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For other uses, seeDisaster (disambiguation).

Ruins from the1906 San Francisco earthquake,one of the worst disasters in the history of the United States

Adisasteris an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone.[1][2]Natural disasterslikeavalanches,floods,earthquakes,andwildfiresare caused by naturalhazards.[3]Human-made disasterslikeoil spills,terrorist attacksandpower outagesare caused by people. Nowadays, it is hard to separate natural and human-made disasters because human actions can make natural disasters worse.[4][5][6]Climate changealso affects how often disasters due toextreme weatherhazards happen.

Disasters usually hit people indeveloping countriesharder than people in wealthy countries. Over 95% of deaths from disasters happen in low-income countries, and those countries lose a lot more money compared to richer countries. For example, the damage from natural disasters is 20 times greater in developing countries than inindustrialized countries.[7][8]This is because low-income countries often do not have well-built buildings or good plans to handle emergencies.

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

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

Definition and types

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Painting of theCathedraland theAcademy buildingafter theGreat Fire of Turku,byGustaf Wilhelm Finnberg,1827

The UN defines a disaster as "a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale".[9]: 13 It results from hazards in places where people live in exposed or vulnerable conditions. Some human failures make communities vulnerable to climate hazards. These are poor planning or development, or a lack of preparation.[10]

Disasters are events that have an effect on people. A hazard that overwhelms or injures a community is considered a disaster.[11]The international disaster database EM-DAT defines a disaster as “a situation or event that overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request for external assistance at the national or international level; it is an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering.”[12]The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.[9]: 13 

The scale of a disaster matters. Small-scale disasters only affect local communities but need help beyond the affected community. Large-scale disasters affect wider society and need national or international help.[9]

It is usual to divide disasters into natural or human-made. Recently the divide between natural, man-made and man-accelerated disasters has become harder to draw.[13][14][15]Some manufactured disasters such assmogandacid rainhave been wrongly attributed to nature.[16]

Complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common indeveloping countries.A specific hazard may also spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is anearthquakethat causes atsunami.This results incoastal flooding,damaging anuclear powerplant on the coast. TheFukushima nuclear disasteris a case in point. Experts examine these cascading events to see how risks and impacts can amplify and spread. This is particularly important given the increase inclimate risks.[17]: 143–145 

Some researchers distinguish between recurring events like seasonal flooding and unpredictable one-off events.[18]Recurring events often carry an estimate of how often they occur. Experts call this thereturn period.

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Main article:Natural disaster

Disasters with links tonatural hazardsare commonly callednatural disasters.However experts have questioned this term for a long time.[19]

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

Anatural disasteris the very harmful impact on asocietyorcommunityafter a natural hazard event. Some examples of naturalhazardevents includeavalanches,droughts,earthquakes,floods,heat waves,landslides,tropical cyclones,volcanic activityandwildfires.[20]Additional natural hazards includeblizzards,dust storms,firestorms,hails,ice storms,sinkholes,thunderstorms,tornadoesandtsunamis.[20]A natural disaster can causeloss of lifeordamage property.It typically causes economic damage. How bad the damage is depends on how well people areprepared for disastersand how strong the buildings, roads, and otherstructuresare.[21]Scholars have been saying that the termnatural disasteris unsuitable and should be abandoned.[22]Instead, the simpler termdisastercould be used. At the same time the type of hazard would be specified.[23][24][25]A disaster happens when a natural or human-madehazardimpacts avulnerable community.It results from the combination of the hazard and the exposure of a vulnerable society.

Nowadays it is hard to distinguish betweennaturalandhuman-madedisasters.[22][26][27]The termnatural disasterwas already challenged in 1976.[25]Human choices in architecture,[28]fire risk,[29][30]and resource management[31]can cause or worsen natural disasters.Climate changealso affects how often disasters due toextreme weatherhazards happen. These "climate hazards"are floods, heat waves, wildfires, tropical cyclones, and the like.[32]

Some things can make natural disasters worse. Examples are inadequate building norms,marginalizationof people and poor choices onland use planning.[22]Manydeveloping countriesdo not have properdisaster risk reductionsystems.[33]This makes them more vulnerable to natural disasters thanhigh income countries.An adverse event only becomes a disaster if it occurs in an area with avulnerable population.[34][35]

Unrelated to natural hazards

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See also:Hazard
Airplane crashesandterrorist attacksare examples of man-made disasters: they kill people, cause pollution, and damage property. One example of this is of theSeptember 11 attacksin 2001 at theWorld Trade Centerin New York City.

Human-made disasters are serious harmful events caused by human actions and social processes. Technological hazards also fall into this category. That is because they result in human-instigated disasters. Human-made hazards are sometimes called anthropogenic hazards.[9]: 18 Examples includecriminality,social unrest,crowd crushes,fires,transport accidents,industrial accidents,power outages,oil spills,terrorist attacks,andnuclear explosions/nuclear radiation.[36]Catastrophicclimate change,nuclear war,andbioterrorismalso fall into this category.

Climate change and environmental degradation are sometimes called socio-natural hazards. These are hazards involving a combination of both natural and human factors.[9]: 18 All disasters can be regarded as human-made, because of failure to introduce the rightemergency managementmeasures.[37]

Faminesmay be caused locally by drought, flood, fire or pestilence. In modern times there is plenty of food globally. Long-lasting local shortages are generally due to government mismanagement, violent conflict, or an economic system that does not distribute food where needed.[38]

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

Major disasters

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A study by Sheehan and Hewitt in 1969[39]defined major disasters as conforming to the following criteria, based on the amount of deaths or damage:[40]

  • At least 100 people dead,
  • at least 100 people injured, or
  • at least $1 million damage

This definition includes indirect losses of life caused after the initial onset of the disaster. These could be the effects of diseases such as cholera or dysentery arising from the disaster. This definition is still commonly used. However it is limited to the number of deaths, injuries, and damage in money terms.[40]UNDRO(1984)[citation needed]defined a disaster in a more qualitative fashion as:

an event, concentrated in time and space, in which a community undergoes severe danger and incurs such losses to its members and physical appurtenances that the social structure is disrupted and the fulfilment of all or some of the essential functions of the society is prevented.[41]

Like other definitions this looks beyond the social aspects of the disaster impacts. It also focuses on losses. This raises the need for emergency response as an aspect of the disaster.[40]It does not set out quantitative thresholds or scales for damage, death, or injury.[citation needed]

Impacts

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Further information:Natural disaster § Impacts

The effects of a disaster include all human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.[9]: 13 

The Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) records statistics about disasters related to natural hazards. For 2023, EM-DAT recorded 399 disasters, which was higher than the 20-year average of 369.[12]

Economic losses

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Between 2016 and 2020 the total reported economic losses amounted to $293 billion. This figure is likely to be an underestimation. It is very challenging to measure the costs of disasters accurately, and many countries lack the resources and technical capacity to do so.[42]: 50 Over the 40 year period from 1980-2020 losses were estimated at $5.2 trillion.

Human impacts

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In 2023, natural hazard-related disasters resulted in 86,473 fatalities and affected 93.1 million people.[12]Whilst the number of deaths was much higher than the 20-year average of 64,148, the number affected was much lower than the 20-year average of 175.5 million.

According to a UN report, 91% of deaths from hazards from 1970 to 2019 occurred in developing countries.[43]These countries already have higher vulnerability and lower resilience to these events, which exacerbates the effects of the hazards.

Effects of climate change

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Hazardssuch asdroughts,floods,andcyclonesare naturally occurring phenomena.[44]However,climate changehas caused these hazards to become more unreliable, frequent and severe. They thus contribute to disaster risks. Countries contributing most to climate change are often at the lowest risk of feeling the consequences.[45]As of 2019, countries with the highest vulnerability per capita release the lowest amount of emissions per capita, and yet still experience the most heightened droughts and extreme precipitation.[45]

Prevention and response

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Disaster risk reduction

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This section is an excerpt fromDisaster risk reduction.[edit]
Disaster risk reduction progress score for some countries in 2011. The score of 5 is best. Assessments include four indicators that reflect the degree to which countries have prioritised disaster risk reduction and the strengthening of relevant institutions.[46]
Disaster risk reductionaims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. In technical terms, it aims to make them more resilient or less vulnerable. When DRR is successful, it makes communities less thevulnerablebecause itmitigatesthe effects of disasters.[47]This means DRR can make risky events fewer and less severe.Climate changecan increaseclimate hazards.So development efforts often consider DRR andclimate change adaptationtogether.[48] It is possible to include DRR in almost all areas of development andhumanitarian work.People from local communities, agencies or federal governments can all propose DRR strategies. DRR policies aim to "define goals and objectives across different timescales and with concrete targets, indicators and time frames."[47]: 16 

Disaster response

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This section is an excerpt fromDisaster response.[edit]
Relief camp atBhujafter the2001 Gujarat earthquake

Disaster responserefers to the actions taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster. The objective is to save lives, ensure health and safety, and meet the subsistence needs of the people affected.[49]: 16 It includes warning and evacuation,search and rescue,providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance, and the immediate restoration or construction ofinfrastructure.An example of this would be building provisionalstorm drainsordiversion dams.Emergency response aims to provide immediate help to keep people alive, improve their health and support their morale. It can involve specific but limited aid, such as helpingrefugeeswith transport, temporary shelter, and food. Or it can involve establishing semi-permanent settlements in camps and other locations. It may also involve initial repairs to damage to infrastructure, or diverting it.

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

Etymology

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The worddisasteris derived fromMiddle Frenchdésastrewhich comes fromOld Italiandisastro.This in turn comes from theAncient Greekpejorative prefixδυσ- (dus-) "bad"[50]andἀστήρ(aster), "star".[51]So the worddisaster( "bad star" in Greek) comes from anastrologicalsense of a calamity blamed on the position of planets.[52]

See also

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References

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  2. ^"Disasters & Emergencies: Definitions"(PDF).Addis Ababa: Emergency Humanitarian Action. March 2002.Archived(PDF)from the original on 6 November 2015.Retrieved26 November2017– via World Health Organization International.
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  6. ^Smith, Neil (11 June 2006)."There's No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster".Items.Archivedfrom the original on 22 January 2021.Retrieved29 December2020.
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  40. ^abcSmith, Keith (1992).Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster.Routledge Physical Environment Series (first ed.). Routledge.ISBN9780415012171.
  41. ^Smith 1996 quoted inKraas, Frauke (2008)."Megacities as Global Risk Areas".In Marzluff, John (ed.).Urban Ecology: An International Perspective on the Interaction Between Humans and Nature(illustrated ed.). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 588.ISBN9780387734125.Retrieved23 August2017.
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  44. ^Ara Begum, R., R. Lempert, E. Ali, T.A. Benjaminsen, T. Bernauer, W. Cramer, X. Cui, K. Mach, G. Nagy, N.C. Stenseth, R. Sukumar, and P. Wester, 2022:Chapter 1: Point of Departure and Key Concepts.In:Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 121–196,doi:10.1017/9781009325844.003
  45. ^abIPCC, 2023: Sections. In:Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change[Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647
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  47. ^abUNGA (2016).Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology for disaster risk reduction.United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
  48. ^McBean, Gordon; Rodgers, Caroline (2010)."Climate hazards and disasters: the need for capacity building".WIREs Climate Change.1(6): 871–884.doi:10.1002/wcc.77.ISSN1757-7780.
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  50. ^"Dus, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott," A Greek-English Lexicon ", at Perseus".
  51. ^"Aster, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott," A Greek-English Lexicon ", at Perseus".
  52. ^"Disaster"in Etymology online
[edit]
The WikibookHistoryhas a page on the topic of:Historical Disasters and Tragedies
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Disaster&oldid=1239200920#Unrelated_to_natural_hazards"