2GG3 NATURAL DISASTERS REVIEW AND CONCLUSIONS PART I Sociology of disasters What is disasters? Definition and concepts What is disaster? CRED: operational definition of disaster • 10 or more people dead OR; • 100 or more people affected/injured/homeless OR; • Declaration of a state of emergency or appeal for international assistance (The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), 2020) The Canadian Disaster Database • 10 or more people are killed • 100 or more people are affected/injured/infected/evacuated or homeless • There is an appeal for national/international assistance • The event has historical significance • There is significant damage/interruption of normal processes such that the community affected cannot recover on its own. Key/common elements of the definitions Disasters occur at the intersection of people and natural hazards - Disasters are determined and measured by the impact of the natural hazard on human settlements (coping capacity) - Disasters result from people’s exposure to hazards - The conditions which exposure people result from vulnerability - Vulnerability is created by conditions that exist within the society Coping capacity Coping capacity is the ability of people, organizations and systems, using available skills and resources, to manage adverse conditions, risk or disasters. Coping capacities contribute to the reduction of disaster risks (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR, 2012) What is vulnerability? The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defines vulnerability as the conditions determined by physical, social, and economic factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of a community to the impact of hazards (UNDRR, 2004). Physical vulnerability vs social vulnerability Physical Vulnerability may be determined by aspects such as population density levels, remoteness of a settlement, the site, design and materials used for critical infrastructure and for housing (UNISDR). Social vulnerability refers to the characteristics of a person or group in terms of their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recovery from the impact of a natural hazard (Wisner et al., 2004)." Factors of Social Vulnerability • Poverty • Race/Ethnicity • Class/caste • Religion • Gender • Age such as the elderly (> 65), the children (<5) • Disability • Health • Language/literacy • Households and families, such as single-parental households Dimensions of Social Vulnerability • Level of poverty • Lack of or limited access to resources such as information, knowledge and technology • Lack of or limited access to political power and representation (marginalization, exclusive) • Lack of or limited social capital including social networks and connections • Inadequate beliefs, customs and attitude in response to risk or disasters • Vulnerable residential settings (i.e. weak structure, poor protection, poor maintenance, etc.) • Frail and physically limited individuals • Lack of or Limited access to critical services such as communication, transportation, power supply, water supply, sanitation, etc. (Cutter et al., 2003) Disasters are socially constructed If human socio-economic and physiological systems do not have the capacity sufficiently to reflect, absorb or buffer the impact (of natural hazards), then disaster may occur (Alexander, 1993:6). The relationship between hazard, human vulnerability and disasters A. No hazard or disaster Hazardous geophysical event: an extreme physical phenomenon, eg flood or earthquake No interaction of Human and physical systems Vulnerable population: susceptible to Human activity and physical processes do not interact, therefore, there is no Hazard or disaster. Example will be Flooding in the thick of the rainforest Or volcanic eruption in a remote unpopulated island Interaction of human and physical systems B. Disaster Hazardous geophysical event Disaster Vulnerable population If the hazardous geophysical processes and human activity coincide or collide, a disaster result. The more impactful the geophysical event and/or the more Vulnerable the human population, the more the two overlap, then the more Devastating the impact will be. Natural disasters are natural only to the extent that they originate from natural hazards. Natural events such as an earthquakes cannot be helped, but their impacts which trigger disasters are preventable. Types of disasters Sudden/rapid impact: may occur in a matter of seconds (earthquakes), minutes (tornadoes) or hours (flash floods) Slow onset (creeping) disasters: may take months (certain types of volcanic eruption), years (types of subsidence of the ground) or centuries (various forms of land degradation, erosion and global warming) (Alexander, 1993:9). Conclusion: All disasters triggered by naturally occurring phenomena known to humans can be prevented. If we know about the hazards, we can prevent the disasters which they can trigger. Since most hazards that afflict humans today are known to human beings we can conclude that Disasters are not natural and are preventable . PART II NATURAL HAZARDS Tectonic plates Lithosphere Earthquakes Volcanoes Hurricanes What is natural hazard? A condition with the potential for harm to the community or environment. Natural hazards includes hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and other natural phenomena that have the potential for harm. The hazard is the potential, the disaster is the actual event (Drabek 1997) . Common features among the definitions Represents the potential of an event Poses a societal threat Natural Classification of Natural Hazards • Geophysical hazard • Hydrological hazard • Meteorological hazard • Climatological hazard • Biological hazard • Extraterrestrial hazard Earth systems The geosphere consists of the almost spherical concentric regions of matter that make up the earth and its atmosphere, including the lithosphere and hydrosphere. The surface of the geosphere, where the rocky part of our planet is in contact with water, air, and/or life is generally where the spheres intersect and affect each other The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists— including all ecosystems. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environments of ocean trenches, as well as lush rain forests, high mountaintops, and transition zones where ocean and terrestrial ecosystems meet The lithosphere • Earthquakes • Volcanic Eruptions • Tsunami • Landslides • Floods • Subsidence Source: Link.Pringer.com What is an Earthquake? An earthquake is a sudden slip on a fault What causes earthquakes and where do they happen? When the crustal rocks are subjected to horizontal compressional pressure, they develop fractures or cracks along the line of weakness known as faults. In faulting, blocks of rocks may move up or down. Block mountains and rift valleys are formed as a result of faulting Volcanoes Classification of volcanoes Volcanoes are classified as: a. Active b. Dormant c. Extinct. There are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,500 volcanoes have erupted in historical time. How much of the Earth is volcanic? More than 80 percent of the Earth's surface--above and below sea level--is of volcanic origin. The impacts of seismic events on humans a) loss of life (b) physical or psychological injury and bereavement (c) destruction of property Human impact… (d) economic disruption and indirect losses (such as loss of employment, but note that rebuilding after earthquakes tends to create jobs in the construction industry) (e) geological effects resulting in physical alterations of the ground, including cracking, subsidence or settlement, landslides, liquefaction phenomena, alteration of drainage patterns and the scouring effects of tsunamis (f) ecological losses (including loss of wildlife habitat and loss of farmland or natural vegetation) as a result of disruption of the land surface TSUNAMIS Harbor waves Fast-travelling waves Seismic sea waves Tsunamigenic forces or Tsunami triggers Tsunamigenic forces refer to any geological force capable of generating a tsunami in an ocean body: • Undersea earthquakes (vertical displacements) • Earthquake movement (horizontal displacements) • Volcanic eruptions • Landslides • Meteor Possible triggers of underwater landslides • Earthquakes • Sediment loading • Sea level changes • Gas hydrates Physical Characteristics of Tsunamis • Wavelength • Wave height • Amplitude • Frequency or period • Velocity. Stages in the existence of a tsunami • Generation – (Initiation) • Propagation in deep water - (Split) • Propagation in shallow water – (Amplification) • Landfall – (Run-up) Tsunami monitoring and warning systems • Seismographs • Seismometer • DARTS Benefits of natural hazards • For all the destruction wrought when human settlements and infrastructure are shaken by tectonic forces, earthquakes are the result of processes that create and rejuvenate the landscapes we live in. • Such processes are beneficial to us as humans because they are responsible for things that make the Earth a habitable planet for life. For example: • Throughout Earth history, volcanism has been responsible for producing much of the water present on the Earth's surface, and for producing the atmosphere. • Erosional processes, including flooding, landslides, and windstorms replenishes soil and helps sustain life Categorization of Natural Hazards • Catastrophic • Rapid on-set • Slow on-set Recap…. Natural hazards trigger disasters Natural hazards produced in the earth’s systems The earth’s system are broadly divided into two - The inorganic geosphere - The organic biosphere Geophysical, hydrological hazards are organized within the geosphere while biological hazards are produced in the biosphere PART III Social construction of disasters Hurricane Katrina case study 1995 Chicago heat wave Risk and Resilience Disaster management Social vulnerability to disasters It takes a multi-disciplinary approach to examine historical, geographic, social, and cultural factors and conditions that put people differently at risk before, during, and after disasters Case study Denaturalizing disaster: A social autopsy of the 1995 Chicago heat wave Eric Klinenberg Determinants of the Heatwave Three factors converged to precipitate the disaster • The climate • The living conditions of the city's most precarious residents, and • The local government Findings: 1. The destructive 1995 heat wave was a sign and symptom of the new and dangerous forms of marginality and neglect endemic to contemporary American big cities and notably severe in Chicago, 2. The heatwave was a structurally determined catastrophe as a sociological analysis exposes the obvious relationship between poverty and suffering (which contributed to the disaster) Finally, the heatwave according to Klinenberg, resulted from some of the institutional and social mechanisms upon which extreme forms of American insecurity are built. Psychological impacts of disasters Psychological impacts of disasters triggered by natural Hazards (Non-physical challenges in the aftermath of disasters) Three psychological consequences of disaster • Mental illness (severe psychopathology) • Mental health problems • Problems associated with daily life Psychiatric help in disasters In the event of a disaster, it is not likely that there will be widespread acute mental illness. Instead, most of those victims may likely be affected by depression which will set in immediately after the event. For a minority, however, depression may set in further down the road. It is important that groups that are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems be identified and given psychiatric assistance. In doing so, cultural norms need to be understood and respected, especially when psychiatrists are not members of the local cultural group. Take away…. • Conditions that organize disasters are created by social structures • Inequality is considered an inherent part of social structure • Inequality is institutionalized through human, social, cultural, institutional, financial and political capital. Opportunity is highly structured. • Institutionalization of inequality creates structural violence Risk - DEFINITIONS Risk is the estimated impact that a hazard would have on people, services, facilities, and structures in a community; the likelihood of a hazard event resulting in an adverse condition that causes injury or damage. (FEMA 2001) Risk is a function of two major factors: (a) the probability that an event (hazard), or series of events (hazard) of various magnitudes, will occur, and (b) the consequences of the event(s) (Petak and Atkinson 1982) Risk is generally defined as the combination of the frequency of occurrence, vulnerability, and the consequence of a specified hazardous event.” (DHS 2006) Exposure Exposure refers to people, property, systems, or other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential losses. Risk of a disaster at individual or community level is dependent on exposure to emergent and resurgent hazards and the capacity to avoid, adapt, absorb, or control them. Hazard Assessment • When and where hazardous processes have occurred in the past. • the severity of the physical effects of past hazardous processes (magnitude). • the frequency of occurrence of hazardous processes. • the likely effects of a process of a given magnitude if it were to occur now. • and, making all this information available in a form useful to planners and public officials responsible for making decisions in event of a disaster Vulnerability assessment Vulnerability assessment determines the degree of vulnerability and exposure to the hazard of the population, development sectors, infrastructure and ongoing or planned city projects. Resilience Resilience refers to the ability of individuals, societies or socioeconomic systems to cope with the sudden impact of crises or disasters, and to restore as quickly as possible their ability to function and their capacity to act. Resilience can be defined as the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions Resilience is the ability to manage hazards to reduce risks and to recover from the disasters that do occur. Resilience is enhanced when communities understand hazards and the disasters they can cause and develop the skills necessary to respond effectively The ability of a system and its component parts to anticipate, absorb, accommodate, or recover from the effects of a hazardous event in a timely and efficient manner, including through ensuring the preservation, restoration, or improvement of its essential basic structures and functions. Take away… Unless communities have a clear understanding of the risks they face, planning for meaningful disaster risk reduction may be ineffective. Risk analysis and assessments are essential prerequisites for informed decision making, prioritizing projects, planning for risk reduction measures and identifying high-, medium- or low-risk areas, according to their vulnerability and the cost effectiveness of potential interventions. An Introduction to Disaster Management A disaster is a consequence of a sudden disastrous event which seriously disrupts the normal function of the society or the community to the extent that it cannot subsist without outside help. Disaster and emergency management Disaster management is how we deal with the human, material, economic or environmental impacts of disaster. It includes the process of how we “prepare” for, “respond” to and learn from the effects of disasters Disaster management vs risk management The case for risk management as an alternative to emergency management is made by mounting disaster losses. Losses could be stemmed if the causal factors that lead to disasters were more systematically identified and preventive actions taken Disaster Risk management Disaster risk management involves: a. risk identification b. risk reduction (prevention-mitigation) and c. disaster management (response and recovery) Disaster risk identification Risk identification involves a range of physical and socio-economic data and expertise The response to disaster by the social system will depend on its inherent characteristics and dynamics. But it will also depend on the characteristics of the disaster: its cause, predictability, controllability, frequency of occurrence, speed of onset, duration, scope of impact and destructive potential (555) Three-step process in risk identification • Existing risk and loss information products • Identifying and reviewing existing disaster risk and loss information products • Entry points and capacity for risk reduction and transfer decisionmaking Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) DRR is ‘the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters’ (UNDRR) Disaster management circle THANK YOU
