Emergency Managers Must Understand
• Nature of potential hazards
• What can be done about them • Roles and responsibilities
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Some Hazard Definitions
“In disaster management, a hazard refers to the potential for a disaster.” (Pearce, 2000)
“A condition with the potential for harm to the community or environment.” (Drabek, 1997)
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What Is A Hazard
“Hazard is best viewed as a naturally occurring or human-induced process or event with the potential to create loss, i.e., a general source of danger. Risk is the actual exposure of something of human value to a hazard and is often regarded as the combination of probability and loss.” (Smith, 1996)
Hazard is Potentiality – Disaster is Actuality
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Some Hazard Definitions “Hazards are the threats to people and the things they value, whereas risks are measures of the threat of the hazards.”
(Cutter, 2001)
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Environmental Hazards: Common Features
1. Clear origin, characteristic threats.
2. Short warning time.
3. Most losses occur shortly thereafter.
4. Involuntary exposure. 5. Disaster justifies emergency response.
(Smith, 1996)
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Hazard as Potentiality and Event “Hazard refers to an extreme natural event that poses risks to human settlements.”
(Deyle, et al., 1998)
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Succinctly Defined. . .
Hazard: Potentiality or threat for harm to humans and/or the things they value)
Disaster: Combination of: • Hazard actuality • Intersection with human values
Risk: A measure of hazard
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Manifestation of Hazard
• Event • Accident • Mishap • Crisis
• Emergency • Disaster • Catastrophe • Calamity
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Significance of Terminology
“The type of hazard affects the choice of mitigation strategy.”
(Godschalk, 1991, in Pearce)
Failure to classify types of hazards accurately may lead to the misapplication of mitigation strategies.
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“Hazards”? Why/Why Not?
• Acid rain • Automobile accidents • Beach erosion • Biogenetic engineering mishaps • Challenger explosion • Civil disturbances/ riots • Climate changes • Computer viruses
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“Hazards”? Why/Why Not?
• Crime waves • Deteriorating infrastructure • Drought • Economic depressions • Epidemics • Food/water contamination/ poisonings • Global warming • Hostage/ kidnappings
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“Hazards”? Why/Why Not?
• Internet failure • Terrorism (events and scares/hoaxes) • Land contamination • War/military actions • Ozone depletion • West Nile Virus • Plant closings spread • Three Mile Island
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The Political Context “Which definitions and concepts will be used depend less on their inherent or scientific merits but more on political considerations.”
(Quarantelli, 2002)
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