Disasters

Disasters are serious disruptions that overwhelm the coping capacity of a community or society. They result from natural processes, human activities, or a combination of the two, and can affect health, safety, infrastructure, economy, and environment. Disasters are typically categorized as natural disasters (such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, and biological outbreaks) and human-caused or technological disasters (such as industrial accidents, chemical spills, transportation crashes, acts of terrorism, and armed conflict).

The impact of disasters depends on exposure, vulnerability, and capacity to respond. Losses may include casualties, injuries, displacement, property damage, disruption of services, environmental degradation, and long-term economic hardship. Vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, the poor, and those in hazard-prone regions, are disproportionately affected. Disasters are often analyzed in terms of risk, which combines probability of an event with its potential consequences.

Disaster management follows a cycle of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Mitigation reduces structural and systemic risk through land-use planning, building codes, and environmental management. Preparedness involves planning, education, early warning systems, and drills. Response focuses on emergency services, rescue, and humanitarian aid. Recovery aims to restore services and livelihoods, with attention to resilience and adaptation. International cooperation, data sharing, and robust governance are important for effective risk reduction.