AIB3006

Environmental Disaster Geography

The Disaster Cycle

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 DISASTER
• Serious disruption of the functioning of a
community in a specific period of time
determined as a function of exposure,
vulnerability and capacity, leading to
human, material, economic and/or
environmental losses and impacts.

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 DISASTER
• disaster loss or damage describes the
amount of destruction of physical assets,
disruption of basic services and damages
to livelihood sources in the affected area.

• disaster loss or damage is different from

the disaster impact within the disaster
terminology because the former is always
negative

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 DISASTER
• disaster impact includes positive and
negative effects expanding the traditional
economic and material impact by including
the physical, mental and social wellbeing
spheres.

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 DISASTER
• It’s important to use the
word emergency instead of disaster when
it refers to biological, medical or
technological hazard, which does not
seriously disrupt the functioning of entire
communities

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 DISASTER CYCLE
The disaster cycle or the disaster life
cycle illustrates:
i.the ongoing process by which risk
managers and governments plan for and
reduce the impact of disasters,
ii.react with business and civil society during
and immediately following a disaster, and
iii.take steps to recover after a disaster has
occurred.
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 DISASTER CYCLE
• Consists of four steps:

(i) mitigation,
(ii)preparedness,
(iii) response,
(iv) recovery.

Fig. 1 The disaster cycle.

Source: Flanagan et al. 2011 7
 MITIGATION
• The adverse impact (severity or scale) of
natural hazards can be lessened by
using mitigation measures.

• They are strategies and actions divided into

engineering constructions (structural
measures), environmental and social
policies, and public awareness
(nonstructural measures).

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 MITIGATION
• Disaster prevention used as a synonym;

• the intention to completely avoid potential

impacts of hazardous events or their
consequences (eg. preventing secondary
hazards - contamination of water, after a
primary hazard - a flood)

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 MITIGATION
• Disaster prevention actions

- aim reducing vulnerability and

exposure where as a result, the
risk of disaster is removed.

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 PREPAREDNESS
• The knowledge and capacities to anticipate,
respond and recover from the impacts of
disasters or the likely occurrence developed
by governments, organizations, communities
and individuals.

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 PREPAREDNESS
• Preparedness actions
- contingency planning,
- stockpiling of equipment and supplies,
- the development of arrangements for
coordination, evacuation and public
information,
- associated training and field exercises
- fundamental for disaster management
and disaster risk reduction (DRR).
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 PREPAREDNESS
• DRR is the policy objective of disaster
management and works with concrete
priorities and targets according to the global
agenda ‘Sendai Framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction 2015-2030’.

• Preparedness actions must be supported by

formal institutional, legal and budgetary
capacities and are based on a sound
analysis of disaster risks and good linkages
with early warning systems. 13
 PREPAREDNESS
• Early warning systems
- set of hazard monitoring activities, risk
assessment plans and communication and
preparedness actions that can be effective if
they involve people and communities.

- If there is a constant state of

preparedness, early actions are enabled and
facilitated by public education and
awareness of risk (including disseminating
messages and warnings timely). 14
 RESPONSE
• Response or disaster relief
- actions taken directly before, during or
immediately after a disaster to save lives,
reduce health impacts, ensure public safety
and meet the basic subsistence needs of the
people affected.

- Response actions are efficient when there

are risk-informed preparedness measures in
place at any level of society.
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 RESPONSE
• Response or disaster relief

- The institutional elements of response

include providing emergency services and
assistance (also on a volunteer basis) by
public and private sectors.

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 RECOVERY
• Restoring or improving livelihoods, health, and
economic, physical, social, cultural and
environmental assets, systems and activities,
of a disaster-affected community, including
build back better.

• The division between the recovery stage and

response phase is not clear-cut; for example,
considering those response actions, such as
the supply of temporary housing and water
supplies, may extend well into the recovery
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stage.
 RECOVERY
• However, in the recovery stage, we may
also consider the medium and longer-
term rebuild of infrastructures following
sustainable and resilient reconstruction
plans (also called disaster
reconstruction or rehabilitation if it consists
of the restoration of basic services and
facilities).

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Disaster Management

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 What is disaster management?
• A collective term encompassing all aspects of
planning for and responding to emergencies and
disasters, including both pre- and post-event
activities.

• It refers to the management of both the risk and

the consequences of an event.

• In essence, disaster management is more than just

response and relief; it is a systematic process
aimed at reducing the negative impact and/or
consequences of adverse events. 20
 Goals of disaster management

1. Proactive plans to mitigate various risks

2. Minimizing loss via more effective

preparedness and response

3. Creating more effective and durable recovery

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Phases of Disaster Management

Phase 1 - Prevention
Phase 2 – Mitigation
Phase 3 – Preparedness
Phase 4 – Response
Phase 5 – Recovery

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 Phases of Disaster Management
Phase 1 - Prevention

•Prevention was recently added to the phases of

emergency management. It focuses on preventing
the human hazard, primarily from potential natural
disasters or terrorist attacks.

•Preventive measures are taken, designed to provide

permanent protection from disasters. Not all
disasters, particularly natural disasters, can be
prevented, but the risk of loss of life and injury can be
mitigated with good evacuation plans, environmental
planning and design standards. 23
 Phases of Disaster management

Phase 2 – Mitigation
In electrical risks, a periodical power quality audit
and exhaustive preventive maintenance process with
the help of electrical consultants can avert fire risks
due to electrical reasons, which is the major cause
(>85%) of fires.

In earthquake prone areas, these preventive

measures might include structural changes such as
the installation of an earthquake valve to instantly
shut off the natural gas supply, seismic retrofits of24

property, and the securing of items inside a building.

Phases of Disaster management
Phase 2 – Mitigation

The latter may include the mounting of

furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables
to the walls, and the addition of cabinet latches. In
flood prone areas, houses can be built on
poles/stilts.

Disaster mitigation measures are those that eliminate

or reduce the impacts and risks of hazards through
proactive measures taken before an emergency or
disaster occurs.
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Phases of Disaster management
Phase 3 - Preparedness

Preparedness focuses on preparing equipment and

procedures for use when a disaster This equipment
and these procedures can be used to reduce
vulnerability to disaster, to mitigate the impacts of a
disaster or to respond more efficiently in
an emergency.

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Phases of Disaster management
Phase 3 - Preparedness

1.Conduct disaster risk assessments

2.Integrate broader social and environmental issues
into business strategies and operations
3.Enact measures and systems that reduce risks
4.Develop plans for response and recovery

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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 3 - Preparedness

5. Disaster risk management (DRM) is a systematic

application of management policies, procedures and
practices to the tasks of identifying, analyzing,
evaluating, treating and monitoring risk.

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) entails measures to

curb disaster losses by addressing hazards and
people’s vulnerability to them.
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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 3 - Preparedness

6. The most effective disaster risk management

often happens before disasters occur, continues
after a disaster and incorporates lessons learned,
thus mitigating risks to future disasters.

7. Disaster risk reduction is about modifying

hazards, reducing vulnerability, increasing capacity.

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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 4 - Response

The response phase of an emergency may

commence with Search and Rescue but in all cases
the focus will quickly turn to fulfilling the
basic humanitarian needs of the affected population.

1. Disaster response refers to actions taken during

and immediately after a disaster to ensure that its
effects are minimized, and that people affected are
given immediate relief and support.
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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 4 - Response

2. These include providing food, water, shelter, and

medical aid, removing people from danger, among
other outreach efforts.

3. Disaster recovery refers to the coordinated

process of supporting disaster-affected communities
in reconstruction of physical infrastructure and
restoration of emotional, social, economic and
physical well- being.
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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 4 - Response

4. This includes re-building houses and businesses,

and providing medical aid and counseling, among
other efforts.

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 Phases of Disaster management
Phase 5 - Recovery

•The recovery phase starts after the immediate

threat to human life has subsided.

•The immediate goal of the recovery phase is to

bring the affected area back to normalcy as quickly
as possible.

•During reconstruction it is recommended to

consider the location or construction material of the
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property.