What is Disaster?
The term Disaster origin to the French word “Desastre” which is a combination of two words
‘des’ meaning bad and ‘aster’ meaning star. Thus, the term refers to ‘Bad or Evil star’. A disaster
can be defined as “A serious disruption of the community or a society causing wide spread losses
of lives, property and also environment”.
Types of Disaster?
Disaster can be categorized in two parts:
Natural Disaster- disaster which are caused because of natural phenomena. Examples are
cyclones, tsunamis, earth-quake and volcanic eruption etc.
Man-made Disaster- disaster which are caused due to human negligence. Examples are fire-
explosions, leakage of toxic waste, pollution, dam failure, wars etc.
Understanding some natural disasters.
Earthquake- It is the sudden shaking of the earth’s crust. The impact of an earthquake is
sudden and there is hardly any warning, making it impossible to predict.
Cause of Earthquake- The earth’s crust is
not one piece but consists of portions
called ‘plates’ which vary in size from a
few hundred to thousands of kilometers.
When these plates contact each other,
stress arises in the crust. These stresses
can be classified according to the type of
movement along the plate’s boundaries:
a) pulling away from each other,
b) pushing against one another and
c) sliding sideways relative to each other.
All these movements are associated with earthquakes. Earthquake magnitude is determined by
the use of an instrument called seismograph.
Tsunamis- Tsunamis are popularly called tidal waves but they actually have nothing to do
with the tides. These waves which often affect distant shores, originate by rapid displacement
of water from the lake or the sea either by seismic activity, landslides, volcanic eruptions or
large meteoroid impacts. Whatever the cause may be sea water is displaced with a violent
motion and swells up, ultimately surging over land with great destructive power.
Cause of Tsunamis-The geological movements that cause tsunamis are produced in three major
ways. The most common of these are fault movements on the sea floor, accompanied by an
earth-quake. They release huge amount of energy and have the capacity to cross oceans. The
degree of movement depends on how fast the earthquake occurs and how much water is
displaced.
Cyclone- Cyclone is a region of low atmospheric pressure surrounded by high atmospheric
pressure resulting in swirling atmospheric disturbance accompanied by powerful winds
blowing in anticlockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and in the clockwise direction
in the Southern Hemisphere. They occur mainly in the tropical and temperate regions of the
world. Cyclones in India are moderate in nature. Some of the general characteristics of a
cyclone are:
1. Strong winds
2. Exceptional rain
3. Storm surge.
Flood- Flood is a state of high water level along a river channel or on the coast that leads to
inundation of land, which is not usually submerged. Floods may happen gradually and also
may take hours or even happen suddenly without any warning due to breach in the
embankment, spill over, heavy rains etc.
Landslide- Landslide can be defined as the downward and outward movement of slope
forming materials composed of rocks, soils, artificial fills along surfaces of separation by
falling, sliding and flowing, either slowly or quickly from one place to another.
Causes of Landslide- There are several causes of landslide. Some of the major causes are as
follows:
1. Geological Weak material: Weakness in
the composition and structure of rock or soil
may also cause landslides.
2. Erosion: Erosion of slope toe due to
cutting down of vegetation, construction of
roads might increase the vulnerability of the
terrain to slide down.
3. Intense rainfall: Storms that produce
intense rainfall for periods as short as
several hours or have a more moderate
intensity lasting several days have triggered
abundant landslides. Heavy melting of snow
in the hilly terrains also results in landslide.
4. Human Excavation of slope and its toe,
loading of slope/toe, draw down in reservoir,
mining, deforestation, irrigation,
vibration/blast, Water leakage from services.
Disaster Management Cycle- Disaster Management cycle includes sum total of all activities,
programmes and measures which can be taken up before, during and after a disaster with the
purpose to avoid a disaster, reduce its impact or recover from its losses. DM cycle consists of
four major parts:
Mitigation: Focuses on preventing hazards from occurring or reducing risk of losses.
Preparedness: Involves planning and training for how to respond to a disaster
Response: Involves efforts to minimize the hazards created by a disaster
Recovery: Involves returning the community to normal.