DISASTER MANAGEMENT TERMINOLOGY :

CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLES

Md. Nurul Alam

◦ What is Disaster?

◦ Idea regarding various terminology used in

Disaster Management

Expected Learning outcomes

"When anybody asks me how I can best describe my experience of nearly forty years at sea, I merely say, uneventful. Of course there has been winter gales and storms and fog and the like. But in all my experience, I have never been in any accident of any sort worth speaking about. I have seen but one vessel in distress in all my years at sea ... I never saw A wreck and never have been wrecked, nor was I ever in any predicament that threatened to end in disaster of any sort.”

Why should I care ?

On 14 April, 1912, RMS Titanic sank with the loss of 1500 lives...one of which was its Captain, E.J. Smith.

Epidemics

Landslide

Floods

Super Cyclone

◦ “The ISDR aims at building disaster resilient

communities by promoting increased awareness

of the importance of disaster reduction as an

integral component of sustainable development,

with the goal of reducing human, social, economic

and environmental losses due to natural hazards

and related technological and environmental

disasters”

International Strategy For Disaster Reduction (2000 on wards…)

Disaster Management Terminology

Basic Definitions & Terms

Learning Objectives

At the end of this session, you should be able to:

Define disaster, hazard, risk, vulnerability, capacity, response, relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, development, mitigation, preparedness and prevention

Phenomenon or situation, which has

HAZARD

the potential to cause disruption ordamage to people, their property, theirservices and their environment

DISASTER

The serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected people to cope using their own resources.

An event, either man-made or natural, sudden or progressive, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses

Vulnerability is a condition or sets of conditions that reduces people’s ability to prepare for, withstand or respond to a hazard

Capacities are those positive condition or abilities which increase a community’s ability to deal with hazards.

The probability that a community’s structure or geographic area is to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction, and proximity to a hazardous area.

Risk

Hazard Vulnerability x Disaster Risk

Capacity

=

Response Actions taken immediately following the impact of a disaster when exceptional measures are required to meet the basic needs of the survivors.

Relief Measures that are required in search and rescue of survivors, as well to meet the basic needs for shelter, water, food and health care.

The process undertaken by a disaster-affected community to fully restore itself to pre-disaster level of functioning.

Rehabilitation

Actions taken in the aftermath of a disaster to:

• assist victims to repair their dwellings;

• re-establish essential services;

• revive key economic and social activities

ReconstructionPermanent measures to repair or replace damaged dwellings and infrastructure and to set the economy back on course.

Development Sustained efforts intended to improve or maintain the social and economic well-being of a community

Measures taken prior to the impact of a disaster to minimize its effects (sometimes referred to as structural and non-structural measures).

Preparedness

Measures taken in anticipation of a disaster to ensure that appropriate and effective actions are taken in the aftermath.

PreventionMeasures taken to avert a disaster from occurring, if possible (to impede a hazard so that it does not have any harmful effects).

Disaster Risk Management

A broad range of activities designed to:

Prevent the loss of lives Minimize human suffering Inform the public and authorities of

risk Minimize property damage and

economic loss Speed up the recovery process

Can you describe these situations now?

is a condition or sets of conditions that reduces people’s ability to prepare for, withstand or respond to a hazard

The probability that a community’s structure or geographic area is to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard, on account of their nature, construction, and proximity to a hazardous area.

Actions taken immediately following the impact of a disaster when exceptional measures are required to meet the basic needs of the survivors.

◦What is Disaster?

◦Idea regarding various terminology

used in Disaster Management

Topic Covered Today

Any Question?

References

www.adpc.netwww.unisdr.org