Terms and Concepts on

Disaster Risk Reduction

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 Be able to understand basic
Objective terms and concepts used in
disaster risk reduction.

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HAZARD
There is a
potential for
occurrence of an
event.

• Phenomenon or situation, which has the

potential to cause disruption or damage to
people, their property, their services and their
environment 3
 DISASTER

• An event, either man-made or natural, sudden

or progressive, causing widespread human,
material or environmental losses
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VULNERABILITY
Vulnerability may be defined as “The extent to which a
community, structure, services or geographic area is
likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of
particular hazard, on account of their nature,
construction and proximity to hazardous terrains or
a disaster prone area

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 Capacity can be
defined as “resources,
CAPACITIES means and strengths
which exist in
households and
communities and
which enable them to
cope with, withstand ,
prepare for, prevent,
mitigate or quickly
recover from a
disaster”..
DISASTER RISK
Risk is a “measure of the expected losses
due to a hazard event occurring in a
given area over a specific time period.
Risk is a function of the probability of
particular hazardous event and the
losses each would cause.”
A community/locality is said to be at
‘risk’ when it is exposed to hazards and
is likely to be adversely affected by
its impact.
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CONTD

Disaster Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability

Capacity

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ELEMENTS AT RISK
Persons, buildings, crops or
other such like societal
components exposed to known
hazard, which are likely to be
adversely affected by the
impact of the hazard.

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• people (their lives& health)
• household and community structures
• community facilities & services (houses, access
roads, bridges, schools, hospitals)
• livelihood & economic activities (jobs, crops,
livestock, equipment)
• the environment

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The ability of a system, community or society
exposed to hazards to resist, absorb,
accommodate to and recover from the effect of a
hazard in a timely and efficient manner.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT CYCLE

Disaster

PREPAREDNESS
RESPONSE/RELIEF

MITIGATION REHABILITATION

PREVENTION RECONSTRUCTION
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DISASTER MANAGEMENT

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Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster Risk Management includes sum total of

all activities, programmes and measures which
can be taken up before , during and after a
disaster with the purpose to avoid a disaster,
reduce its impact or recover from its losses.

The three key stages of activities that are taken

up within disaster risk management are:

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Before a disaster (pre-disaster)

Activities taken to reduce human and

property losses caused by a potential
hazard. For example carrying out
awareness campaigns, strengthening the
existing weak structures, preparation of
the disaster management plans at
household and community level etc. Such
risk reduction measures taken under this
stage are termed as mitigation and
preparedness activities. 17
During a disaster (disaster occurrence)
Initiatives taken to ensure that the needs and
provisions of victims are met and suffering is
minimized. Activities taken under this stage are
called emergency response activities.

After a disaster (post-disaster)

Initiatives taken in response to a disaster with a
purpose to achieve early recovery and
rehabilitation of affected communities,
immediately after a disaster strikes. These are
called as response and recovery activities. 18
RESPONSE Actions taken immediately following the
impact of a disaster when exceptional
measures are required to meet the basic
needs of the survivors.
Eg.
o Search and Rescue
o Evacuation
o First Aid
o Mobile medical health team
o Emergency welfare & shelter
o Food& water
o Special need for women and children
o Animal husbandry or veterinary
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 RELIEF
Measures that are required in search
and rescue of survivors, as well to meet
the basic needs for shelter, water, food
and health care .
 Food
 Shelter
 Clothing
 Community/national/international relief
packages
 Continued medical and health support

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PREVENTION
Measures taken to avert a disaster from
occurring, if possible (to impede a hazard
so that it does not have any harmful
effects).
 Land use planning& restrictions
 Risk Assessment(risk transfer
instruments)
 Hazard Mapping
 Resilient structures/infrastructures
 Clean drainage system to prevent flooding
 Early warning system
 Smoke detectors

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MITIGATION
Measures taken prior to the impact of
a disaster to minimize its effects
(sometimes referred to as structural
and non-structural measures.
 Eg building codes/resilient designs
 Structural retrofits
 Flood walls and retaining walls
 Insurance policy
 Governments pre-disaster
financing(debt contingency facilities)

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PREPAREDNESS Measures taken in anticipation
of a disaster to ensure that
appropriate and effective
actions are taken in the
aftermath.
 Stockpiling food and water
 Ensuring safe places(evacuation)
 Training on rescue and
emergency -Mock drills
 Early warning system
 Contingency plans

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REHABILITATION
Actions taken in the aftermath of a disaster to:

 assist victims to repair their dwellings

 re-establish essential services

 revive key economic and social activities

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 RECONSTRUCTION
Permanent measures to repair or replace damaged
dwellings and infrastructure and to set the economy
back on course.

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Rehabilitation

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Reconstruction
RECOVERY
The process undertaken by a disaster affected
community to fully restore itself to pre-
disaster level of functioning.

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Disaster Management
is the collective term for all activities
that contribute to increasing capacities
thereby, reducing immediate and long-
term vulnerabilities; it covers activities
before, during and after a disaster.
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 Disaster Risk Management
• is the systematic process of using
administrative decisions, organization,
operational skills and capacities to implement
policies, strategies and coping capacities of
the society and communities to lessen the
impacts of natural hazards;

• this comprises all forms of activities, including

structural and non-structural measures to
avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and
preparedness) adverse effects of hazards 29
Disaster Risk Management
Disaster

Early Warning

Emergency
Preparedness Response

Awareness and Capacity

Building Rehabilitation

Prevention/Mitigation
Reconstruction
Risk
Assessment 30
DISASTER RISK
REDUCTION
Is the conceptual framework of elements considered
with the possibilities to minimize vulnerabilities and
disaster risks throughout a society, to avoid
(prevention) or to limit (mitigation and preparedness)
the adverse impacts of hazards, within the broad
context of sustainable development.

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 COMMUNITY-BASED DISASTER
RISK MANAGEMENT (CBDRM)

A process of disaster risk reduction in which at-risk

communities are actively engaged in the identification,
analysis, treatment, monitoring and evaluation of disaster
risks in order to reduce their vulnerabilities and enhance their
capacities.

This means that people are at the heart of decision making

and implementation of disaster risk reduction activities.
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Sustainable Development
Meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own
needs.

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 THANK YOU

Any Question please?

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