The document provides a comprehensive analysis of the concepts of hazard, vulnerability, and risk, detailing how hazards threaten people and systems, and how vulnerability affects the capacity to cope with these threats. It outlines factors influencing vulnerability and the interplay between hazards, exposure, and risk, emphasizing their conditional probabilities and potential consequences. Key elements include the definitions of hazards, types of vulnerabilities, and the relationships that contribute to risks associated with various environmental and socio-economic challenges.

1. Assignment on “Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk”
Submitted by
Md. Asif Hasan
Roll: SH-037
Date: August 28, 2019

2. Definitions of Hazard, Vulnerability, Risk
Hazard: It is any substance, phenomenon or situation, which has the potential to cause disruption or damage
to people, their property, their services and their environment. It is the the threat of a stress or perturbation to
a system and what it values.
Causal chain of hazard development
Human
Needs:
Nutrition
Human
Wants:
Dietary
preference
Choice of
Means:
Cropping
system
Initiating
Events:
Drought
Intermediate
Events:
Crop failure
Outcome:
Household
food
scarcity
Exposure:
Hunger of
household
members
Consequence:
Morbidity,
Loss of livelihood
Consequence:
Death
Modify
Wants:
Alter choice
of foods
Modify
Means:
Choose
drought
crops
Cope with
Event:
Irrigate
Cope with
Event:
Replant
Cope with
Outcome:
Sell assets,
buy food
Block
Exposure:
Migrate to
find food
Mitigate
Consequence:
Reduce activity
Mitigate
Consequence:
Emergency relief,
recovery,
rehabilitation
Vulnerability: Vulnerability is a concept which describes factors or constraints of an economic, social,
physical or geographic nature, which reduce the ability to prepare for and cope with the impact of hazards. It
represents the degree to which a person, system or unit is likely to experience harm due to exposure to
perturbations or stresses.
Categories of Vulnerabilities-
• Hazard-specific: a characteristic which makes the element concerned susceptible to the force/s or
impact of a hazard. The geo-physical and locational attributes of the element/s concerned are
considered in this category. Based on the present-knowledge of the distribution and frequency of
hazards, a community or country may be threatened by specific hazards.
• Setting-specific: this is concerned with the prevailing socio-economic arrangement of the area
concerned as to whether it is predominantly rural or urban. There are inherent setting characteristics
that may be common to both as well as exclusive to each which contribute to the general susceptibility
of the area.
Characteristics of Vulnerabilities-
✓ Concentrations and Crowdedness - the three aspects are crowdedness and disease; crowdedness and
buildings; crowdedness and resource base.
✓ Numbers of Peoples and Activities - the two aspect of this condition are Technologies and the
Management System.
✓ Proximity to Man-made Hazards - the aspects considered are Technological hazards, Economic
hazards, and Social Hazards
Factors Contributing to Vulnerability-
➢ Interdependency of Lifelines – Major lifelines of the urban area are dependent on each other to
function effectively. This interdependency is a factor that may contribute to the area’s vulnerability.

3. ➢ Social and Organizational Dimension– The existing arrangement of a society regarding relationships
of individuals, groups and institutions may create adverse situations that weakens these elements’
capabilities to face or withstand hazards and contribute instead to the intensifying of the effects.
➢ Attitudinal and Motivational Dimension– The prevalent worldview of the society or certain groups
within society may contribute to a passive or non-active stance regarding the disasters that beset the
area.
PROGRESSION OF VULNERABILITY
ROOT CAUSES  DYNAMIC
PRESSURES
 UNSAFE CONDITIONS  DISASTERS  HAZARDS
Limited access to Lack of Fragile physical
environment
Earthquake
• Resources • Institutions • Dangerous locations RISK
• Structures • Training • Unprotected structures Wind storm
• Power • Skills =
• Investment Fragile local economy Flooding
Ideologies • Markets • Livelihoods at risk HAZARD
• Political systems • Press freedom • Low income Volcano
• Economic
systems
• Civil society +
Vulnerable society Landslide
Macro-forces • Groups at risk VULNERAB
ILITY
Drought
• Population
growth
• Little capacity to cope
• Urbanisation Virus and pest
• Arms
expenditure
Public actions
• Debt
repayment
• Lack of preparedness Heat wave
• Deforestation • Endemic disease
• Soil
degradation
Source: Blaikie et al. (1994).

4. Concepts of Vulnerability:
Source: Kasperson, et al.
Risk: is the probability that negative consequences may arise when hazards interact with vulnerable areas,
people, property, and environment. It is a concept which describes a potential set of consequences that may
arise from a given set of circumstances. It is the conditional probability and magnitude of harm attendant on
exposure to a perturbation or stress.
Concepts of the Risk and its Analysis:
• Risk is a combination of the interaction of hazard,
exposure, and vulnerability, which can be represented by
the three sides of a triangle.
• If any one of these sides increases, the area of the triangle
increases, hence the amount of risk also increases.
• If any one of the sides reduces, the risk reduces.
• If we can eliminate one side there is no risk.

5. Difference Between Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk
Hazard Vulnerability Risk
Hazard : potential threat to humans and their welfare
+
vulnerability : exposure and susceptibility to losses
=
risk : probability of hazard occurrence
disaster : realization of a risk