1. Disaster risk concepts and definitions

Question 1

Define Hazard

Answer 1

A process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.

Question 2

Define Exposure

Answer 2

The situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas.

Question 3

Define Vulnerability

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Define Disaster Risk

Answer 4

The potential loss of life, injury, or destroyed or damaged assets which could occur to a system, society or a community in a specific time period, determined probabilistically as a function of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and capacity.

Question 5

Define Disaster Risk Reduction

Answer 5

Aimed at preventing new and reducing existing disaster risk and managing residual risk, all of which contribute to strengthening resilience and therefore to the achievement of sustainable development.

Question 6

Define Resilience

Answer 6

The ability of a system exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions through risk management.

Question 7

3 risk and disaster components

Answer 7

Hazard: type, location, frequency and magnitude of the event

Exposure: spatial and temporal location of elements at risk with respect to a certain hazard. e.g. earthquakes what time of day is important (are all the kids at school)

Vulnerability: degree of damage expected as the result of exposure to a certain hazard. Inverse of capacity

Question 8

Risk equation

Answer 8

Risk = f(hazard*exposure*vulnerability)
Risk = f(hazard*consequence)

Question 9

What expresses a disaster scenario?

Answer 9

Disaster = risk > capacity to cope

Question 10

What is capacity (of a system to cope) a function of?

Answer 10

Physical, socio-economic, environmental, political, institutional factors

Question 11

Information for risk assessment: Hazard

Answer 11

Temporal probability
Type of hazard
Timing and duration
Spatial extent
Intensity

Question 12

Information for risk assessment: Vulnerability

Answer 12

For each of the elements at risk

Damage as a function of intensity

Question 13

Disaster Risk Reduction options

Answer 13

1) Reduce hazard (likelihood of occurrence): engineering or structural measures
2) Reduce consequences: reduce exposure (avoidance) through planning controls, early warning and evacuation etc. Reduce vulnerability (damage) through improving building resilience, infrastructure, communities, economy, environment.
3) Transfer or share risk: insure losses
4) Accept remaining risk

Question 14

What are the 3 classifications or hazard and their sub-types?

Answer 14

Natural - Geological, Biological, Hydrological and Atmospheric

Technological/Man-made - Transport accidents, Hazardous materials, Intentional, Unsafe public buildings and facilities, industrial failures

Context - Environmental degradation, Land pressure, climate change

Question 15

Define trigger event

Answer 15

Many classes and sub-classes or triggers e.g. natural vs. man-made. often more complex due to secondary hazards and human influences.

Question 16

Define magnitude and intensity

Answer 16

A measure of the size of the event, or the energy released (e.g. volume/velocity of a water of a flood/landslide, or energy or a seismic event/explosion) and the potential to cause damage.

Question 17

Define frequency

Answer 17

Hazards are expressed as a probability of occurrence of an event of a certain intensity at a particular location within a specific time period (usually as an annual probability)

Question 18

Define spatial occurrence

Answer 18

Location and extent

Question 19

Define temporal scale

Answer 19

Speed of onset and duration

Question 20

Define hazard intensity

Answer 20

The effects of an event related to the presence of damageable assets or people in the area.

When natural phenomena exceeds a certain intensity threshold it becomes a hazard

Question 21

Categories used to define the consequences (direct and indirect impacts) - SEE TABLE

Answer 21

1) Human and social
2) Physical (buildings and infrastructure)
3) Economic
4) Environmental and Cultural

Question 22

Capacity and Vulnerability of 4 impact areas: Environmental

Answer 22

Capacity: Natural environmental resources (land, water, forests, minerals), natural barriers to hazards, biodiversity

Vulnerability: Deforestation, pollution, erosion, loss of natural hazard defences (e.g. mangroves), climate change

Question 23

Capacity and Vulnerability of 4 impact areas: Economic

Answer 23

Capacities: Economic capital, secure livelihoods, financial reserves, diversified economy and agriculture.

Vulnerabilities: Non-diversified economy, mono-crop agriculture, subsistence economies, indebtedness, relief/welfare dependency

Question 24

Capacity and Vulnerability of 4 impact areas: Physical

Answer 24

Capacities: Robust and reliable public infrastructure, homes, transport, sanitation, water supply, energy…

Vulnerabilities: Unsafe buildings, infrastructure and critical facilities, rapid urbanisation.

Question 25

Capacity and Vulnerability of 4 impact areas: Social

Answer 25

Occupation of unsafe areas. high-density occupation of sites/buildings, lack of mobility, job insecurity, lack of education, poverty, corruption, poor management and leadership, lack of planning and preparedness

Question 26

What are the 4 categories of resilience and their respective definitions?

Answer 26

Resistance - inherent strength, protection, ability to resist stress

Redundancy - system capacity providing alternative options or substitutions to allow continued functioning when some elements fail

Reliability - ability to operate under a range of conditions, frequency with which hazard protection devices fail

Response and Recovery - speed with which disruption is overcome and functionality/ service restored

Question 27

Characteristics of resilient communities (7)

Answer 27

• good health
• knowledge and education
• reliable services and robust infrastructure
• diverse livelihood opportunities
• healthy ecosystems
• the ability to organise and make decisions
• access to external assistance

Question 28

What do disaster databases support?

Answer 28

Humanitarian relief, research on nature and causes of disasters, risk modelling/mapping, development of international policies, and insurance assessments.

Question 29

What are the 6 areas of potential disaster reporting bias and their respective assumption? (see slides)

Answer 29

Hazard - every hazard is represented
Temporal - losses are comparable over time
Threshold - all losses are counted
Accounting - All types of losses are counted (human, economic, direct, indirect)
Geographic - Losses are comparable within and across different geographical areas
Systematic - Losses are computed uniformly

Question 30

What is the well-known bias?

Answer 30

Small, frequent disaster are under-reported.

Don’t meet the EM-DAT criteria

Small local events triggered by natural hazards that do not usually require external humanitarian assistance may be greater than that of less numerous official disasters

Question 31

Why does disaster risk seem to be increasing? (3)

Answer 31

Increase in reporting
Increase in hazards
Increase in exposure and vulnerability

Question 32

5 Components of the DRM cycle

Answer 32

Disaster impact –> Response and relief –> Recovery: Rehabilitation and reconstruction –> Prevention and mitigation –> preparedness and early warning

Question 33

Define disaster

Answer 33

A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.

Question 34

Information for risk assessment: Exposure

Answer 34

Inventory of elements exposed to risk:

• Type of element
• Temporal variation
• Number
• Economic value
• Location: spatial overlay of hazard and elements at risk

Question 35

UK critical national infrastructure (9)

Answer 35

• Finance
• Government
• Communications
• Energy
• Emergency services
• Food
• Health
• Water
• Transport

Question 36

What are the three main sources of global disaster data?

Answer 36

1) The EM-DAT database
2) Reinsurance company data (they insure insurers)
3) The DesInventar system (on a more local level)

GLIDE number invented in Asia, Global identification number

Question 37

What do we have to be careful with when using global database data?

Answer 37

• Most countries dont systematically collect data on disaster events and losses
• Most disasters are compound events, creating problems with classification
• Typically only tangible impacts are recorded (fatalities/losses)
• No internationally agreed criteria of what constitutes a disaster
• Disaster reporting sources have vested interests, and socio-political influences may affect the figures reported

Question 38

EM-DAT criteria (4)

Where does the information come from? (6)

Answer 38

10 or more people reported killed
100 or more people reported affected
Declaration of a state of emergency
Call for international assistance

UN agencies, Governments, NGOs, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies

EM DAT is the main data source for the UN

Question 39

What are reinsurance companies interested in?

Answer 39

Economic losses

Question 40

Extensive vs intensive risks

Answer 40

Extensive risks are from the high frequency events, low-intensity losses typically borne by low-income households etc.