WEBVTT

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(English captions by Trisha Paul, University of Michigan.)

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This is the first session in the first unit
of our series.

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This session, we shall provide an introduction
to disasters.

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We shall discuss the background concepts,
meaning, and key issues related to disasters

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as well as terminologies commonly used in
disasters.

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We shall also look at the classification of
disasters, and the public health consequences

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of disasters.

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What does the term 'disaster' mean to
you?

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A disaster can be defined as "a serious
disruption of the functioning of a community

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or a society causing widespread human, material,
economic or environmental losses which exceed

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the ability of the affected community or society
to cope using its own resources."

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The key issue to note here is that the disruption
exceeds the ability of the affected community

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to cope, and they often need a ton of help.

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This definition is by the World Health Organization.

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We shall define other terms.

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What is an emergency?

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It is a state in which normal procedures are
suspended and extraordinary measures are taken

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in order to avert a disaster.

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Often times these two terms, emergency and
disaster, are used interchangeably.

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But, emergencies involve suspension of normal
procedures, the normal way that we've been

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doing things so that we put in place emergency
procedures to overt the possibility of occurrence

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of a catastrophe.

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Let us look at the terms, at other terms.

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Hazard, Risk, Vulnerability, and Capacity.

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What is a hazard?

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A hazard is a threatening event or potentially
damaging incident.

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It hasn't yet occurred, but it is a potential
source of a disaster.

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What is risk then?

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It is the probability of suffering damage
(to life, property, economic disruptions and

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environment) from a hazard for a given area
and reference period.

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Risk is a term usually used in probability,
and it is the product of hazard and vulnerability.

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What is vulnerability then?

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Vulnerability refers to the susceptibility
to physical or emotional injury following

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a disaster.

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It is the degree to which an area, people,
physical structures or economic assets are

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exposed to loss, injury or damage caused by
the impact of a hazard.

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What is capacity?

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It refers to the resources available, including
human, material, and other types of resources,

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that will enable a community to cope with
a threat or resist the impact of a hazard.

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What is then the relationship between these
terms?

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Disaster Risk can be mathematically given
by the equation: Risk equals to hazard times

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vulnerability minus capacity.

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Disasters may be natural.

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They may be technological, that is, human
generated.

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Then there are those that are in between,
also called 'hybrid' disasters.

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Another way to classify disasters is based
on speed of onset.

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Disasters may be rapid onset or slow onset.

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Slow onset natural disasters can include drought
and desertification, famine, deforestation,

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and pests and plant diseases.

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Rapid onset natural disasters may include
climatic disasters like floods, windstorms,

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wildfires, and hail storms, and geological
disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity,

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and landslides.

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Technological disasters are often man-made.

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They result from activities by human beings
or emissions by human beings.

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They include conflict and wars leading to
refugees and internal displacement.

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These are often called Complex Emergencies.

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Technological disasters also include disasters
like structure failure, building collapse,

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transportation crashes, and accidents both
on water and on roads and other types of accidents

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like chemical explosions, factory explosions,
and these types of accidents.

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Technological disasters also include military
accidents, fire disasters, terrorism, and

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Industrial incidents.

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Hybrid disasters.

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In some situations, it is difficult to classify
a disaster on the basis of whether it is natural

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or technological.

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For instance, where do epidemics fall?

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We shall now look at the Public Health Consequences
of Disasters.

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There are several consequences, and they include
death, injuries, loss of clean water, loss

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of shelter, loss of personal household goods,
major population movements, loss of sanitation,

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loss of routine hygiene, disruption of solid
waste management, Public concern for safety

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that may include panic, increased pests & vectors,
damage to health care system, worsening of

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chronic illnesses, loss of electricity, toxic/
hazardous exposure, loss of food supply, standing

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surface water.

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This is a pictorial presentation of some of
the consequences of drought and famine.

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This is an illustration of some of the effects
of flash floods.

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This is an illustration of some of the effects
of slow onset floods.

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This is an illustration of some of the effects
of landslides.

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The Hyogo Framework for Disaster Management
is an international framework that emphasizes

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the following at all levels (including operational
levels): establishment of subtle early warning

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systems, capacity building, emphasis on capacity
building, emphasis on safety and resilience

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of communities, reducing risk factors, and
strengthening disaster preparedness at all

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levels.

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Pre Disaster Definitions include Preparedness,
which implies actions that result in persons

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knowing what to do and how to respond after
a disaster has occurred.

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Prevention which means activities designed
to provide permanent protection from disaster

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which include engineering and physical protective
measures as well as legislation to control

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land use and urban planning.

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Then mitigation which refers to measures taken
in advance of an event aimed at decreasing

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or eliminating its impact on society and in
the environment.

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Post disaster definitions include response.

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These are decisions and actions taken during
and after disaster, and they include immediate

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relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

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Recovery is another post disaster term.

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It refers to activities that restore vital
life support systems to normalize operating

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standards and long term activities that return
life to normal in the post disaster phase.

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Other definitions: Relief and rescue.

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This occurs in the time period immediately
following the disaster period.

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Exceptional measures are taken to save lives
and care for survivors as well as meet their

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basic needs.

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There is a distinction between rescue and
relief.

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Rescue is mainly aimed at securing life while
relief is mainly meant to sustain life.

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Rehabilitation, on the other hand, is a process
that occurs after the closure of the relief

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phase.

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There is no more dependency or support needed
for basic needs.

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Basic needs have already been satisfied.

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It involves restoring mental and physical
health and stability of a community.

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It involves instilling principles of sustainable
livelihoods and empowering victims/survivors.

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It should lead to better developments.

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Examples of rehabilitation include Early Recovery
Plans for IDPs, Re-afforestation programmes,

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Post Recovery Plans.

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The emphasis is on the restoration of original
status before the disaster.

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Recovery examples include physical infrastructure
repairs, enhancement of the pre-disaster state,

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building resilience of communities, providing
new structures/housing that will be able to

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withstand a similar disaster in future.

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There is an evolutionary approach from response
and relief to disaster risk reduction.

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A challenge to you: what mechanisms have you
put in place to prevent disasters in your

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district?

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To reduce vulnerability to disasters in your
district?

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To prepare for disasters in case they occurred
in your district?

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All disasters are local.

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All disasters occur locally in a particular
community.

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The earliest response to disasters often comes
from the community itself.

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The capacity of the community to respond to
disasters should therefore be built.

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Thank you for listening to this presentation.