This document discusses hazard profiling, which involves describing and analyzing specific types of local hazards. It explains that the purpose of hazard profiling is to identify the hazards that are most likely to occur and devastating in a particular area. An effective hazard profile compares the characteristics of different hazards to determine which should receive the most attention and funding for mitigation and emergency response. The document provides guidelines for how to prepare a hazard profile, such as examining the physical mechanisms of hazards and grouping them into primary and secondary categories. It also notes some challenges in comparing different types of hazards.

1.  Course : HSS F363: Disaster and Development
 Instructor: Mohan Kumar Bera
Lecture 7
Date: 19th September, 2022

2. What is the impact of Hazard?
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3. What is hazard?
 Hazard is a natural or human-driven event that could lead
to a particular level of loss, damage and disruption
 A hazard becomes a disaster when it strikes certain
elements that are at risk.
 Elements at risk are attributed by physical location, socio-
economic structure and political situation and market and policy
 Hazard can be natural, biological and social
 Is hazard = Disaster ?
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4. Hazard profile
 A hazard profile is a description and analysis of a specific
type of local hazard
 It is based on frequency, duration, and speed of onset of a
hazard

5. Purpose of hazard profile
 First to know what hazards exist and where they exist
 Describes the hazard in its local context
 Identify those hazards that are most likely to occur and that are most
devastating should they occur
 To plan for or prevent every possible contingency, so most government and
other organized emergency management entities will focus their efforts upon
those hazards
 to identify every scenario that could possibly occur within a given community
or country as result of its geologic, meteorological, hydrologic, biological,
economic, technological, political, and social factors
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6. Why is hazard profiling important?
 The traditional strategy for hazard planning has been on a
hazard-by-hazard basis.
 It was thought that each hazard was unique and therefore
mitigation strategies should also be unique
 A hazard profile compares the physical processes that all
hazards share
 By comparing the characteristics of hazard events decision
makers are able to identify and rank the hazards that should
be given the most attention and funding
 For example, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions
all occur with little warning time. Therefore a mitigation
and response plan could be created for rapid onset hazards.

7.  Hazard assessment the actual physical hazards
the expected secondary hazards
 All hazards or understanding specific hazards?
 Resources may be limited
 Hazard specific expertise and equipment (capabilities) to
address the unique response needs of certain hazards
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8.  Hazard analysis
 Identification methods of hazard profiling
 Brainstorming : using own knowledge and experience to develop a
list of possible hazards and effectiveness
 Research of the country’s disaster and emergency history
 Reviews of existing plans
 Investigation of similar hazard identification efforts in
neighboring countries
 Using map
 Interview with representatives from different communities and
organisations
 Site visit
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9.  Hazard profiling
 To analyze a hazard,
 disaster managers must determine exactly how a hazard exists
within the specific community or country
 Each hazard is different in respect to climate, geography,
settlement patterns, regional and local political factors.
 Determine the secondary hazards
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10. Event tree
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11. How to prepare hazard profile?
 Hazard profile was designed by examining the physical
characteristics that natural hazards
 (Natural Hazards: Explanation and Integration by Graham A.
Tobin and Burrell E. Montz (1997)
 Hazard profile has grouped the various hazards into primary
and secondary hazards
 The hazards were classified on physical mechanisms, and
temporal and spatial distribution.
 Geographic area affected- measured in terms of magnitude.
 Previous occurrences within the state-measured in terms of
frequency
 Duration of event
 Countdown interval: measured by speed of onset

12. How to prepare hazard profile?
 Primary Hazards include: earthquakes, floods, and
wildfires
 Secondary Hazards include: Landslides, Tsunamis and
other human caused hazards
 To create the hazard profile some generalizations were made
about the hazards
 We need to group the hazards into broad categories to
simplify the profiling process
 For some hazards little information could be found on
specific physical processes. Therefore this profile should be
used as a guideline rather than an authority.

13. How to prepare hazard profile?
 For example, we grouped all types of landslides into one category, even
though the physical processes and impacts of a creep versus an avalanche can
be significantly different. However, by addressing landslides as an important
hazard, landslide specialists can then create a specific profile for each type of
landslide and consequent mitigation plans.
 For frequency, need to look at the average return period for the hazards
 Wildfires, floods and earthquakes have historically been the most frequent
hazards and happen on an annual basis. Tsunamis and volcanic eruptions are
far less frequent.
 For magnitude, need to use extent of area affected as a gauge of overall
power/energy of the event. Deaths and estimated costs are another way to
compare magnitudes however, since we grouped hazards into overall
categories these assumptions could not be made.
 Some generalizations need to make for speed of onset and duration of the
events.
 We no need to distinguish between river floods and flash floods or creeps and
avalanches. Volcanic eruptions can also vary significantly in their duration.

15. Challenges with Hazard Profiling
 Its easy to compare an earthquake in Japan to an
earthquake in California because they are measured using
similar metrics
 However, it is much more difficult to compare an
earthquake to a flood to a volcanic eruption as they all
have different impacts on society and have varying spatial
and temporal distributions
 In order to accurately rank multiple hazards on one scale
certain elements of the hazard become inaccurately
displayed or simply left out