Disaster Management
This is a compilation from different sources for the purpose o dissemination of knowledge
Hazard and Disaster Risk difference
Risk concept
Disaster Management Cycles
Risk assessment
Basic concepts how disaster effect changes with time
1. DISASTER MANAGEMENT
HOW WE SEE IT TODAY?
Prof. Sanjaya Kumar Pattanayak
P.G. Department of Environmental Sciences,
Sambalpur University,
Jyoti Vihar, Burla, Sambalpur, Odisha-768019
Email: skp.envsu@gmail.com; Mobile: 9439809787
MMTTC-SU, 14.11.2023 TIME 1.30PM-4.30PM
ONINE SIXTH FACULTY INDUCTION PROGRAMME
2. Hazards to people: Death, injury, disease, mental stress
Hazards to Goods: Property damage, Economic loss
Hazards to Environment: Loss of flora and fauna,
pollution, loss of amenity
Hazard (Cause): A potential threat to humans and their
welfare
Risk (Likely consequence): The probability of a hazard
occurring and creating loss
Disaster (Actual consequence) – The realisation of hazard
5. Environmental Hazards exist at the interface between the
natural event and human use system. Human responses to
hazards can modify both the natural events in and the
human use of the environment (Burton et al., 1993)
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11. Figwe 1.5 An illustration of changes in human sensitivity
to environmental hazard due to variations in physical events
and socio-economic tolerance. In each case the risk of disaster
ncreases through time. Source: After de Vries (1985)
12. Fig shows several possibilities subscribing to
flood risk, and
Fig. (A) shows the effects of stable band of
socio-economic tolerance against constant
variables of flows where tendency of higher
mean values reading to a higher frequency in
which the break-down of tolerance threshold
can occur, presumably because of the
constricting banks incapable of
accommodating a definite volume of flood-flow.
(B) plots risk widened by an increased
variability of flow, against a constant band of
tolerance and constant mean value of flow,
due to rainstorms intensified by the changing
climate regime.
(C) traces the socio-economic band of
tolerance eroding, against river flow regime
remaining intact, and encroachment of
floodplains leaving more people and properties
under threat.
27. Earth tremors have caused the ground to slip
at this golf course and elsewhere in Grindavik
A tunnel of magma, or molten rock, that
extends northeast across Grindavík and some
10km further inland, was estimated at a depth
of less than 800 metres, compared with 1,500
metres earlier in the day.
Thousands of tremors have been recorded
around the nearby Fagradalsfjall volcano in
recent weeks.
They have been concentrated in Iceland's
Reykjanes Peninsula, which had remained
dormant to volcanic activity for 800 years
before a 2021 eruption
28.
29. CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS BASED ON MAIN
CONTROLLING FACTORS LEADING TO DISASTER
Meteorological Geomorphological
/ Geological
Ecological Technological Global
Environmental
Extra terrestrial
Drought
Dust Storm
Flood
Lightning
Thunderstorm
Hailstorm
Tornado
Cyclone/Hurricane
Earthquake
Tsunami
Volcanic
eruption
Landslide
Snow
avalanche
Glacial lake
outburst
Subsidence
Groundwater
pollution
Coal fires
Coastal erosion
Crop
disease
Insect
infestation
Forest fire
Mangrove
decline
Coral reef
decline
Armed
conflict
Land mines
Major (air,
sea, land)
traffic
accidents
Nuclear/
Chemical
accidents
Oil spills
Water /Soil/
Air pollution
Electrical
power
breakdown
Pesticides
Acid rain
Atmospheric
pollution
Greenhouse
effect
Sea level rise
El Nino
Ozone
Depletion
Asteroid impact
Aurora borealis
Aurora australis
30. CLASSIFICATION OF DISASTER IN GRADUAL SCALE BETWEEN
PURELY NATURAL AND PURELY HUMAN-MADE
Natural Some Human
Influence
Mixed Cultural
and Human
Influenced
Some Natural
Influenced
Human
Earthquake
Tsunami
Volcanic Eruption
Snow Storm/Avalanche
Glacial Lake Outburst
Lightening
Windstorm/Thunderstorm
Hailstorm Tornado
Cyclone/Hurricane
Asteroid Impact
Aurora borealis
Flood
Dust storm
Drought
Landslides
Subsidence
Erosion
Desertification
Coal fires
Coastal erosion
Greenhouse
effect
Sea level rise
Crop disease
Insect
infestation
Forest fire
Mangrove
decline
Coral reef
decline
Acid rain
Ozone
depletion
Armed conflict
Land mines
Major(air, sea,
land) traffic
accidents
Nuclear/Chemical
accidents
Oil spills
Water/soil/air
pollution
Groundwater
pollution
Electrical power
breakdown
Pesticides
31. CLASSIFICATION OF DISASTERS BY DURATION OF
IMPACT, LENGTH OF FOREWARNING, AND FREQUENCY OR
TYPE OF OCCURRENCE (ALEXANDER, 1993)
Disaster Type Duration of Impact Length of
Forewarning
Frequency or Type of Occurrence
Lightening
Snow avalanche
Earthquake
Tornado
Landslide
Intense rainstorm
Hailstorm
Tsunami
Flood
Subsidence
Volcanic eruption
Cyclone/Hurricane
Forest Fire
Coastal erosion
Drought
Crop disease
Desertification
Instant
Second-minutes
Second-minutes
Second-hours
Second-decades
Minutes
Minutes
Minutes-Hours
Minutes-days
Minutes-decades
Minutes-years
Hours
Hours-Days
Hours-Decades
Days-Months
Weeks-Months
Years-Decades
Seconds-Hours
Seconds
-
Minutes
Seconds-Years
Seconds-Hours
Seconds-Hours
Minutes-Hours
Minutes-Days
Second-Years
Minutes-Weeks
Hours-Days
Seconds-Days
Hours
Days-Weeks
Days-Months
Months-Years
Random
Seasonal/Diurnal; Random
Log-normal
Seasonal; negative binomial
Seasonal; irregular
Seasonal/diurnal; Poisson
Seasonal/diurnal; Poisson, Gamma
Random
Seasonal, Markovian, Gamma, Log-
normal
Sudden or progressive
Irregular
Seasonal/irregular
Seasonal/Random
Seasonal/irregular; Exponential; Gamma
Seasonal/irregular; Binomial; Gamma
Seasonal/irregular
Progressive (threshold may be crossed)
45. DISASTER
A serious disruption of the functioning of a
community or a society
causing widespread human, material,
economic or environmental losses,
which exceed the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its
own resources
46. What are we talking about?
• A disaster is
➢ a sudden calamitous event bringing great damage, loss or
destruction (Merriam Webster dictionary);
➢ some rapid, instantaneous or profound impact of the natural
environment upon the socio-economic system
(Alexander, 1993)
➢ an event, concentrated in time and space, which threatens a
society or a relatively self-sufficient subdivision of a society
with major unwanted consequences as a result of precautions
which had hitherto been culturally accepted as unwanted
(Turner, 1976).
➢ an extreme event as any manifestation of the earth's system
(lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere or atmosphere) which
differs substantially from the mean (Alexander, 1993).
➢ an event that results in death or injury to humans, and damage or
loss of valuable good, such as buildings, communication systems,
agricultural land, forest, natural environment etc.
47. 2004 Events
• Highest losses due to Catastrophes
➢ 250000 people
➢ 145 bn US$ economic loss
48.
49.
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51.
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53.
54.
55. NATURAL DISASTERS?
• Disasters occur when a damaging event
impacts the society
• Disasters therefore are never natural !
• However, if a damaging effect impacts on
the natural environment ?
56. Ingocha Meetei Lukram
Sanjaya KUMAR Pattanayak
Arun Bhaskar
Maharaj K. Pandit
Sampat Kumar Tandon
Quaternary International
159(1):32-46
January 2007
57. DISASTERS
• Disasters can be at different magnitude:
When does a traffic accident becomes a
disaster !
• Disasters can be fast or slow:
Is desertification a Disaster?
Is water pollution a disaster?
• Disasters can be predictable or
unexpected:
Aeroplane crash, Train clash,
Animal disease, Flooding
58.
59.
60. Increasing Vulnerability
• Ongoing Trends
• Climate variability and Climate Change
• Migration of Population to Cities
• Higher vulnerability of Industrial Societies
• Increased Environmental Degradation
• Densely populated Communities
• More people living on Marginal lands
• Greater Unplanned Settlements Due to Land Scarcity
• High Risk due to Natural and Manmade Hazards
61. Results due to high exposure of
Infrastructure
• Increased vulnerability to Primary Hazards such as Earth
quakes, Floods, Cyclones etc.
• Potential high impact due to secondary hazards like
urban fire, technological and their accidents etc.
• High environmental problems and inconvenience to
urban populations
• More control measures to save facilities, innovative
design options are needed
62.
63.
64. Climate for investment in infrastructure and other
types of development is not encouraging in most
developing countries
• In most cities problems connected to governance has become normal.
In most cases power sharing is seen with central government. Most are
as in city are controlled by central government
• Infrastructure facilities are shared by many LGs and CG
• Mitigation initiatives are not acceptable to all
• Urbanisation accompanied by significant increase in the scale of
poverty of urban population has put pressure on city administration.
• Urban poverty disproportionately affects weaker layers and fuels
tensions (such as ethnic and racial tensions), gender sensitivity, less
attention to disable groups etc.
• Growth of disparities between affluent and disposed will create different
units such as divided cities with a city
65. Disaster Risk Management
• Disaster management can be defined as the effective
organisation, direction and utilisation of available
counter-disaster resources
• The modern view is that there must be pre-disaster
mitigation measures to avoid or reduce impact of disasters.
• Pre-disaster measures to prevent or mitigate disasters are
called Risk Management
66. Disaster Risk Management
• The process, by which assessed risk are mitigated,
minimised or controlled through engineering, management
of land use practices or other operational means. This
involves the optimal allocation of available resources in
support of group goals
• The systematic management of administrative decisions,
organisation, operational skills and abilities to implement
policies, strategies and coping capabilities of the society
or individuals to lessen the impacts of natural and related
environmental and technological hazards
67. What is Management ?
• Management consists of decision-making activities
undertaken by one or more individuals to direct and
coordinate the activities of other people in order to
achieve results, which could not be accomplished by
any one person acting alone
• Management is required when two or more persons
combine their efforts and resources to accomplish a
goal, which neither can accomplish alone
68. Inadequate
management of
natural
resources and
Environment
Population and
productive activities
over-exposed to
hazards
More vulnerable
constructions and
productive
actitivities
Inadequate capacity
for risk
management
Inadequate
territorial
management
Obsolete
Construction
Codes
Weak risk
management
institutions
Population
incapable of
assessing its
vulnerability and
confronting
emergencies
Reactive and centralist
Disaster attention
paradigms still prevail
Random urban
growth
Inadequate
development
model
Underestimation
of hazards
Obsolete risk
management
legislation
Decision makers
lack awareness
and willingness
Rapid deterioration
of Natural resources
and Environment
000
FACTORS LEADING TO INCREASE IN VULNERABILITY
72. Expand-Contract Model?
• In this model, disaster management is seen as a
continuous process
• There is a series of activities that run parallel to
each other rather that as a sequence
73. The Disaster Crunch Model
• It is a framework for understanding and explaining the ca
uses of disaster and adopts a cause-effect perspective.
It is a pressure model. Vulnerability (pressure) is seen as
rooted in socio-economic and political processes.
• These have to be addressed (released) for disaster risk
reduction.
• The model reveals a progression of vulnerability. It
begins with underlying causes in society that prevents
satisfying demands of the people.
78. The Disaster Crunch Model
• Population expansion leads to inadequate housing and land needs. Prices
of urban land increase. Low -income people may not be able to afford it.
• Rural – urban migration adds more pressure. There is thus
expansion of urban areas outwards. The result is ad-hoc urban
sprawling
• The low-income people may occupy land with low demand that may be
disaster-prone. They may not have the income to adhere to safe practices
and building codes. They may not have proper sanitary
conditions, water supply and other utilities. The local governments may
come under pressure to provide them but would be unable to do so.
• But these are dynamic communities that grow and change adding more and
more pressure on limited resources. They may show low literacy rates, lack of
awareness of disaster potential or preparedness, lack of proper health
care which decrease strength to withstand disaster impact, malnutrition,
lack of training for livelihoods, disaster prone housing etc.
• These are unsafe conditions which increase the vulnerability of these
communities. They would have no capacity to face a hazard event.
• When a hazard event happens these communities would bear the brunt of
impact and their losses would be greater. Their capacity to recover is minimal
79. Technocratic View of the Risk Management
• Problem
-Physical vulnerability
• Symptoms as perceived
- High death toll and damages of infrastructure attributed to severity of
hazard, extensive and recurrent rehabilitation needs
• The causes:
Uncontrolled characteristics of hazard events, Physiography of the
prone area, Lack of inadequacy of protective infrastructure, Failure of
forecasting and warnings
• Solutions:
Improve the protection capacity of infrastructure
Improve technology,design the structures to resist
Eradicate bad habits,ignorance through awareness creation and capaci
ty building of professionals
Improve forecasting,warning, response mechanisms,preparedness me
asures Formulate action plans,enact appropriate legislation,land use co
ntrol,building standards,risk mapping
80. Development View of the Risk Management
Problem
Physical vulnerability is a symptom of its economic vulnerability
Symptoms as perceived
High death toll and damages to infrastructure attributed to severity of
hazard, extensive and recurrent rehabilitation needs
Causes
Land use policies that have encourage rapid population growth, Land
distribution and resource allocation policies, insufficient employment
opportunities, deterioration of social insurance within the society
Solution:
Change the emphasis on structural mitigation programs aimed at physical
protection and the over reliance on technology solutions.
Initiate action to reduce the exposure of population to hazard events
through advance planning of land use
Building up more resources of the most vulnerable sections of community
Create credit facilities, opportunities to borrow money, create capital
investments opportunities
Promote more initiatives for risk transfer
82. Risk
• Risk is the likelihood or probability of a hazard event of a
certain magnitude occurring. Risks are measures of the
threat of hazards. -ADPC
• Risk is the actual exposure of something of human value to a
hazard. Often regarded as the product of probability and
loss
• Risk is the exposure or the chance of loss due to a particular
hazard for a given area and reference period. It may be
expressed mathematically as the probability that a hazard
impact will occur multiplied by the consequences of that
impact. -ADPC
Note: Definitions of risk in the hazards literature vary from those that
equate risk with probability to those that see risk as the product
of a probability and a particular kind of impact occurring
83. Risk Management Process
Risk management has three components:
➢ Risk identification
➢ Risk reduction
➢ Risk transfer
❑ Risk identification has to be done through mapping and using
other available technological options
❑ It is usual to allocate risk management to a special body at
national level.
In India it is a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
. Support should be obtained within National Disaster
Management Plan (NDMA)
❑ Other Bodies/Policies: National Disaster Response Plan – NIDM
OSDMA, ODRAF, NDRF, NDMA-2005
84. Risk Reduction
• Effective risk reduction involves mitigation measures in
hazard prone areas
• It may also involve overcoming the socioeconomic,
institutional and political barriers to the adoption of
effective risk reduction strategies and measures in
developing countries
• The systematic development and application of policies,
strategies and practices to minimise vulnerabilities,
hazards and the unfolding of disaster impacts throughout
a society, in the broad context of sustainable development
85. Risk Transfer
• Effective risk transfer involves different tools such as
insurance, tax policies, special measures focused on
land management.
• Organizational structure, policies, legislation etc. is
required for effective implementation of risk transfer
strategies for a country or local government area.
86. Hazard, Vulnerability and Elements at Risk
Natural hazard (H): the probability of occurrence of a
potentially damaging phenomenon within a specified period
of time and within a given area
Vulnerability (V): the degree of loss to a given element or
set of elements at risk (see below) resulting from the
occurrence of a natural phenomenon of a given magnitude.
It is expressed on a scale from 0 (no damage) to
1 (total loss)
Elements at risk (E): the population, properties, economic
activities, including public services, etc. at risk in a given
area.
87. Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk ?
• RISK = HAZARD * VULNERABILITY * AMOUNT
• Hazard= PROBABILITY of event with a certain magnitude
• Vulnerability = Degree of damage.
Function of: magnitude of event, and
type of elements at risk
• Amount = Quantification of the elements at risk
e.g. Replacement costs of buildings,
infrastructure etc.
Loss of function or economic activities
Number of people
90. Tangible versus Intangible Losses
• Losses as consequence of a natural hazard can either be
Tangible when a monetary value can be assigned or
Intangible when no monetary value can be assigned
95. Direct Losses
• Result from the physical interaction of the
natural phenomenon with the damageable
property.
• The magnitude of the damage may be taken as
the cost of restoration of property to its
conditions before the event, or its loss in market
value if restoration is not worthwhile.
• Direct damages are a function of many variables
96. Examples of Direct Effects
• Direct physical damage:
➢ Direct social damage
➢ Houses destroyed
➢ Houses damaged (to certain degrees)
➢ Damage to content of buildings (destroyed)
➢ Other buildings damaged (commercial, institutional etc.)
➢ Critical facilities destroyed (hospitals etc.)
➢ Critical facilities damaged (functionality)
➢ Lifelines disrupted (water, gas, electricity, telecommunications)
➢ Transportation systems disrupted.
• Direct Social Damage:
➢ Death to human beings
➢ Injury of human beings (in certain degrees)
➢ Psychological effects (shock, panic)
• Direct economical damage:
➢ Offices / factories out of function / partially functioning
➢ Loss of goods / stocks / livelihood
97. Indirect Losses
❑ Are caused by disruption of physical and economic linkages
of the economy.
• Examples include
➢ interruption of traffic flow
➢ loss of industrial production
➢ loss of personal income and
➢ business profit
98. Examples of Indirect Effects
Short-term
• Indirect economical damage:
➢ Factories / shops / offices out of business or partly functioning
➢ Loss of services (gas , water, electricity, telecommunications) for
different periods in different areas
➢ Costs for repair of lifelines and transportation systems
➢ Costs for temporary housing, relocation of people, Repair of damage of
buildings
➢ Replacement of contents (e.g. Furniture , computers etc.)
➢ Costs for clean-up, demolition. Costs for planning reconstruction
➢ Compensation payments by government & insurance companies
• Indirect social damage:
➢ Hospitalization, More disabled persons
➢ Homelessness
➢ Disruption of communities (other neighbours, schools, etc.)
➢ Disruption of social and governmental functions
➢ Psychological effects (grief, apathy, anger)
➢ Social disorder (riots, insecurity, looting
• Indirect environmental damage
99. Examples of Indirect-Effects
Long-Term
• Long term economical damage:
Costs for reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure
Increase in unemployment
Decrease in production, export, tourism, economic growth
Diversion of investments
• Long term social effects:
Political instability
Increase of poverty
Increase of social insecurity (violence, crime rate, etc.)
• Also long term positive effects are possible:
Increasing economic activities in certain sectors (construction
industry)
Opportunities to adopt new technology
Revitalization of economy
Improved disaster prevention and preparedness
Depends on initial economic, political, cultural and religious
factors of a society
100. Acknowledgement:
Sources:
#1- Cees van Westen And N.M.S.I. Arambepola (ADPC) 12-23 September (2005):
Introduction to Disaster (Risk) Management Refresher Course on Geo-Information for Natural Disaster Reduction in Eastern
Africa Department of Geography, Makerere University,
#2. Munrich Re Website: Facts + Statistics: Global catastrophes 2019
#3. Smith K. (2013) Environmental Hazards:Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster, Routledge Pub.
#4. Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Material prepared
from Lorena Montoya, Paul Hofste, and Cess van Western, ITC
#5. https://sciencenordic.com/archeology-climate-natural-disasters/what-can-we-learn-from-natural-disasters/1403814
#6. Photographs from different websites
#7. OXFAM (2021). The Disaster Crunch Model
#8. Meetei L.I., Pattanayak, S.K., Bhaskar, A. Pandit, M. and Tandon, S. (2007) .Climatic imprints in Quatern-ary valley fill
deposits of the middle Teesta valley, Sikkim Himalaya Quaternary International 159(1):32-46
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