CHAP – 2

TYPES OF DISASTERS AND RISK MANAGEMENT

In this Module:

➔ Geological / Natural Disasters

➔ Man-made Disasters
➔ Hydro-meteorological
Disasters ➔ Urban Disasters

➔ Biological Disasters ➔ Risk Assessment,

Management, Mapping
➔ Technological Disasters
 Geology studies the physical
[Link]/Natural components and formation of the
planet. This includes how the Earth
Disasters formed and changed over several
billion years, how its core and mantle
A natural/geological
affects the surface of the planet, how
disaster is a major
rocks are formed, and the chemical
adverse event resulting
composition of minerals.
from natural processes
of the Earth.
 Geological / Natural Disaster - EARTHQUAKE

It is the sudden shaking of the earth crust. The impact of an earthquake

is sudden and there is hardly any warning.
• CAUSES OF EARTHQUAKE
The earth’s crust is a rocky layer of varying thickness. The crust is not
one piece but consists of portions called ‘plates’ which vary in size from
a few hundred to thousands of kilometers.
Theory of tectonic plates. – Gigantic pieces of earth’s crust & uppermost
mantle.
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 CHARACTERISTICS OF EARTHQUAKE
Earthquake vibrations occur in a variety of frequencies and velocities.
The ground shaking is caused by ‘body waves’ and ‘surface wave’.
(a) Body waves (P and S waves) penetrate the body of the earth, vibrating fast. ‘P’ waves travel about
6 km/hr and ‘S’ waves travel with a speed of 4 km/hr.
(b) Surface waves vibrate the ground horizontally and vertically. These long period waves cause swaying of
tall buildings.
• Earthquakes can be of three types based on the focal depth:
Deep:- 300 to 700 kms from the earth surface ♦ Medium:- 60 to 300 kms ♦ Shallow: less than 60 km

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 TERMINOLOGY

• Intensity – This measures the magnitude of the event. The most common
scale used for measuring an earthquake is Richter scale.
• Epicentre - It denotes the exact location, from where the earthquake
originated. The deeper it is inside the earth, the lower will be the impact
on the surface where human beings reside.

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 MEASURING EARTHQUAKE
Earthquake magnitude or amount of energy released is determined by the
use of a ‘seismograph’ which is an instrument that continuously records
ground vibration.
The common scale used for measuring an earthquake is Richter scale, which
expresses the intensity of earthquake effect on people, structure and the earth’s
surface.
The scale was extended and modified to suit the modern times. It is called the
Modified Mercalli Scale, which expresses the intensity of earthquake effect on
people, structure and the earth’s surface in values from I to XII.
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 EFFECTS OF EARTHQUAKE
• Ground shaking, landslides and ground subsidence.
• Damage occurs to human settlement, buildings, structures and
infrastructure, especially bridges, elevated roads, railways, water towers,
pipelines, electrical generating facilities. Aftershocks of an earthquake
can cause much greater damage to already weakened structures.
• Secondary effects include dam failure and landslides which may block
water ways and also cause flooding. Damage may occur to facilities using
or manufacturing dangerous materials resulting in possible chemical
spills.
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 RISK REDUCTION OF EARTHQUAKE

• Community preparedness - It is vital for mitigating earthquake impact. The most effective way to save
you even in a slightest shaking is 'DROP, COVER and HOLD.
• Planning - The Bureau of Indian Standards has published building codes and guidelines for safe
construction of buildings against earthquakes.
• Public education - educating the public on causes and characteristics of earthquake and preparedness
measures.
• Engineered structures - Architectural and engineering inputs need to be put together to improve building
design and construction practices.

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 Geological / Natural Disaster - LANDSLIDES
The term’ landslide’ includes all varieties of mass movements of hill slopes and can be
defined as the downward and outward movement of slope forming materials
composed of rocks, soil.
CAUSES OF LANDSLIDES
• Geological Weak material
• Erosion
• Intense rainfall
• Human Excavation
• Earthquake shaking
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 EFFECTS OF LANDSLIDES
• The most common elements at risk are the settlements built
on the steep slopes, built at the toe and those built at the
mouth of the streams emerging from the mountain valley. All
those buildings constructed without appropriate foundation
for a given soil and in sloppy areas are also at risk. Roads,
communication lines are vulnerable.
REFER NEXT SLIDE

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 RISK REDUCTION OF LANDSLIDES
• Hazard mapping – It locates areas prone to slope failures. This will help to avoid building
settlements in such areas. These maps will also serve as a tool for mitigation planning.
• Retaining Walls – It can be built to stop land from slipping (these walls are commonly seen along
roads in hill stations). These are constructed to prevent smaller sized and secondary landslides that
often occur along the toe portion of the larger landslides.
• Surface Drainage Control Works - The surface drainage control works are implemented to control
the movement of landslides accompanied by infiltration of rain water and spring flows.
• Engineered Structure.
(REFER THE NEXT SLIDES)
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 Geological / Natural Disasters - TSUNAMI
The term Tsunami has been derived from a Japanese term Tsu meaning
'harbor' and nami meaning 'waves’. It is a result of the displacement of water
from the lake or the sea.
CAUSES OF TSUNAMI
The geological movements that cause tsunamis are produced in three major ways.
a) The most common of these are movements on the sea floor, accompanied by an
earth-quake.
b) The second most common cause of the tsunami is a landslide either occurring
under water or originating above the sea and then plunging into the water.
c) The third major cause of tsunami is volcanic activity.
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 CHARACTERISTICS OF TSUNAMI

1. Tsunami differs from ordinary ocean waves, which are

produced by wind blowing over water. The tsunamis travel much
faster than ordinary waves.
2. Contrary to the popular belief, the tsunami is not a single giant
wave. It is possible for a tsunami to consist of ten or more waves
which is then termed as 'tsunami wave train’. The waves follow
each other 5 to 90 minutes apart.

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 EFFECTS OF TSUNAMI
• Local tsunami events or those less than 30 minutes from the source cause the majority of
damage.
• It causes major destruction to the human settlements, roads and infrastructure thereby
disrupting the normal functioning of the society.
• Physical damage - Withdrawal of the tsunami causes major damage. As the waves withdraw
towards the ocean they sweep out the foundations of the buildings, the beaches get destroyed
and the houses carried out to sea. Damage to ports and airports may prevent importation of
needed food and medical supplies.
• Apart from the physical damage, there is a huge impact on the public health system. Deaths
mainly occur because of drowning as water get into homes. Many people get washed away
or crushed by the giant waves.
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 RISK REDUCTION OF TSUNAMI

• Site Planning and Land Management - Within the broader framework of a comprehensive
plan, site planning determines the location, configuration, and density of development on
particular sites and is, therefore, an important tool in reducing tsunami risk.
• Engineering structures – Most of the habitation of the fishing community is seen in the
coastal areas. The houses constructed by them are mainly of light weight materials without
any engineering inputs. These includes Site selection, construct structures on high ground
level, elevate coastal homes.

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 Geological / Natural Disasters – VOLCANIC ERUPTION
A volcanic eruption is an emission of materials from the interior of the Earth such as lava, ash and toxic gases through
volcanoes. It occurs when the magma inside the Earth increases so much in temperature that it rises, turning into lava
and, finally, being expelled outwards.

CAUSES OF VOLCANIC ACTIVITY

Inside the earth, some rocks slowly melt and turn into a thick flowing matter known as magma.
The mantle of the Earth is too hot, and the temperature ranges from 1000° Celsius to 3000° Celsius. The rocks present
inside melt due to high pressure and temperature. The melted substance is light in weight. This thin lava comes up to
the crust since it can float easily. Ultimately, the magma gets to the surface and bursts. The causes of volcanic eruption
are the tendency to float of the magma; pressure from the gases in the magma; increase in pressure

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I

EFFECTS OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

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RISK REDUCTION OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION

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 Hydrometeorological Disasters - FLOODS

It is an overflow of water on land which is usually dry. It is the unusual presence of water on land
which affects the normal activities.

CAUSES OF FLOOD
• Rains
• River overflow
• Strong winds in coastal areas
• Dam breaking
• Ice and snow-melts.
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• Flash floods - Flash floods can be defined as floods which occur within six hours
of the beginning of heavy rainfall, and are usually associated with cloud bursts,
storms
• EFFECTS OF FLOODS
The most important consequence of floods is the loss of life and property. Structures
like houses, bridges; roads etc. get damaged by the gushing water, landslides
triggered on account of water getting saturated, boats and fishing nets get damaged.
There is huge loss to life and livestock caused by drowning. Lack of proper drinking
water facilities, contamination of water (well, ground water, piped water supply)
leads to viral infection, malaria and many other infectious diseases. Water supplies -
Ground and pipe water supply may get contaminated by flood waters
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RISK REDUCTION OF FLOODS
• Mapping of the flood prone areas
• Land use control
• Construction of engineered structures in the flood plains
and strengthening of structures to withstand flood forces
and seepage.
• Flood Control

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 Hydrometeorological Disasters - CYCLONES

It refers to any spinning storm that rotates around a low pressure center. Cyclone is a region of low
atmospheric pressure surrounded by high atmospheric pressure resulting in atmospheric disturbance.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CYCLONES
• Cyclones in India are moderate in nature. Some of the general characteristics of a cyclone are
(a) Strong winds (b) Exceptional rain (c) Storm surge
• Cyclones are generally accompanied by strong winds which cause a lot of destruction. In some cases it
is accompanied by heavy downpour .The development of a cyclone covers three stages namely:
(a) Formation and initial development state (b) Fully matured (c) Weakening or decay

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 EFFECTS OF CYCLONE
First, in a sudden, high winds cause major damage to infrastructure and housing, in particular fragile
constructions.
Physical damage – structures will be damaged or destroyed by the wind force, flooding and storm
surge.
public heath – caused by flooding, contamination of water supplies may lead to viral outbreaks,
diarrhea, and malaria.

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 RISK REDUCTION OF CYCLONE
• Coastal belt plantation - green belt plantation along the coastal line in a scientific interweaving
pattern can reduce the effect of the hazard.
• Hazard mapping - Meteorological records of the wind speed and the directions give the
probability of the winds in the region.
• Engineered structures – structures need to be built to withstand wind forces. Good site selection
is also important.

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 ❑ Lightning is a giant spark of
electricity in the atmosphere
between clouds, the air, or the
ground.

Hydrometeorological
Disasters ❑ Lightning is one of the oldest
observed natural phenomena on
earth. It happens due to heavy
snowstorms, obviously
Lightning thunderstorms.
 LIGHTNING

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Hydrometeorological Disasters - THUNDERSTORM
Hydrometeorological Disasters -HAIL STORM
Hydrometeorological Disasters - AVALANCHES
TYPES OF AVALANCHES
CAUSES OF AVALANCHES
RISK REDUCTION
 Hydrometeorological Disasters - DROUGHTS

Drought is either absence or deficiency of rainfall from its normal pattern in a region for an extended
period of time leading to general suffering in the society.
CAUSES OF DROUGHT
• Though drought is basically caused by deficit rainfall, which is a meteorological phenomenon, it
manifests into different spheres because of various vulnerability factors associated with them.
• Some of these factors are human induced. Though drought is a natural disaster, its effects are made
worst in developing countries by over population, over grazing, deforestation, soil erosion, excessive
use of ground and surface water for growing crops, loss of biodiversity

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF DROUGHT
• Meteorological drought – It is simple absence/deficit of rainfall from the normal. It is the least
severe form of drought and is often identified by sunny days and hot weather.
• Hydrological drought – It often leads to reduction of natural stream flows or ground water levels,
plus stored water supplies. The main impact is on water resource systems.
• Agricultural drought - This form of drought occurs when moisture level in soil is insufficient to
maintain average crop yields.
• Socio-economic drought – It correlates the supply and demand of goods and services with the
three above-mentioned types of drought. When the supply of some goods or services such as
water and electricity are weather dependent then drought may cause shortages in supply of these

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economic goods.
 EFFECTS OF DROUGHT

• The availability of drinking water diminishes, reduction in

energy production, ground water depletion, food shortage,
health reduction and loss of life, increased poverty, reduced
quality of life and social unrest leading to migration.

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 RISK REDUCTION OF DROUGHT
• Public Awareness and education - Water conservation techniques, agricultural drought management
strategies, construction of rain water harvesting structure.
• Drought Monitoring - It is continuous observation of the rainfall situation, availability of water in the
reservoirs, lakes, rivers etc and comparing with the existing water needs in various sectors of the
society
• Expansion of irrigation facilities - It reduces the drought vulnerability. Land use based on its capability
helps in optimum use of land and water and can avoid the undue demand created due to their misuse.
• Drought planning- The basic goal of drought planning is to improve the effectiveness of preparedness
and response efforts by enhancing monitoring, mitigation and response measures.

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 Hydrometeorological Disasters – Heat Waves

Meaning Effects

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 Hydrometeorological Disasters – Cold Waves

Meaning Effects
It is a prolonged period of lower Respiratory Problems like
temperature accompanied by Wheezing, Asthma.
strong winds. Viral Infections, Fever .
Fatal road accidents due to foggy
weather.
Biologic
al
Disaster
s
 ❑ The nodal agency for handling epidemics –
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
Decision-making, Advisory body &
Emergency medical relief providing
❑ The primary responsibility of dealing with
biological disasters is with the State
Biological ❑
Governments.
The nodal agency for investigating

Disasters outbreaks – National Institute of

Communicable Diseases (NICD)
❑ Nodal ministry for Biological Warfare –
Ministry of Home Affairs (Biological
warfare is the use of biological agents as
an act of war)
Biological Disasters - Legislations

The following legislations have been enacted in India for the prevention of
biohazards and implementation of protective, eradicative and containing
measures when there is an outbreak:
•The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
•The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
•The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 and the Rules (1986)
•Disaster Management Act 2005, This provides for the institutional and
operational framework for disaster prevention, mitigation, response,
preparedness and recovery at all levels.
 ❑ A technological disaster is an
event caused by a malfunction
of a technological structure

Technological
and/or some human error in
controlling or handling the

Disasters
technology.

Examples – Bridge collapses, dam failure,

aviation accidents, etc.
 ❑ Anthropogenic hazards are
hazards caused by human
action or inaction. They have
an element of human intent,
negligence or error involving a
Manmad failure of a man-made system.
❑ Examples –
e a) Building collapse;
b) Fire - rural & urban fire;
Disaster c) Accidents – road, rail, aviation
(air), sea accidents.
s d) Terrorism.
Urban Disasters - Reasons
•Urban development and hazards
•Urban development can change the environment or ecosystem
•lack of adequate infrastructure and services, unsafe housing, inadequate and poor health services
•poor solid waste management can cause blockage to storm water and sewage networks that can lead to
waterlogging

Urban development and exposure

•growing concentration of people and assets in high-hazard areas
•Recent spread of covid 19 in highly dense populated areas
Urban development and vulnerability

•The urban poor are particularly vulnerable to climate change and natural hazards due to lack of reliable basic
services

•Cities near coastal areas, near rivers and mountains etc.

Emerging risks in disasters
DISASTER RISK ASSESSMENT
•A comprehensive risk assessment considers the full range of potential disaster events and their
underlying drivers and uncertainties.

The components of assessing risk (and the associated losses) include:

•Hazard is defined as the probability of experiencing a certain intensity of hazard (eg. Earthquake, cyclone etc)
at a specific location and is usually determined by an historical or user-defined scenario, probabilistic hazard
assessment, or other method.

•Exposure represents the stock of property and infrastructure exposed to a hazard, and it can include
socioeconomic factors.

•Vulnerability accounts for the susceptibility to damage of the assets exposed to the forces generated by the
hazard. Fragility and vulnerability functions estimate the damage ratio and consequent loss respectively, and/or
the social cost (e.g., number of injured, homeless, and killed) generated by a hazard, according to a specified
exposure.
 Risk Mapping
Risk mapping is a process of the hazard,
vulnerability and capacity through a scientific
methodology.
Risk mapping requires combining maps of hazards,
exposure, and vulnerability functions.
The results of risk mapping are usually presented
in the form of maps that show the magnitude and
nature of the risk.
Preparing risk maps is a complex process. They are
normally part of the results of a risk analysis and it
includes analysis of several variables and
parameters which are sub-sets of base categories;
hazard, vulnerability and capacity.
Importance of Risk Mapping
Maps can be important tools to show information about hazards,
vulnerabilities and risks in a particular area
Supports the risk assessment process
Draws overall risk management strategy & can help in setting priorities
for risk reduction strategies.
Helps in appropriate implementation of disaster risk reduction activities.
Ensures that all actors in risk assessment have the same information
about hazards and in the dissemination of the risk assessment results to
stakeholders.
Useful in the broader context of land use planning.
 Zonation & Micro
Zonation is division of a large landzonation
area (such as a region or country)
into zones according to a specific feature or characteristic such as
disaster intensity.
Micro zonation is defined as the process of subdividing a potential
disaster prone area into zones with respect to some geological and
geophysical characteristics of the sites.
Eg: Seismic microzonation is defined as the process of subdividing a
potential seismic or earthquake prone area into zones with respect to
some geological and geophysical characteristics of the sites such as
ground shaking, susceptibility, landslide and rock fall hazard,
earthquake-related flooding, so that seismic hazards at different
locations within the area can correctly be identified.