Complete definition of disaster:

A social crisis situation occurring when a physical phenomenon of natural,

socionatural or anthropogenic origin negatively impacts vulnerable populations and their livelihoods,
production systems infrastructure and historical heritage, causing intense, serious and widespread
disruption of the normal functioning of the affected social unit.The impacts and effects cannot be overcome
with the resources autonomously available to the affected society. Impacts are expressed in different forms
such as the loss of life, health problems, the destruction, loss or rendering useless of the totality or part of
private or collective goods and severe impacts on the environment.These negative impacts require an
immediate response from the authorities and from the population in order to attend the affected and to re-
establish acceptable thresholds of wellbeing and life opportunities. 

A hazard may not necessarily result in a disaster. For example, an undersea

earthquake might not result in the loss of any lives or damage to property, and a typhoon is not a disaster
until heavy rain and wind cause damage or disruption to inhabited areas 

Control and prevention :

Pre-disaster activities that are undertaken within the context of disaster risk
management and are based on sound risk analysis. This includes the development/enhancement of an
overall preparedness strategy, policy, institutional structure, warning and forecasting capabilities, and plans
that define measures geared to helping at-risk communities safeguard their lives and assets by being alert to
hazards and taking appropriate action in the face of an imminent threat or an actual disaster. Five specific
Priorities for action:

Making disaster risk reduction a priority:

Today, the world has a wealth of knowledge and information on disaster risk
reduction at its disposal; the key is sharing and using this in a pro-active way through awareness-raising and
educational initiatives so that people can make informed decisions and take action to best protect
themselves, their property and their livelihoods during natural hazards.

Education for disaster risk reduction is an interactive process of mutual learning

among people and institutions. It encompasses far more than formal education at schools, universities, and
in training courses. It involves the use of traditional wisdom and local knowledge to safeguard against
natural hazards as well as the active and informed participation of the mass media.

Improving risk information and early warning:

Early warning systems have received significant international attention over the
past few years,Second International Conference on Early Warnings specified the four
operational components of early warning systems, it includes:

(i)Observation, detection, monitoring, analysis, forecasting and development of hazard warning messages;
(ii) Assessing potential risks and integrating risk information into warning messages;
(iii) Dissemination of timely and reliable and understandable warning messages to authorities and public at-
risk;
(iv) Community-based emergency planning, preparedness and training programmes focused on eliciting an
effective response to warnings to reduce potential impact on lives and livelihoods.

Building a culture of safety and resilience:

To develop and sustain a systematic comprehensive people-centered early warning system,long-

term strategic planning coupled with financial and human resources allocations will be essential.
Some of them are:

.Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhance early warning;
.Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels;
.Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at all levels.

Most countries have established or strengthened their disaster management laws,

national platforms, and national and local coordination mechanisms but not all have specifically addressed
the tsunami coordination aspect.

All participating countries (except Somalia) receive international tsunami warnings from the Pacific Tsunami
Warning Center (PTWC) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) except Somalia.

Reducing the risks in key sectors:

Strategy and coordination plan does not only provide the framework for the specific
sector plans listed above, but also focuses on the delivery of initiatives of a global nature and scope.
These initiatives intend to address identified gaps in the way we manage information and knowledge
across sectors, as well as supporting funding for community resilience interventions and other DM
interventions. With the establishment of decentralized DM functions at regional level (Zone offices), it
is essential to provide adequate technical support, information management and coordination capacity
globally in support of regional and country level staff as well as National Societies by using innovative
methods and approaches that can respond to developing external trends and better enable the zones to
respond to the needs of National Societies.

Strengthening preparedness for response:

The overall goal of the programme is to reduce the disaster risks faced by the
vulnerable populations in Albania by improving disaster preparedness and emergency response capacities
at various levels in the country. In doing so, the key objectives are:

1. To strengthen the national disaster management system in Albania and capacities of

relevant institutions in undertaking their responsibilities

2. To support and facilitate local level disaster management through building capacities
of local level stakeholder

Me,as a student cannot give many points, but here they are some :

 Students can help in rehabilitation and resettlement of victims

 They can spread awareness through rallies in streets
 Volunteer in the information centres and form associations for the Disaster-Day
 Provide the victims with basic needs
 Preventing disasters at home - stopping building fires due to petty reasons like a short circuit.
 Save lives, protect livelihoods, and prepare for and recover from disasters and crises
 Enable healthy and safer living
 Promote social inclusion and a culture of non-violence