Thursday, January 8, 2015

Introduction to Disaster Management

A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.

Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster strikes.
Hazards are broadly divided into natural or human-made disasters.

A Natural Hazard 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. Natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, and cyclones are all natural hazards that kill thousands of people, destroy 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 land forms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation, non-engineered constructions make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable, tardy communication, poor or no budgetary allocation for disaster prevention, developing countries suffer more or less chronically by natural disasters. Asia tops the list of casualties caused by natural hazards.

Human-Induced disasters are the consequence of technological hazards. Examples include stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills and nuclear explosions/radiation. War and deliberate attacks may also be put in this category.

Man-made hazards are events that have not happened, for instance terrorism. Man-made disasters are examples of specific cases where man-made hazards have become reality in an event.

The United Nations General Assembly designated the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).

Its basic objective was to decrease the loss of life, property destruction and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, droughts, locust infestations, and other disasters of natural origin.

An International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, beginning on 1 January 1990, was launched by the United Nations, following the adoption of Resolution on 22 December 1989. The decade was intended to reduce, through concerted international action, especially in developing countries, loss of life, poverty damage and social and economic disruption caused by natural disasters. To support the activities of the decade, a Secretariat was established at the United Nations Office in Geneva, in close association with UNDRO.

An increase in global industrial activity coupled with population growth and increased fossil fuel consumption has led to the following problems:
-Destruction og green lungs of the earth
-Increased agricultural activity
-Use of toxic pesticides
-Increased green house gases in the atmosphere
-Pollution of air, water and soil
-Acid rain
-Creation of Ozone hole
-Global warming and
-Climate change

There is an increasing trend in the frequency and intensity of both natural & man made disasters. Thic can be attributed to:
-Population explosion
-Rapid industrialization
-Urbanization
-Global warming and
-Environmental pollution

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