1. By : Arjot Singh Rai

2. What is a disaster
 A disaster is a natural or man-made (or technological)
hazard resulting in an event of substantial extent
causing significant physical damage or destruction,
loss of life, or drastic change to the environment.
 It is a phenomenon that can cause damage to life and
property and destroy the economic, social and cultural
life of people.
 It is a phenomenon that can cause damage to life and
property and destroy the economic, social and cultural
life of people.

3. What causes a disaster
 Human activities play a role in the frequency and
severity of disasters.
 A natural disaster is a disruption in the balance of the
environment.
 The human factor raises the cost, in both property
damage and loss of life. Understanding the causes of
natural disaster can provide clues to their prevention.

4. What are the different types
of disaster
 In terms of speed
 Slow-onset disaster
 Rapid-onset disaster
 In terms of origin
 Man- made
 Natural

5. In terms of speed
 Slow-onset disaster- Droughts are relatively slow disasters.
Climate change, environmental degradation and
decortications are very slow onset events, but can and should
be considered as disasters in terms of the damage and
disruption to lives that they may or indeed already do create.
 Rapid-onset disaster- Most of the 'natural' disasters we hear
about arrive rapidly and in the case of earthquakes, with no
warning. They are rapid onset disasters.
 Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons - the same hazard with
a different name in different parts of the world - arrive
with a few days warning, and annually we know when the
cyclone season is likely to occur in specific regions, so that
preparations can be made for their arrival. Floods can
arrive very fast, but the conditions in which floods are
likely to occur are quite predictable.

6. In terms of Origin
 A natural disaster is a consequence when a natural
hazard affects humans and/or the built environment.
 Human vulnerability, and lack of appropriate
emergency management, leads to financial,
environmental, or human impact.
 The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the
population to support or resist the disaster: their
resilience.
 This understanding is concentrated in the
formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet
vulnerability". A natural hazard will hence never result
in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability.

7. In terms of Origin
 Man-made disasters are the consequence of
technological or human hazards.
 Examples include stampedes, fires, transport
accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills and nuclear
explosions/radiation. War and deliberate attacks may
also be put in this category.
 As with natural hazards, man-made hazards are events
that have not happened, for instance terrorism. Man-
made disasters are examples of specific cases where
man-made hazards have become reality in an event.

8. What are the different factors of
vulnerability
 Location
 Age and Gender
 Economic condition
 Wrong settlement
 Density

9. How can we prevent
disasters
 Be aware
 Be prepared
 Reduce risk