Hazard - is an agent which has the potential to cause harm to a vulnerable target.

Hazards can be both natural or

human induced. Sometimes natural hazards such as floods and drought can be caused by human activity. Floods can
be caused by bad drainage facilities and droughts can be caused by over-irrigation or groundwater pollution. The
terms "hazard" and "risk" are often used interchangeably however, in terms of risk assessment, they are two very
distinct terms. A hazard is any agent that can cause harm or damage to humans, property, or the environment. Risk
is defined as the probability that exposure to a hazard will lead to a negative consequence, or more simply, a hazard
poses no risk if there is no exposure to that hazard.
Danger (also risk or peril) is the possibility of something bad happening. A situation in which there is a risk of
something bad happening, is called dangerous, risky or perilous. People often take risks, or do things that might hurt
them. An example of this is crossing the road without looking carefully. There is a risk that you might get hit by a
car. Anything that involves a risk of injury or to health can be described as dangerous. Smoking is dangerous to
health. Being around some animals is dangerous because they might attack humans.
Damage is any change in a thing, often a physical object, that degrades it away from its initial state. It can broadly
be defined as "changes introduced into a system that adversely affect its current or future performance".[1] Damage
"does not necessarily imply total loss of system functionality, but rather that the system is no longer operating in its
optimal manner".[1] Damage to physical objects is "the progressive physical process by which they break",[2]:1.
and includes mechanical stress that weakens a structure, even if this is not visible
Risk is the potential for uncontrolled loss of something of value. Values (such as physical health, social status,
emotional well-being, or financial wealth) can be gained or lost when taking risk resulting from a given action or
inaction, foreseen or unforeseen (planned or not planned). Risk can also be defined as the intentional interaction
with uncertainty.[1] Uncertainty is a potential, unpredictable, and uncontrollable outcome; risk is an aspect of action
taken in spite of uncertainty. Risk perception is the subjective judgment people make about the severity and
probability of a risk, and may vary person to person. Any human endeavour carries some risk, but some are much

riskier than others.