria,
and other microorganisms. Diseases like COVID-19 or
Ebola fall under this category, threatening human
health on a large scale.
2. Environmental Hazards
These hazards are related to environmental
degradation or ecological imbalance, often exacerbated
by human actions.
 Deforestation and Land Degradation:
Unsustainable land use, deforestation, or soil erosion
can lead to hazards like desertification or landslides,
increasing the vulnerability of communities.
 Pollution: Air, water, and soil pollution, often due to
industrial activities, can lead to long-term health
hazards and disrupt ecosystems.
3. Technological or Man-Made Hazards
These are hazards that result from human activities,
often related to industrial or technological processes.
 Industrial Hazards: These involve accidents in
factories or industries, such as chemical spills,
explosions, or radiation leaks. A classic example is
the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, where toxic gas leakage led
to thousands of deaths and long-term environmental
damage.
 Nuclear Hazards: Nuclear accidents, like the
Chernobyl disaster, can result in long- term radiation
exposure, contamination, and severe health effects,
impacting entire regions.
 Transport-Related Hazards: These include
accidents or disasters involving vehicles, ships, or
aircraft, such as oil spills, plane crashes, or train
derailments.
 Fires and Explosions: Human-induced fires in
urban or industrial settings, such as gas leaks or
electrical malfunctions, can cause widespread
destruction and fatalities.

4. Social and Political Hazards

These hazards arise from societal tensions or conflicts,
often leading to humanitarian crises.
 Civil Strife or Conflict: War, terrorism, or civil
unrest can lead to large-scale displacement, loss of
life, and economic disruption. Refugee crises and
political instability are common outcomes of such
hazards.
 Economic Crises: Economic downturns or
recessions can cause widespread unemployment,
poverty, and social instability, leading to increased
vulnerability to other hazards.
5. Complex Emergencies
These involve a combination of natural, man-made, and
environmental hazards, often creating a multi-
dimensional disaster scenario.
 Food Insecurity and Famine: Caused by drought,
war, or poor governance, complex emergencies like
famines can lead to mass migration, hunger, and
societal collapse.
Role in Disaster Management
In disaster management, identifying the type of hazard
is the first step in developing effective mitigation,
preparedness, response, and recovery strategies.
Natural hazards require early warning systems and
community preparedness, while man-made hazards
may demand stricter regulations, safety measures, and
technology-driven monitoring systems. Effective
management also involves collaboration across sectors
and international support for mitigating and responding
to these diverse hazards.
Hazards and Disasters
A disaster occurs when a hazard impacts vulnerable
populations, leading to widespread damage, injury, or
loss of life. The severity of a disaster depends on the
intensity of the hazard and the level of preparedness
and response by the affected community. Disasters
occur when a hazard impacts a vulnerable population
or area, overwhelming the capacity to cope and
respond effectively. They can lead to widespread
suffering, destruction of infrastructure, loss of life, and
long-term economic and social consequences.

Disasters: Definitions
1. A disaster is a serious disruption of the
functioning of a community or a society involving
widespread human, material, economic or
environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds
the ability of the effected community or society to
cope using its own resources.
- UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk
Reduction)
2. A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that
seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or
society and causes human, material, and economic
or environmental losses that exceed the
community's or society's ability to cope using its
own resources.
-IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross)
3. A Disaster is an event or series of events, which
gives rise to casualties and damage or loss of
properties, infrastructure, environment, essential
services or means of livelihood on such a scale
which is beyond the normal capacity of the affected
community to cope with.
- NIDM (National Institute of Disaster
Management)
4. A disaster is defined as a catastrophe, mishap,
calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising
from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or
negligence which results in substantial loss of life or
human suffering or damage to, and destruction of
property, or damage to, or degradation of,
environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude
as to be beyond the coping capacity of the
community of the affected area.
- Disaster Management Act of India, 2005
Key Characteristics of Disasters:
1. Sudden Onset: Disasters often occur suddenly,
with little or no warning, leaving little time for
preparation.
2. Significant Impact: They cause substantial harm
to people, property, and the environment. The damage
can be physical (e.g., buildings destroyed), social (e.g.,
communities disrupted), economic (e.g., loss of
livelihood), or environmental (e.g. ecosystems
damaged).
3. Overwhelms Local Resources: Disasters typically
overwhelm the capacity of the affected community or
area to respond and recover, requiring external
assistance.
4. Long-Term Consequences: The effects of a
disaster can last long after the event itself, including
economic downturns, health crises, and social
instability.
Impact of Disasters
Disasters, regardless of their type, have profound
impacts on societies and the environment. These
include:
Loss of Life and Injury: Disasters can cause mass
fatalities and injuries, overwhelming local healthcare
systems and emergency services.
Economic Damage: Infrastructure, homes, and
businesses may be destroyed, leading to massive
economic losses. Recovery efforts can strain national
economies, particularly in developing countries.
Environmental Degradation: Natural habitats may
be destroyed, and ecosystems disrupted, leading to a
loss of biodiversity and long-term ecological damage.
Displacement and Migration: Many disasters force
people to flee their homes, leading to temporary or
permanent displacement. This often results in
humanitarian crises with long-term socio-economic
impacts.
Social Disruption: Disasters can cause widespread
disruption to education, healthcare, and governance,
especially in developing regions where resources are
limited.
What is Disaster Management?
Disaster management refers to the coordinated efforts
to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and
recover from disasters. It involves multiple phases,
including risk assessment, early warning systems,
emergency response, and rehabilitation efforts to
minimize the impact and promote resilience. Effective
disaster management requires the collaboration of
governments, organizations, and communities to
ensure timely and efficient action, reducing
vulnerability and promoting sustainable recovery.

CHAPTER 2
TYPES OF DISASTERS
A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously
disrupts the functioning of a community or society and
causes human, material and economic or
environmental losses.
Definitions:
A disaster can be defined as any occurrence that
causes damage, ecological disruption, loss of human
life, or deterioration of health and health services on a
scale, sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response
from outside the affected community or area. (WHO)
Types of Disasters:
Disasters are of two types: 1. Natural disasters 2.
Man-made disasters
1. Natural disasters
Natural disasters are those disasters that are caused
due to natural processes. A natural disaster is a
disruption in the balance of the environment. Human
activities play a role in the frequency and severity of
disasters.
Natural disasters are of the following types:
Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions, Cyclones, Floods,
Droughts, Tsunami, Wild Fire, Landslides, Heat waves,
Cold Waves, Thunderstorms etc
i. Earthquakes:
 An earthquake is a sudden vibration caused on earth
surface with the sudden release of tremendous
energy stored in rocks under the earth's crust.
 The edges of the tectonic plates are marked by
faults.
 Most earthquakes occur along the fault lines when
the plates slide past each other or collide against
each other. The shifting masses send out shock
waves that may be powerful enough to alter the
surface of the earth, thrusting up cliffs opening great
cracks in the ground and causing great damage.

Examples:
 The Kashmir Earthquake, (Pakistan administered
Kashmir) October 8, 2005
  The Sichuan Earthquake, (Sichuan province, China)
May 12, 2008
 The Great Peruvian Earthquake (Western Peru), May
31, 1970
 The Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (Indian
Ocean basin), December 26, 2004
 The Haiti Earthquake (Hispaniola), January 17, 2010.
Causes of Earthquakes:
 Disequilibrium in any part of the earth crust.
 Underground nuclear testing.
 Decrease of underground water level.
Effects:
 Damage the settlements and transport systems.
 Collapse houses and their structures.
 Deformation of ground surface.
 Collapse of buildings and other man-made structures,
broken power and gas lines, landslides, snow
avalanches, tsunamis.
Earthquake management:
 Constructing earthquake resistant building.
 Wooden houses are preferred.
 Seismic hazard map should give the information
about the magnitude of intensity of anticipated
earthquakes.
List of Major Earthquakes in India
Sl. Date State Earthqu Facts
No Name ake
1. Januar Bihar Bihar - One of the deadliest
earthquakes in history,
 y 15, Nepal affecting Bihar (India)
1935 earthquaand Nepal. with an
ke estimated magnitude of
8.1.
2. August Assam Assam - A powerful earthquake
15,195 Tibet with a magnitude of 8.6
0 earthqua struck Assam, causing
widespread damage and
ke
loss of life.
3. August Maharasht Koyna A major earthquake in
15, ra earthqua Maharashtra with a
1952 ke magnitude of 6.7, leading
to significant destruction
and casualties.
4. July 21, Gujarat Anjar A devastating earthquake
1956 earthqua measuring 7.0 struck
ke Anjar, Gujarat, resulting
in severe damage to
infrastructure and loss of
life.
5. August Himachal Kinnaur A significant earthquake
15, Pradesh earthqua of magnitude 6.8 hit
1975 ke Kinnaur, Himachal
Pradesh, causing
destruction and
casualties in the region.
6. Septe Maharasht Latur A powerful earthquake
mber ra earthqua measuring 6.3 struck
30, ke Latur, Maharashtra,
resulting in widespread
1993
destruction and a high
number of fatalities.
7. Januar Gujarat Bhuj A catastrophic
y 26, earthqua earthquake of magnitude
2001 ke 7.7 struck Bhuj, Gujarat,
leading to extensive and
a large death toll.
8. Octobe Jammu Kashmir
r 8, and earthqua
2005 Kashmir ke
9. April Nepal
25, earthqua
2015 ke
10 Januar Uttarakha Uttarakha
. y 3, nd nd
2022 earthqua
ke
11 May Assam Assam
. 29,
2023