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16,5 Disaster types
Ibrahim Mohamed Shaluf
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering-Sbrata,
University of 7th April, Al-Zawia, Libya
704
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to provide graduate students, researchers, and government and
independent agencies with an overview of disaster types.
Design/methodology/approach – Disaster types have been the subject of research by and concern
to academicians and to government and independent agencies. The paper summarizes the views of
researchers and agencies. Disaster types are collected from several sources such as technical, general
articles, internet web sites, and internal reports. Disaster definitions, criteria and types are reviewed.
Disasters are classified into natural disasters, man-made disasters, and hybrid disasters. Man-made
disasters are classified into technological disasters, transportation accidents, public places failure, and
production failure. The paper presents a comparison between the main types of disasters.
Findings – Disasters are classified into three types: naturals, man-mades, and hybrid disasters. It is
believed that the three disaster types cover all disastrous events. No definition of disaster is
universally accepted. Several criteria are proposed to define disasters. Understanding of disaster
definitions, criteria, and types aids researchers and agencies in the proper classification, good
recording, and better analysis of disasters. Disasters have different characteristics and impact;
however, disasters have a common element, which is their severity.
Originality/value – This paper presents a definition of and criteria for disasters. The paper also
presents an overview of disaster types. The paper presents a comparison between the main types of
disasters, and combines various disaster terms into one record.
Keywords Disasters, Man-made disasters, Natural disasters
Paper type Literature review

Introduction
A disaster is defined by the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (2003) as:
A serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or
environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own
resources.
There are many research centers and agencies all over the world that are concerned
with disaster management (prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response and relief).
Research centers and agencies sometimes describe disasters in different terms,
although disasters have been classified as natural, unnatural man-made, purely social,
technological, and hybrid. However, it has been found that disasters can be classified
into three types:
(1) natural;
(2) man-made; and
(3) hybrid (see Figure 1).
Disaster Prevention and Management
Vol. 16 No. 5, 2007
pp. 704-717 Natural disasters are catastrophic events resulting from natural causes such as
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0965-3562
volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, earthquakes, etc., over which man has no control.
DOI 10.1108/09653560710837019 Natural disasters are often termed “Acts of God”.
 Disaster types

705

Figure 1.
Types of disaster

Man-made disasters, on the other hand, are those catastrophic events that result from
human decisions. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(2003) highlighted that a man-made disaster refers to non-natural disastrous
occurrences that can be sudden or more long-term. Sudden man-made disasters include
structural, building and mine collapses when this occurs independently without any
outside force. In addition air, land, and sea disasters are all man-made disasters.
Long-term man-made disasters tend to refer to national and international conflicts.
There are disasters that result from both human error and natural forces. These are
hybrid disasters. An example of a hybrid disaster is the extensive clearing of jungles
causing soil erosion, and subsequently heavy rain causing landslides.
Natural, man-made and hybrid disasters, and disastrous events are summarized in
Table I.
This paper provides a brief overview of common disasters. It is not inclusive of all
the disaster types which may occur. It does, however, review disaster types. This paper
summarizes the types of disasters, and presents a comparison between the main types.
DPM
Disaster
16,5 type Sub-disaster Name of disaster

Natural Natural phenomena beneath the Earth’s surface Earthquakes

Tsunamis
Volcanic eruptions
Topographical phenomena Landslides
706 Avalanches
Meteorological/hydrological phenomena Windstorms (cyclones, typhoons,
hurricanes)
Tornadoes
Hailstorms and snowstorms
Sea surges
Floods
Droughts
Heat waves/cold waves
Biological phenomena Infestations (locust swarms, mealy bug)
Epidemics (cholera, dengue, ebola,
malaria, measles, meningitis, yellow
fever, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis)
Man-made Socio-technical Technological disasters Fire
Explosions (munitions explosions,
chemical explosions, nuclear explosions,
mine explosions)
Leakage
Toxic release
Pollutions (pollution, acid rain, chemical
pollution, atmospheric pollution)
Structural collapse of physical assets
Transportation disasters Air disasters
Land disasters
Sea disasters
Stadia or other public places Fire
failures Structural collapse
Crowd stampede
Production failure Computer system breakdown
Distribution of defective products
Warfare National Civil war between armed groups from
the same country
Civil strikes
Civil disorder
Bomb threats/terrorist attack
International Conventional war War between two armies from different
countries
Sieges
Blockades
Non-conventional Nuclear
war Chemical
Biological
Hybrid Natural and man-made events Floods ravage community built on
known floodplain
Location of residential premises,
factories, etc., at the foot of an active
Table I. volcano, or in an avalanche area
Types of disaster Landslides
Disaster definitions Disaster types
There are many definitions of a disaster: definitions have been given by Turner and
Pedgeon (1997), Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (2002), Denis (1995) and Keller and
Al-Madhari (1996). The definition used seems dependent upon the discipline using the
term. Turner and Pedgeon (1997) pointed out that no definition of “disaster” is
universally accepted. Parker (1992) reviewed the concept of disaster, and suggested
that the preferred definition of disaster is: 707
. . . an unusual natural or man-made event, including an event caused by failure of
technological systems, which temporarily overwhelms the response capacity of human
communities, groups of individuals or natural environments and which causes massive
damage, economic loss, disruption, injury, and/or loss of life. This definition encompasses
medical accidents and disasters such as those which affect of whooping cough vaccine, Opren
and HIV/AIDS haemophiniac cases.

Disaster criteria
Several criteria have been proposed to define disasters in terms of their consequences
(Keller and Al-Madhari, 1996; Keller et al. 1997; Mitroff, 1988; Contra Costa County
Hazardous Material Division, 2002; Malaysian National Security Council, 2003;
Middleton and Franks, 2001). The United Nations Environmental Program
(UNEP-APELL, 2003) and the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
(2003) have created internet websites and proposed criteria define disasters to be
entered into databases. The Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
(CRED) requires that for a disaster to be entered into the database at least one of the
following criteria has to be fulfilled:
.
ten or more people reported killed;
.
100 people reported affected;
.
a call for international assistance; and
.
declaration of a state of emergency.

Types of disasters
Types of disasters have been the subject of research and concern to academicians and
to government and independent agencies. The views of researchers and agencies are
summarized below.

Researchers’ views
Research centers all over the world have studied the disaster phenomena. Sometimes
researchers classify disasters using different terminology. The views of academicians
on disaster types are summarized below.
Turner and Pedgeon (1997) reviewed man-made disasters in detail, and summarized
the types of disasters as follows:
(1) Natural disasters:
.
Natural phenomena beneath the Earth’s surface:
– earthquakes;
– tsunamis; and
– volcanic eruption.
DPM .
Natural phenomena of complex physical origin on the Earth’s surface:
16,5 – landslides; and
– avalanches.
.
Metrological/hydrological phenomena:
– windstorms (cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes);
– tornadoes;
708 – hailstorms and snowstorms;
– sea surges;
– floods; and
– droughts.
.
Biological phenomena:
– locust swarms; and
– epidemics or communicable diseases.
(2) Man-made disasters:
.
Caused by warfare:
– conventional warfare, including sieges and blockades; and
– non-conventional warfare (nuclear, chemical and biological).
.
Caused by accidents:
– vehicular (planes, trains, ships, cars);
– drowning;
– collapse of buildings and other structures;
– explosions;
– fires;
– biological; and
– chemical, including poisoning by pesticides and pollution.

Bohari and Rashid (2001) pointed out that the world has witnessed many hydrological
disasters (floods and cyclones) and geological disasters (earthquake, volcanic eruptions
and landslides). Bohari and Rashid (2001) highlighted that in the period 1947-1981,
there were 554 hydrological disasters compared to 208 geological disasters. Within the
two categories floods were the most frequent, followed by tropical cyclones and
earthquakes. Although floods are the most frequent natural disaster, earthquakes and
tropical cyclones cause the most fatalities.
Kishore (2003) reviewed the natural disasters to have occurred in all regions
worldwide in the period 1973-1997. Kishore (2003) pointed out that Asia and the Pacific
are among the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Every year disasters of all
kinds cause huge loss of life and property in the region, causing severe setbacks to the
development process. The region accounts for only 30 percent of the world’s land mass
but suffers disproportionately higher disaster impacts. Kishore (2003) highlighted that
the types of disasters to occur in Asia and the Pacific in the period 1988-1997 were:
.
geological hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions;
.
hydro-metrological hazards such as floods, cyclones and droughts; and
.
other hazards such as epidemics, insect infestations, heat waves and cold waves,
and forest fires.
Kaplan (1996) highlighted that a wide variety of disasters have occurred in the USA. Disaster types
Natural disasters resulted in the lengthy disruption of energy supplies to large
numbers of people. The types of natural disasters which occurred were:
.
hurricanes;
.
earthquakes;
.
ice storms; 709
.
tornadoes;
.
typhoons;
.
floods;
.
firestorms; and
.
volcanic eruptions.

Oil spills and civil disturbances also devastated and disrupted communities.
Kaplan (1996) reviewed 16 case histories of natural disasters, and examined
preparedness and recovery issues.
Fowlkes and Miller (1988) reviewed the Love Canal disaster, and pointed out that it
was an unnatural disaster. They defined an unnatural disaster as follows:
. . . it does not strike and its occurrence cannot be precisely defined as to time, place, or extent
of destruction.
They came to the conclusion that unnatural disasters are characterized as follows:
.
there are no accidents; and
.
the unnatural disaster event itself has no quality of an accident.

The course of an unnatural disaster is protracted and dual. The first stage of an
unnatural disaster entails the actual or potential exposure of a population to invisible
risk; the second awaits the passage of time and the emergence of debilitating health or
environmental effects in consequences of that exposure. An unnatural disaster is often
described as a slowly developing event. There are no victims; an unnatural disaster
follows from the very ambiguity that attends the invisibility of such exposure. Where
the potential risk is unknown and unbounded, the identity of its victims or whether
there are victims at all cannot be definitely determined. In theses cases, no disaster
proper is said to exist, at least in conventional terms.
Shrivastava et al. (1988) reviewed the Bhopal disaster. They pointed out that the
event was an industrial crisis, and highlighted that an industrial crisis is triggered by
two interacting sets of failures. Inside organizations, a complex set of human,
organizational, and technological (HOT) factors lead to the triggering event. These in
turn interact with regulatory, infrastructure and preparedness (RIP) failures in the
organizational environment.
Richardson (1994) highlighted that socio-technical disasters occur in at least four
types of organizational situation. These are:
(1) plant and factory failures involving phenomena such as explosions, toxic leaks
and the structural collapse of physical assets;
(2) transport failures involving incidents such as collisions and capsizes;
DPM (3) stadia or other “public place” failures involving fires, structural collapses and
16,5 crowd crushing; and
(4) production failures such as computer system breakdowns and the production
and distribution of defective products.

Mitroff (1988) identified types of disasters as follows:

710 .
major product defect;
.
major plant/equipment defect;
.
major industrial accidents; and
.
major computer breakdowns.

Hood et al. (1992) classified disasters into three types:

(1) purely natural disasters caused by quite unpredictable events, which are solely
created by forces outside human control (e.g. meteorite strikes the Earth
without warning);
(2) hybrid disasters, which are a compound of human decisions and volatile natural
forces (e.g. floods ravage community built on a known floodplain); and
(3) purely social disasters, which are solely the product of decisions made about
and within human organizations rather than shifts in the forces of nature (e.g.
multiple failures cause nuclear reactor meltdown).

Haddow and Bullock (2003) pointed out that natural hazards are those hazards that
exist in the natural environment and pose a threat to human populations and
communities. They classified natural hazards as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes,
storm surges, tornadoes, wildfires, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, severe
winter storms, droughts, extreme heat, coastal erosion, thunderstorms, hailstorms,
snow avalanches, land subsidence, expansive soils, and dam failures. They classified
technological hazards as fires, hazardous material incidents, nuclear accidents,
terrorism, and biological and chemical weapons.

Agencies’ views
There are many agencies all over the world concerned with disaster phenomena. These
agencies sometimes classify disasters into different types. The views of several
agencies of disaster types are summarized below.
United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP-APELL). UNEP-APELL (2003) has
created an internet website to provide a database on disasters. UNEP classified
disasters into natural disasters, technological disasters, transport disasters and tailing
dam failures. The case histories of natural disasters (hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes
and landslides) to have occurred worldwide are outlined. Also, technological accidents
involving transport, nuclear power, storage, fixed hazardous installations, ports and
sea transport are summarized.
Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). The Center for
Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (2003) has created an internet website to
provide a database on disasters. CRED has classified disasters into natural and
technological disasters. CRED has classified technological disasters into industrial
disasters and transportation accidents. CRED maintains a database of disasters events
from 1900 to the present. Much of their data is derived from relief groups, including the Disaster types
Red Cross/Red Crescent Agency.
World Health Organization (WHO). The World Health Organization is a specialized
UN agency that assists member countries and all international health partners to
integrate disaster reduction into their development plans and to have the capacity to
manage emergencies effectively, with a maximum of self-reliance. The World Health
Organization (2003) and World Health Organization/EHA (1998) classified disasters as 711
follows:
(1) Natural (physical) disasters:
.
Weather-related disasters (meteorological):
– hurricanes, cyclones, tornados, typhoons;
– heavy rains, thunderstorms, floods, snowstorms;
– drought and famine; and
– heat waves, cold waves.
.
External (topographical):
– landslides; and
– avalanches.
.
Internal (tectonic and telluric):
– earthquakes; and
– volcanic eruptions.
.
Natural (biological):
– infestations; and
– epidemics.
(2) Manmade/technological disasters:
.
industrial disasters;
.
nuclear accidents;
.
chemical accidents;
.
fires;
.
wars, civil strife; and
.
structural failures (dams, mines).

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCRCS). The main
activities of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent is Societies is
to reduce the impact of disasters, predict and prevent the occurrence of disasters, and
to respond to disasters with relief aid and support. The International Federation of Red
Cross and Red Crescent Societies (2003) has created an internet website that provides
information about disaster management, polices and publications, etc. IFRCRCS has
classified disasters into:
.
hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons;
.
drought;
.
earthquakes;
.
epidemics;
.
famine/food insecurity;
DPM .
floods;
16,5 .
man-made disasters;
.
population movement;
.
volcanic eruptions; and
.
technological disasters.
712
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (2003) is an independent federal agency that provides federal
aid to those who have been affected by all types of disaster in the USA. FEMA has
created an internet website that provides background information about disasters,
hazards and mitigation of disasters. FEMA has classified disasters into:
(1) Natural disasters:
.
earthquakes;
. extreme heat;
.
floods and flash floods;
.
hurricanes;
.
landslides and mud flows;
.
thunderstorms and lightning;
.
tornadoes;
.
tsunamis;
.
volcanoes; and
.
wild fires.
(2) Technological disasters:
.
hazardous materials; and
. finding hazards in the home.

The Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging (MFAAA). The Mid-Florida Area Agency on
Aging (2003) has created a website to provide useful information that can help older
people prepare for, and recover from, disasters. MFAAA presented a brief overview of
common disasters that are usually anticipated. Disasters that may occur are
summarized as follows:
. hurricanes;
.
inland and coastal flooding;
.
tornadoes/severe thunderstorms;
.
winter storms/energy emergencies;
.
nuclear/hazardous chemical accidents;
.
fires;
.
forest/wild fires;
.
urban fires;
.
transportation accidents;
 .
civil disorder/riots; Disaster types
.
earthquakes;
.
bomb threats/terrorist attacks; and
.
epidemics.

Malaysian National Security Council. Directive 20 (Malaysian National Security

Council, 2003) is an executive order outlining a policy on disaster management and the
713
relief of land disasters according to the level and complexity of the disaster. It is also
aimed at establishing a management mechanism with the purpose of determining the
roles and responsibilities of the various agencies involved in handling disasters.
Directive 20 classifies disastrous incidents as follows:
.
natural disasters such as floods, storms, drought, shore erosion, landslides or any
other disaster due to strong winds and heavy rain;
.
industrial tragedies such as explosions, fires, pollution and leaking of hazardous
materials from factories, refineries and industrial depots which process, produce
and store such materials;
.
accidents that involve the transportation, supply and removal of hazardous
materials;
.
the collapse of high-rise buildings and special structures;
.
air crashes occurring in places with buildings and population;
.
train collisions and derailments;
.
fires involving huge areas or high-rise buildings or any special structure with
many people inside;
.
the bursting of a hydroelectric power station or reservoir;
.
nuclear and radiology accident involving nuclear composites or radioactive
agents in which the accident could spread and cause loss of life, property damage
or environmental pollution affecting local activities;
.
the release of toxic gas in a public area; and
.
haze, which can cause a critical situation to the environment, threatening public
harmony, government administration and the economic activities of the state.

Summary of types of disaster

Disasters are classified in to three types (natural, man-made and hybrid) as shown in
Figure 1. Types of disaster, sub-disasters, and disastrous events are summarized in
Table I.

Comparison between natural, socio-technical, and hybrid disasters

The definitions, types and causes, examples and characteristics of disasters are
summarized in Table II.

Discussion
Disasters can happen at any place in the world, at any time. Disasters have severe
impacts in terms of people’s livee, property and the environment. Research centers and
 16,5

714
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disasters
Table II.
Comparison between
Types Natural disaster Socio-technical disaster Hybrid disaster

Definition Natural disasters are catastrophic events resulting An event that causes extensive damage and Disasters which are a
from natural forces. Natural disasters are often social disruption, involves multiple stakeholderscompound of human
termed “Acts of God” and unfolds through complex technological, decisions and volatile natural
organizational and social processes forces
Sub-disaster Natural phenomena beneath the Earth’s surface Technological Floods ravage community
Natural phenomena on the Earth’s surface Transport failure built on known flood plain
Meteorological/ Stadia, public place failures Location of residential
hydrological phenomena Production failures homes, factories, etc. at the
Biological phenomena foot of an active volcano, or
in an avalanche area
Causation Not caused by any human activity and not Caused by humans and technology Caused by the interaction of
predictable by current technology human activity and natural
forces
Example Meteorite strikes the Earth without warning Multiple failures cause nuclear reactor meltdown Floods ravage community
built on known flood plain
(continued)
Types Natural disaster Socio-technical disaster Hybrid disaster

Characteristics A natural disaster is a natural phenomenon A socio-technical disaster is a man-made event The characteristics of a
A natural disaster is an unplanned and socially A socio-technical disaster occurs in an hybrid disaster can be the
disruptive event with a sudden and severe organization due to the interaction between characteristics of both
disruptive effect internal factors and external factors man-made and natural
A natural disaster is single event over which no It arises suddenly: when the disaster occurs it disasters
human has control does so as a shock
The impact of a natural disaster is localized to a A socio-technical disaster is a complex system of
geographical region and specific time period interdependence
The consequences of a natural disaster are felt at The impact of a socio-technical disaster
the place and time of its occurrence sometimes transcends geographical boundaries
The disaster can be a high-impact disaster (e.g. a and can even have trans-generational effects (e.g.
flood) that has a greater direct effect on the Three Mile Island, Bhopal, Chernobyl)
community over a longer period Socio-technical disasters do not always have
Rapid onset disasters include earthquakes, flash their worst consequences at the point of
floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, occurrence; the worst effects can occur long after
tsunamis, slow onset disasters, droughts, floods, the event
and epidemics Socio-technical disasters are characterized by a
low probability/high consequences event
Sudden-impact disasters (e.g. air/road/rail
accident) are usually of short duration and have
a limited direct effect on the local community
Socio-technical disasters arise not because of a
single factor but of accumulated unnoticed
events
Disaster involves management procedures
which must be maintained, and management
problems must be coped with under the
conditions of a major technical emergency
involving threats of injury and loss of life
Rapid onset disasters include fires, technological
disasters, industrial accidents, and
transportation accidents
An inquiry report is required
Disaster types

715

Table II.
DPM agencies have studied disaster phenomena, and described them and classified them
16,5 according to different types and definitions. Disasters can be classified into three types:
(1) natural;
(2) man-made; and
(3) hybrid disasters (Table I).
716 Natural disasters are catastrophic events resulting from natural causes. The author
believes that everything happens with the will of God. Although natural disasters are
beyond the control of human beings, the impacts of natural disasters can be reduced by
setting up advanced warning systems which forecast impending natural disasters.
Also the consequences of natural disasters can be reduced through effective disaster
management.
Man-made disasters include socio-technical and warfare disasters. Socio-technical
disasters occur due to human, technical, operational errors. Hybrid disasters occur due
to natural forces and human error. A comparison between natural, socio-technical and
hybrid disasters is given in Table II.

Conclusions
This paper has reviewed disaster types and the following points are noted:
.
understanding disaster definitions, criteria and types aids researchers and
agencies in the proper classification, good recording, and better analysis of
disasters;
.
disasters can be classified into three types (natural, man-made and hybrid) – it is
believed that these three disaster types cover all disastrous events;
.
disasters have different characteristics and impact but have a common element,
which is their severity;
.
no definition of disaster is universally accepted; and
.
several criteria have been proposed to define disasters.

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Corresponding author
Ibrahim Mohamed Shaluf can be contacted at: imshaluf@[Link]

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