katastrofach

Katastrofach is an interdisciplinary field focusing on catastrophic events, their causes, impacts, and management. The term blends katastrophe and fach, and is sometimes described as catastrophe studies. It aims to synthesize knowledge from risk assessment, emergency management, urban planning, environmental science, economics, sociology, and ethics.

Its scope includes risk modeling, hazard analysis, resilience, vulnerability, exposure, cascading failures, and decision-making under uncertainty, with emphasis on prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery, and attention to governance, social equity, and communication.

Methods used in katastrofach include scenario planning, probabilistic risk assessment, systems analysis, computer simulations, data integration, and participatory risk framing with communities. It also considers policy impact, informing land-use planning, critical infrastructure protection, insurance, and disaster relief.

Subfields and topics within katastrofach encompass climate-related catastrophes, pandemics, technological or cyber catastrophes, urban and infrastructure resilience, supply chains, space weather, and transboundary risk.

History and status of the field show it emerging in the 21st century amid rising awareness of interconnected risks; currently there are pilot programs and courses at several universities, but there is no universal standard definition.

Criticisms and challenges include definitional ambiguity, the risk of dilution of established disciplines, the need for robust methods, and the requirement for collaboration across sectors, as well as potential political sensitivities.