Disaster

A disaster is a serious disruption

occurring over a short or long period of
time that causes widespread human,
material, economic or environmental loss
which exceeds the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own
resources.[1][2] Developing countries
suffer the greatest costs when a disaster
hits – more than 95% of all deaths caused
by hazards occur in developing countries,
and losses due to natural hazards are 20
times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in
developing countries than in industrialized
countries.[3][4] No matter what society
disasters occur in, they tend to induce
change in government and social life. They
may even alter the course of history by
broadly affecting entire populations and
exposing mismanagement or corruption
regardless of how tightly information is
controlled in a society.
Ruins from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake,
remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in
the history of the United States.

Etymology
The word disaster is derived from Middle
French désastre and that from Old Italian
disastro, which in turn comes from the
Ancient Greek pejorative prefix δυσ-,
(dus-) "bad"[5] and ἀστήρ (aster), "star".[6]
The root of the word disaster ("bad star" in
Greek) comes from an astrological sense
of a calamity blamed on the position of
planets.[7]

Classification

Painting of the Cathedral and the Academy building

after the Great Fire of Turku, by Gustaf Wilhelm
Finnberg, 1827

Disasters are routinely divided into

natural or human-made,[8] although
complex disasters, where there is no
single root cause, are more common in
developing countries. A specific disaster
may spawn a secondary disaster that
increases the impact. A classic example is
an earthquake that causes a tsunami,
resulting in coastal flooding. Some
manufactured disasters have been
ascribed to nature.[8]

Some researchers also differentiate

between recurring events such as seasonal
flooding, and those considered
unpredictable.[9]

Natural disasters E…
Haiti earthquake damage

Driving through flash flood

A natural disaster is a natural process or

phenomenon that may cause loss of life,
injury or other health impacts, property
damage, loss of livelihoods and services,
social and economic disruption, or
environmental damage.

Various phenomena like earthquakes,

landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods,
hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis,
cyclones and pandemics are all natural
hazards that kill thousands of people and
destroy billions of dollars of habitat and
property each year. However, the rapid
growth of the world's population and its
increased concentration often in
hazardous environments has escalated
both the frequency and severity of
disasters. With the tropical climate and
unstable landforms, coupled with
deforestation, unplanned growth
proliferation, non-engineered
constructions make the disaster-prone
areas more vulnerable. Developing
countries suffer more or less chronically
from natural disasters due to ineffective
communication combined with insufficient
budgetary allocation for disaster
prevention and management.

Human-made disasters E…
Airplane crashes and terrorist attacks are examples
of man-made disasters: they cause pollution, kill
people, and damage property. This example is of the

September 11 attacks in 2001 at the World Trade

Center in New York City, New York.

Human-instigated disasters are the

consequence of technological or human
hazards. Examples include stampedes,
fires, transport accidents, industrial
accidents, oil spills, terrorist attacks,
nuclear explosions/nuclear radiation. War
and deliberate attacks may also be put in
this category.
Other types of induced disasters include
the more cosmic scenarios of catastrophic
global warming, nuclear war, and
bioterrorism.

One opinion argues that all disasters can

be seen as human-made, due to human
failure to introduce appropriate
emergency management measures.[10]

Responses
The following table categorizes some
disasters and notes first response
initiatives.[11]
Natural Disaster

Example Profile First response

The sudden, drastic flow of snow down a

Shut off utilities; Evacuate
slope, occurring when either natural
building if necessary;
triggers, such as loading from new snow
Avalanche Determine impact on the
or rain, or artificial triggers, such as
equipment and facilities and
explosives or backcountry skiers,
any disruption
overload the snowpack

Power off all equipment; listen

A severe snowstorm characterized by to blizzard advisories;
Blizzard
very strong winds and low temperatures Evacuate area, if unsafe;
Assess damage

Shut off utilities; Evacuate

The shaking of the earth's crust, caused
building if necessary;
by underground volcanic forces of
Earthquake Determine impact on the
breaking and shifting rock beneath the
equipment and facilities and
earth's surface
any disruption

Attempt to suppress fire in

early stages; Evacuate
Fires that originate in uninhabited
personnel on alarm, as
Fire (wild) areas and which pose the risk to spread
necessary; Notify fire
to inhabited areas
department; Shut off utilities;
Monitor weather advisories

Monitor flood advisories;

Flash flooding: Small creeks, gullies, Determine flood potential to
Flood dry streambeds, ravines, culverts or facilities; Pre-stage emergency
even low-lying areas flood quickly power generating equipment;
Assess damage

Monitor weather advisories;

Freezing Rain occurring when outside surface
arrange for snow and ice
rain temperature is below freezing
removal

Heat wave A prolonged period of excessively hot Listen to weather advisories;

weather relative to the usual weather Power-off all servers after a
graceful shutdown if there is
 pattern of an area and relative to imminent potential of power
normal temperatures for the season failure; Shut down main electric
circuit usually located in the
basement or the first floor

Power off all equipment; listen

to hurricane advisories;
Evacuate area, if flooding is
possible; Check gas, water and
Hurricane Heavy rains and high winds
electrical lines for damage; Do
not use telephones, in the
event of severe lightning;
Assess damage

Shut off utilities; Evacuate

Geological phenomenon which includes
building if necessary;
a range of ground movement, such as
Landslide Determine impact on the
rock falls, deep failure of slopes and
equipment and facilities and
shallow debris flows
any disruption

Power off all equipment; listen

to hurricane advisories;
Evacuate area, if flooding is
An electrical discharge caused by
Lightning possible; Check gas, water and
lightning, typically during
strike electrical lines for damage; Do
thunderstorms
not use telephones, in the
event of severe lightning;
Assess damage

Shut off utilities; Evacuate

building if necessary;
Limnic The sudden eruption of carbon dioxide
Determine impact on the
eruption from deep lake water
equipment and facilities and
any disruption

Monitor tornado advisories;

Violent rotating columns of air which Power off equipment; Shut off
Tornado descend from severe thunderstorm utilities (power and gas);
cloud systems Assess damage once storm
passes
 Tsunami A series of waves hitting shores
strongly, mainly caused by the
displacement of a large volume of a
body of water, typically an ocean or a
large lake, usually caused by
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
underwater explosions, landslides,
glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and
other disturbances above or below
water
Volcanic The release of hot magma, volcanic ash
eruption and/or gases from a volcano
Human-
made
The intentional release or
Bioterrorism dissemination of biological agents as a you have been exposed, quickly
means of coercion
A disturbance caused by a group of
people that may include sit-ins and
other forms of obstructions, riots,
Civil unrest sabotage and other forms of crime, and
which is intended to be a demonstration
to the public and the government, but
can escalate into general chaos
Fire (urban) Even with strict building fire codes,
people still perish needlessly in fires
Power off all equipment; listen
to tsunami advisories;
Evacuate area, if flooding is
possible; Check gas, water and
electrical lines for damage;
Assess damage
Shut off utilities; Evacuate
building if necessary;
Determine impact on the
equipment and facilities and
any disruption
Get information immediately
from public health officials via
the news media as to the right
course of action; If you think
remove your clothing and wash
off your skin; put on a HEPA to
help prevent inhalation of the
agent[12]
Contact local police or law
enforcement[13][14]
Attempt to suppress fire in
early stages; Evacuate
personnel on alarm, as
necessary; Notify fire
 department; Shut off utilities;
Monitor weather advisories

Leave the area and call the

The escape of solids, liquids, or gases
local fire department for
Hazardous that can harm people, other living
help.[15] If anyone was affected
material organisms, property or the environment,
by the spill, call the your local
spills from their intended controlled
Emergency Medical Services
environment such as a container.
line[16]

Recognize that a CBRN incident

has or may occur. Gather,
An event involving significant release assess and disseminate all
Nuclear and of radioactivity to the environment or a available information to first
radiation reactor core meltdown and which leads responders. Establish an
accidents to major undesirable consequences to overview of the affected area.
people, the environment, or the facility Provide and obtain regular
updates to and from first
responders.[17]

Wait 5–10 minutes; power off

Caused by summer or winter storms,
Power
lightning or construction equipment
failure
digging in the wrong location
all servers after a graceful
shutdown; do not use
telephones, in the event of
severe lightning; shut down
main electric circuit usually
located in the basement or the
first floor

See also
Act of God
Catastrophic failure
Disaster convergence
Disaster medicine
Disaster recovery
Disaster recovery and business
continuity auditing
Disaster recovery plan
Disaster research
Disaster response
Emergency management
Environmental emergency
Human extinction
List of accidents and disasters by death
toll
Lists of disasters
 Opportunism
Sociology of disaster

References
1. "What is a disaster?" . www.ifrc.org.
International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Retrieved 21 June 2017.
2. "Disasters & Emergencies:
Definitions" (PDF). Addis Ababa:
Emergency Humanitarian Action.
March 2002. Retrieved 26 November
2017 – via World Health Organization
International.
3. "World Bank: Disaster Risk
Management" .
4. Luis Flores Ballesteros. "Who’s
getting the worst of natural
disasters?" 54Pesos.org, 4 October
2008 Archived 3 September 2017 at
the Wayback Machine
5. "Dus, Henry George Liddell, Robert
Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at
Perseus" .
6. "Aster, Henry George Liddell, Robert
Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at
Perseus" .
7. "Disaster" in Etymology online
8. Didi Kirsten Tatlow (15 December
2016). "Don't Call It 'Smog' in Beijing,
Call It a 'Meteorological Disaster" .
The New York Times.
9. L. Bull-Kamanga; K. Diagne; A. Lavell;
E. Leon; F. Lerise; H. MacGregor; A.
Maskrey; M. Meshack; M. Pelling (1
April 2003). "From everyday hazards
to disasters: the accumulation of risk
in urban areas". Environment and
Urbanization. 15 (1): 193–204.
doi:10.1177/095624780301500109 .
ISSN 0956-2478 .
10. Blaikie, Piers, Terry Cannon, Ian
Davis & Ben Wisner. At Risk – Natural
hazards, people's vulnerability and
disasters, Wiltshire: Routledge, 2003,
ISBN 0-415-25216-4
11. Business Continuity Planning (BCP):
Sample Plan For Nonprofit
Organizations. Archived 2 June 2010
at the Wayback Machine Pages 11-12.
Retrieved 8 August 2012.
12. What should I do if there has been a
bioterrorism attack?. Edmond A.
Hooker. WebMD. 9 October 2007.
Retrieved 18 September 2012.
13. Report of the Joint Fire/Police Task
Force on Civil Unrest (FA-142):
Recommendations for Organization
and Operations During Civil
Disturbance. Page 55. FEMA.
Retrieved 21 October 2012.
14. Business Continuity Planning:
Developing a Strategy to Minimize
Risk and Maintain Operations.
Archived 27 March 2014 at the
Wayback Machine Adam Booher.
Retrieved 19 September 2012.
15. Hazardous Materials. Archived 11
October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
Tennessee Emergency Management
Office. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
16. Managing Hazardous Materials
Incidents (MHMIs). Center for
Disease Control. Retrieved 7
September 2012.
 17. Guidelines for First Response to a
CBRN Incident. Project on Minimum
Standards and Non-Binding
Guidelines for First Responders
Regarding Planning, Training,
Procedure and Equipment for
Chemical, Biological, Radiological
and Nuclear (CBRN) Incidents.]
NATO. Emergency Management.
Retrieved 21 October 2012.

Further reading
Barton, Allen H. Communities in Disaster: A
Sociological Analysis of Collective Stress
Situations, Doubleday, 1st edition 1969, ASIN:
B0006BVVOW
Susanna M. Hoffman, Susanna M. & Anthony
Oliver-Smith, authors & editors. Catastrophe
and Culture: The Anthropology of Disaster,
School of American Research Press, 1st
edition 2002, ISBN 978-1930618152
Bankoff, Greg, Georg Frerks, Dorothea
Hilhorst. Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters,
Development and People, Routledge, 2004,
ISBN 978-1853839641
Alexander, David. Principles of Emergency
planning and Management, Oxford University
Press, 1 edition 2002, ISBN 978-0195218381
Quarantelli, E. L. (2008). "Conventional
Beliefs and Counterintuitive Realities".
Conventional Beliefs and Counterintuitive
Realities in Social Research: an international
Quarterly of the social Sciences, Vol. 75 (3):
873–904.
Paul, B. K et al. (2003). "Public Response to
Tornado Warnings: a comparative Study of
the 4 May 2003 Tornadoes in Kansas,
Missouri and Tennessee". Quick Response
Research Report, no 165, Natural Hazard
Center, Universidad of Colorado
Kahneman, D. y Tversky, A. (1984). "Choices,
Values and frames". American Psychologist
39 (4): 341–350.
Beck, U. (2006). Risk Society, towards a new
modernity. Buenos Aires, Paidos
Aguirre, B. E & Quarantelli, E. H. (2008).
"Phenomenology of Death Counts in
Disasters: the invisible dead in the 9/11 WTC
attack". International Journal of Mass
Emergencies and Disasters. Vol. 26 (1): 19–39.
Wilson, H. (2010). "Divine Sovereignty and The
Global Climate Change debate". Essays in
Philosophy. Vol. 11 (1): 1–7
Uscher-Pines, L. (2009). "Health effects of
Relocation following disasters: a systematic
review of literature". Disasters. Vol. 33 (1): 1–
22.
Scheper-Hughes, N. (2005). "Katrina: the
disaster and its doubles". Anthropology
Today. Vol. 21 (6).
Phillips, B. D. (2005). "Disaster as a
Discipline: The Status of Emergency
Management Education in the US".
International Journal of Mass-Emergencies
and Disasters. Vol. 23 (1): 111–140.
 Mileti, D. and Fitzpatrick, C. (1992). "The
causal sequence of Risk communication in
the Parkfield Earthquake Prediction
experiment". Risk Analysis. Vol. 12: 393–400.
Perkins, Jamey. "The Calamity of Disaster –
Recognizing the possibilities, planning for the
event, managing crisis and coping with the
effects" , Public Safety Degrees

External links

The Wikibook History has a page on

the topic of: Historical Disasters and
Tragedies

Disaster
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List of Disasters at ReliefWeb of the

United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The Disaster Roundtable of the
National Academy of Sciences
EM-DAT International Disaster
Database of the Centre for Research on
the Epidemiology of Disasters
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination
System – The Global Disaster Alert and
Coordination System is a joint initiative
of the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) and the European Commission
UN-SPIDER – UN-SPIDER, the United
Nations Platform for Space-based
Information for Disaster Management
and Emergency Response], a project of
the United Nations Office for Outer
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