Disaster Management (MCN 301)

MODULE I
MODULE 1
 Systems of earth
◦ Lithosphere- composition, rocks, soils; Atmosphere-layers,
ozone layer, greenhouse effect, weather, cyclones,
atmospheric circulations, Indian Monsoon; hydrosphere-
Oceans, inland water bodies; biosphere
 Definition
and meaning of key terms in Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management
◦ disaster, hazard, exposure, vulnerability, risk, risk assessment,
risk mapping, capacity, resilience, disaster risk reduction,
disaster risk management, early warning systems, disaster
preparedness, disaster prevention, disaster mitigation, disaster
response, damage assessment, crisis counselling, needs
assessment.
What is Disaster Management?

► Disaster management - conservation of lives and

property during natural or human-made disasters.
► Disaster management plans are multi-layered.
Planned to address issues such as floods, hurricanes,
fires, mass failure of utilities, rapid spread of disease
and droughts.
► Disaster management can be of either natural
disasters or man-made disasters.
The earth’S structure
Structure of earth
► Earth has four concentric zones.
► Innermost zone - Inner core -solid mass of iron
which has a radius of about 1,216 km
► Outer core - molten liquid containing nickel and iron.
It is about 2,270 km thick.
► The outer core is covered by solid ’Mantle’, which is
about 2,900 km thick.
► The outermost hardened exterior zone is known as
Crust.
LITHOSPHERE

Lithosphere = crust + uppermost

mantle
Strong and rigid

Supports all life on earth

Asthenosphere

Asthenosphere = middle section of mantle

HOT!

Mechanically weak ; easy to deform

LITHOSPHERE
► Lithosphere- Solid and rigid outer layer
► It includes the crust and solid part of the mantle.
► Because earth consist of land and water, lithosphere
is subdivided into
► the oceanic lithosphere which is about 5 km to 8 km thick
► continental lithosphere which is 30 km to 40 km thick.
Plate Tectonics
The most well-known feature associated
with Earth’s lithosphere is tectonic activity.
Tectonic activity describes the interaction of the
huge slabs of lithosphere called tectonic plates.
Lithosphere is divided into large plates called
tectonic plates
Seven major plates, which includes African,
Antarctican, Australian, Eurasian, North American,
South American and Pacific, and a number of
minor ones.
Plate Tectonics
Most tectonic activity takes place at the
boundaries of these plates, where they may
collide, tear apart, or slide against each other
Tectonic activity is responsible for some
of Earth's most
dramatic geologic events: earthquakes, volca
noes, orogeny (mountain-building), and
deep ocean trenches can all be formed
by tectonic activity in the lithosphere
Composition of Lithosphere

► The lithosphere contains minerals, rocks and soil.

► It has more than 100 chemical elements and most
of them are rare.
► More than 99 percentage of the volume includes
elements like oxygen, silicon, aluminium, iron,
calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium.
► Only a few elements are present in pure forms in
the earth's crust called native elements, they
include copper, gold, lead, mercury, nickel,
platinum and silver.
Rocks
Lithosphere has various types of rocks
Rocks are naturally occurring hard and
consolidated inorganic materials, composed
of one or a large number of minerals.

There are various types of rocks. They are:

◦ Igneous Rocks
◦ Sedimentary Rocks
◦ Metamorphic Rocks
Igneous Rocks
Igneous Rocks
► These rocks are formed by solidification of magma
in the interior, or lava on the surface of earth.
► Igneous rocks are composed of primary minerals,
which are predominantly silicates.
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
► Sedimentary rocks are formed are formed from layers
of sand, silt, dead plants, and animal skeletons.
► These rocks contain both original primary minerals
(Quartz, Mica) and altered as well as newly
synthesised secondary minerals (Clay, calcite,
gypsum).
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks
► Also known as Thermal rocks
► Formed from pre-existing rocks (igneous or
sedimentary) due to change in the temperature and
pressure in solid state is known as metamorphic
rocks.
► These rocks are formed when magma intrudes
through pre-existing igneous or sedimentary
rocks.
► All types of pre-existing rocks could undergo
metamorphism.
Soil
► Surface layer of the land

► Variable mixture of broken and weathered materials and decaying organic

matter, which covers the earth in a thin layer.

► It takes long period of time for the soil to form through the natural process.

► Formation takes place from the weathering and decomposition of rocks

and minerals.
Functions of Soil
► Provides mechanical support to the plant
► Ability of holding water as it has the property of porosity. This
ability makes soil a reservoir of water
► Provides micro and macro nutrients, as well as ideal pH required for
the growth of the micro-organisms, plants and animals.
► Prevents excessive leaching of nutrients.
► Houses bacteria that fix nitrogen and other elements; fungi,
protozoa and other micro-organisms that aids in the decomposition
of organic matter
Atmosphere
Atmosphere –Atmosphere is a protective
layer of gases that shelters all life on Earth,
keeping temperatures within a relatively
small range and blocking out harmful rays of
sunlight.
Gases in the atmosphere?
Features of the Atmosphere:
Helps retain the sun’s heat and prevents it
from escaping back into space.
Protects life from harmful radiation from the
sun.
Plays a major role in Earth’s water cycle.
Helps keep the climate on Earth moderate.
Layers of Atmosphere
Determined by the changes in temperature that happen with increasing

altitude
 Exosphere
 Thermosphere
 Mesosphere
 Stratosphere
 Troposphere
Troposphere
► Lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere.

► Most of the mass (about 75-80%) of the atmosphere is in the troposphere.

► Most types of clouds are found in the troposphere, and almost all weather occurs within this layer.

► Wettest layer of the atmosphere (all of the other layers contain very little moisture)

► Bottom of the troposphere is at Earth's surface. The troposphere extends upward to about 10 km

► The temperature in this layer decreases at about -6.4°C/km with height.

► Air pressure and the density of the air also decrease with altitude upward to the tropopause

► Tropopause- boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

Stratosphere
► Extends to a height of about 50 km from earth’s surface.

► This layer does not have clouds, storms or dust.

► Ozone, relatively abundant in the stratosphere, heats this layer as it

absorbs energy from incoming ultraviolet radiation from the Sun.
► Temperatures rise as one moves upward through the stratosphere.

► Stratopause - the boundary between the mesosphere and the

stratosphere.
Mesosphere
► Mesosphere is directly above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere

► Extends from about 50 to 85 km

► Temperature again decreases with height

► Boundary between the mesosphere and the thermosphere is called the

mesopause

► Meteors are burning up in the mesosphere. The meteors make it through the

exosphere and thermosphere without much trouble because those layers don’t

have much air. But when they hit the mesosphere, there are enough gases to

cause friction and create heat.

Thermosphere
► Thermosphere extends from 80 km to about 500- 1000 km from earth.

► Temperature increases to about 2000°C.

► Temperature increases as you go higher up. The temperature increase is caused

due to the absorption of energetic ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the sun
Exosphere
The exosphere includes the uppermost region
of Earth's atmosphere as it gradually fades
into the vacuum of space.
Ozone Layer
 Ozonosphere is an important layer found within stratosphere.

 Ozone (O3) is found in this layer.

 Ozone absorbs and prevents the harmful ultraviolet radiations from reaching earth,

thereby protecting life.

Depletion of Ozone Layer

 Due to human activities ozone layer is becoming thin. The thinning of this layer is called

ozone depletion.

 Ozone Oxygen Cycle

► Concentration of ozone is the maximum at about 25-30 km.

► The level of ozone is maintained at this level by Ozone-Oxygen Cycle.

► When ultra-violet radiation that spread out from the sun strikes the oxygen molecule

(O2), it splits the molecule into two individual oxygen atoms (O+O).

► The oxygen atoms, thus produced, combines with O2 molecule and produce

ozone molecule (O3).

► Ozone thus formed will be split by ultra-violet rays into a molecule of oxygen
(O2) and an atom of oxygen (O).
► It is through this repeated circular ozone and oxygen formation that the
concentration of ozone is maintained in the stratosphere.
► Due to severe depletion of ozone in the atmosphere ’ozone holes’ are created.
Depletion by CFCs and BFCs

► CFCS and BFCS are stable compounds in the atmosphere that have the
property of living longer (50 to 100 years). Due to their long life, they rise up
to the stratosphere.
► Through the action of UV radiation from the Sun on these compounds,
Chlorine (Cl) and Bromine (Br) radicals are released. These radicals act as
catalysts, and initiate breaking down of ozone molecules.
► It is estimated that a single such radical of either Cl or Br is capable of
breaking down over a lakh of ozone molecules.
► Ozone concentration is decreasing at a drastic rate of four percent per
decade. As a result of the inherent long life of CFCs and BFCs, they continue
to deplete ozone layer in a recurrent manner.
Depletion by Nitric Oxide

► One molecule of nitric oxide (NO) combines with ozone (O3); it gets oxidised to
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Oxygen (O2).
► This NO2 combines with another O3 molecule to become NO3 (Nitrate) and O2.
The NO2 and NO3 then combine to form N2O5 (Dinitrogen pentoxide). Even the
atomic oxygen (O) readily combines with NO2 to yield NO3.
► Due to this series of actions and reactions, ozone is completely utilised, and
thereby depleted.
► Large quantities of nitrogen are emitted by aircrafts that community decided to
withdraw the operation of jet aircrafts that emit oxides of nitrogen. This step has
also helped in reducing the depletion of ozone to a very large extent near
stratosphere.
Green House Effect
► Certain physical processes that takes place in the troposphere are
responsible for the weather and climate of that particular place.
► To understand clearly about the process of green house effect, it is needed
to know about Incoming solar radiation and the outgoing radiation.

a)Incoming Solar Radiation

► Only two in a billionth of the solar energy reaches Earth, of which only a
small portion is responsible for the physical and biological processes
► Solar radiation contains X-rays, gamma rays, ultraviolet (UV) rays, visible
light, infrared rays, microwaves, radio waves etc.
► Of all the energy received by earth: UV, visible and infrared portions
constitute over 95 per cent.
Incoming Solar Radiation

► The harmful UV radiation is prevented from reaching earth by the ozone layer.
► The solar radiation which ultimately reaches the earth comprises mainly of visible
light, which is composed of seven colours.
► While travelling through the atmosphere, a portion of the radiation energy is
reflected by clouds, and some are scattered and absorbed by gases and particles.
The scattered radiation that reaches earth is called diffuse radiation.
► Only a small quantity of the scattered radiation (22 per cent) reaches earth’s
surface.
Outgoing Radiation
► If the entire energy that is received from sun retained in its earth’s surface, the
planet would be very hot and would become an inhabitable place.
► The earth, after heating up of its surface, reflects a certain amount of energy. Some
of this heat energy is transmitted to the upper layers of air through conduction.
► The heat energy so emitted from the earth’s surface is in the form of long wave
radiation, and is called outgoing radiation.
► While a portion of the outgoing radiation is absorbed by certain gases in the
atmosphere and retained as heat energy and the remaining energy escapes into
the outer space.
► Gases capable of absorbing outgoing radiation are CO2, CO, water vapour, etc.
They are called Green House Gases (GHG).
Outgoing Radiation
► Due to the effect of Green house gases, Earth is prevented from cooling down

drastically. GHGS thus act like a blanket and provide earth with an ideal climate

for life to flourish. This known as Green house effect.

► The intensity of Green house effect varies from place to place depending upon the

concentration of GHGS.
Weather
► When radiation from insolation strikes earth, its top layer gets heated.
► The heat energy so created through the interplay of insolation and outgoing
radiation is transferred to the overlying atmosphere through activities like
conduction and convection.
► Due to this, as well as the movement of earth, air moves in all directions-both
horizontally and vertically. This movement of air is the basis of weather.
► Weather is the atmospheric conditions that exist for a short duration which
can span over few hours to a number of days. Weather conditions can
fluctuate very often.
► The average weather or atmospheric conditions over a fairly long period of
time like months, years or even decades; in a particular area is called climate.
Temperature
► Temperature is the index of heat that is sensible. It indicates the kinetic energy of
molecules, or the speed at which the molecules moves.
► While in air and water, molecules keep on moving and change their location very
often and in solids the molecules involve in a vibration movement and not moving.
► The speed at which this vibration takes place is described as temperature.
► A body having higher temperature has the property of transmitting it to
another one having lower temperature.
► Temperature is measured using thermometer, and is reported in either Celsius,
Kelvin or Fahrenheit scales.
Temparature variations
The earth’s temperature varies in an altitudinal and horizontal manner in the troposphere.
1. Altitudinal Variation:

► In the troposphere, temperature decreases with height.

► It decreases at a rate of -6.4°C/km.

► This rate at which temperature decreases with height is called lapse rate.

► The lapse rate is not uniform and it varies due to different conditions like pollution in the
atmosphere.
 Horizontal Temperature Variation

 Temperature varies at different times of the day at different locations due to various reasons and factors.
 It also varies at different months and seasons of the year.

The hour of the day: More solar energy is received during the noon, when sun’s rays strike vertically
overhead; than hours in the morning hours, when the rays strike at angles.

Insolation: The phenomenon of day and night occurs as a result of the revolution and rotation of earth.

Due to revolution one half of the globe is exposed to sunlight and the other half is in darkness.

The temperature of any given area is based on the insolation of that area.
Distance from the Equator: The sun rays strike in perpendicular manner on the equator.
Near to the poles it strikes at an angle.

The tilt of the axis: The earth’s axis is tilted to the plane of the ecliptic.
This tilt is maintained throughout its orbit.
cyclones
 Low pressure region is created- air moves – Coriolis force
 If the movement of the gradient wind is in the anticlockwise direction in the northern
hemisphere. it is called cyclone and anticyclone in southern hemisphere
Atmospheric Circulations
 consistent pattern to how air moves around our planet’s atmosphere
 caused because the Sun heats the Earth more at the equator than at poles
 the equator, warm air rises.
The Indian Monsoon

 Monsoon is a regional wind that blows towards land at a certain season and blow from the landmasses
during other season
 wind blows in the opposite direction in summer and winter.
 Though monsoon winds blow over all parts of the world, it is well-developed over India and the
South-east Asian regions.
 The Indian subcontinent has two types of winds.

[Link]-West Monsoon [Link]-East Monsoon

► The south-east trade winds originate from the southern hemisphere in the Indian Ocean. When
these winds cross the equator, they get deflected towards the right by the Coriolis force,
becoming the south-west trade winds. These winds gather large quantities of moisture as they
pass over the Indian Ocean.
► As the SW monsoon winds approaches the Indian Peninsula, they are diverted into two-the
Arabian Sea Branch and the Bay of Bengal Branch.
► When the moisture laden Arabian Sea branch reaches the south-western side of India, they are
blocked by the Western Ghats.
► When the mountain range blocks the horizontal flow, the wind ascends along the slope of the
mountain range, gets cooled down and form clouds. These clouds then results in
precipitation.
► Kerala gets the south-west monsoon mostly during early June every year.
► These winds then take a west turn and continue their journey, and spread over the northern parts
of India bringing in rains to these areas.
► Monsoon winds normally reach Delhi in the first week of July and could last till end
September/early October.
North-East monsoon
► The Inter-Tropical Convergent Zone (ITCZ) moves to the south of the equator, when the position of the sun

shifts to the southern hemisphere. This leads to the reversal of winds, and the winds start blowing from the

north-eastern direction towards the ITCZ. These winds are known as the north-east monsoon winds or the

north-east trade winds.

► Since North-East winds originate mainly from the land masses of the north-east region of India, they are

relatively dry.

► When these winds pass over the Bay Bengal towards south, they gather moisture and cause rainfalls over parts

of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

► Cyclone formation is common over Bay of Bengal during the north-east monsoon season. The cyclones also

bring in abundant rainfall over Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana and Tamil Nadu.
Hydrosphere
► Hydrosphere forms over 70 per cent of the earth’s surface

► Water is found in the oceans as well as on land.

► The hydrosphere has a direct influence on weather and climate conditions on Earth.
This occurs due to the important role played by the worldwide oceanic circulations.

► As on date , less than 10 per cent of the ocean floor has been surveyed .
Oceans (Water in Oceans)

► Water in oceans is saline in nature. This salinity occurs due to the dissolved materials
(mainly salts) contained in it. The mean salinity of sea water is around 34.7 g/kg. The
lowest value being 33 and highest being 36 g/kg .
► Though sea water contains a mixture of several dissociated salts, NaCl is the most
important one. Additional salts are always added to the oceans through various
processes.
► However,seawater salinity is stable due to various mechanisms that remove salt from the
oceans. Salt is spreaded to the atmosphere when wind blows sprays of sea water.
► The salt particles in the atmosphere enable water molecules to stick to it, and this falls on
the land with rain and snow.
 Oceans as moderatorofclimate
► Water in oceans is constantly in movement in regular patterns due to the activity of winds.
These movements of water in oceans are called ocean circulations or ocean currents. These
currents arise due to the interplay of wind and water.
► Oceanic circulations have a profound and significant influence in heating up the globe, and
hence, its climate. When water moves up from the colder and deeper parts of the ocean to the
warmer surface, the heat is carried with it .
► Due to the interplay of various factors, the ocean water moves around the globe , and with it the
heat or cold is transferred . This heat transfer plays a major role in impacting earth’s climate.
► When extremes of incidents, like rainfall or droughts occur, the normal path of the ocean
current can be disturbed and climate change could occur.
Oceans and Sea ice
► The sea ice plays an important element in the Earth’s climate system, The polar ice extends
between 17 and 27 million km2, depending on the seasons. It covers around one-tenth of the
land area and 6.5 per cent of the oceans.
► Of the total ice, about 90 per cent is located in the Antarctic as ice shelf. nine per cent in the
Greenland ice sheet and the balance in the various glaciers around the world.
► It is estimated that if all the ice in Greenland and Antarctica is to suddenly melt, the sea
would rise to an approximate height of 70 m.
 Water on Land

► Fresh water constitutes the basis for life on land. On land, water is found in all the three states.
► In liquid form. the water is found in lakes, rivers and streams and also as ground water and soil
moisture.
► The water found in these sources is fresh in nature.
► In solid form water is found as glacial ice, ice caps and ground ice.
► The fresh water in earth is perpetually being interchanged between the surface of the earth and
atmosphere by a process of evaporation and precipitation. This interchange is known as water
cycle or hydrological cycle.
► In the hydrological cycle, solar energy causes water from the oceans to evaporate and
change to atmosphere vapour.
► Evaporation also takes place from inland water bodies like lakes, rivers, streams, etc.
► The evaporated water rises to the upper layers of the atmosphere, where it is cooled and
condensed. The condensed water falls back to the earth as precipitated form.
► Rain, snow and dew are different forms of precipitation.
► The water that falls on the earth runs along the ground and flows into rivers and in turn
returns to the sea. A part of the rainwater that falls on the land drip into the ground is
known as ground [Link] ground water is used by human beings and plants.
Biosphere

 Biosphere is an important realm of Earth.

 the totality of life on earth and its interdependency on abiotic environmental factors.
► Biosphere consists of the complex interdependency between biotic and abiotic
environmental components.
► Basically, biosphere is a thin envelop that encircles most of the earth, and supports life.
It is the global sphere in which the biota interacts with lithosphere, atmosphere and
hydrosphere.
► It is totally dependent on, and involves complex interactions between the atmosphere,
hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
► Biosphere is the spherical terrestrial layer that comprises of the lower part of the
atmosphere. the seas and the upper layers of the soil wherein living organisms exist
naturally.
► All forms or life including human beings dwell in biosphere. The health of the biosphere
is determined by the availability of oxygen, moisture, temperature, air pressure and soil.
Biosphere is a giant ecosystem that consists of two
major ecosystems:
(a) Terrestrial ecosystem
b) Aquatic ecosystem
a) Terrestrial
ecosystem
The terrestrial ecosystem consists of plants, animals,
microorganisms their dependencies and
interdependencies with the non-living items around it
on the land. A terrestrial ecosystem is made up of
either natural ecosystem or artificial/man-made
ecosystem
b) Aquatic ecosystem

► Aquatic ecosystem consists of marine and fresh water ecosystem. While seas and oceans form the marine ecosystem; the
rivers, pond, lakes, and wetlands form fresh water ecosystem. Aquatic ecosystems provide human beings with a wide
range of services.

► Some of the services include the availability of water for day to day uses, foods like fish and crustaceans, breaking down:
of chemical and organic wastes, recreation, etc. The aquatic ecosystem provides the human beings with a wealth of
natural resources
Definition and meaning
of key terms in
Disaster Risk
Reduction and
Management
Disaster
A sudden occurrence of an accident that causes huge
loss of life and property is called as a disaster. It is also
called as a calamity.
Disaster is an event or series of events, which

gives rise to casualties & damage or loss of

properties, infrastructures, environment,
essential services or means of livelihood on
such a scale which is beyond the normal
capacity of the affected community to cope
with.
Types of Disasters
►Natural Disaster: A disaster caused by
natural factors called as a natural disaster
e.g., earthquake, flood, cyclone etc.
►Man-made disaster: A disaster caused due
to the human activities e.g. wars, fire
accidents, industrial accidents etc.
Hazards
A hazard can be defined as a potentially damaging
physical event, social and economic disruption or
environmental degradation.
Typical examples of hazards can be absence of rain
(leading to drought) or the abundance thereof
(leading to floods).
Chemical manufacturing plants near settlements and
incorrect agricultural techniques, can also been
seen as hazards which could lead to possible
disasters.
Hazards can be the creation of man or the
Types of hazards
Natural hazards
◦ Natural hazards are hazards which are caused
because of natural phenomena (hazards with
meteorological, geological or even biological origin)
◦ eg: cyclones, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions
Man made hazards
◦ Due to human negligence
◦ Eg: leakage of toxic waste, pollution, wars
Exposure
Exposure refers to people, property, systems, or
other elements present in hazard zones that are
thereby subject to potential losses
Vulnerability
Vulnerability refers to the characteristics and
circumstances of a community, system or asset that
make it susceptible to the damaging effects of a
hazard.
There are many aspects of vulnerability, arising from
various physical, social, economic, and environmental
factors.
Examples may include poor design and construction
of buildings, inadequate protection of assets, lack of
public information and awareness, limited official
recognition of risks and preparedness measures
Risk
Measure of expected losses due to a
hazardous event occurring in a given area
over a specified time period
A community is said to be at risk when it is
exposed to hazards and likely to be adversely
affected by its impact
Risk = probability of hazard x degree of
vulnerability
Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is a process to identify potential
hazards and analyze what could happen if a hazard
occurs
 It includes
◦ Identification of hazards
◦ Review of the technical characteristics of hazards such as
their location, intensity, frequency and probability;
◦ Analysis of exposure and vulnerability, including the
physical, social, health, environmental and economic
dimensions;
◦ Evaluation of the effectiveness of prevailing and alternative
coping capacities with respect to likely risk scenarios.
Risk Mapping
Risk mapping is a process of analyzing the
hazard, vulnerability and capacity through a
scientific methodology.
Preparation of multi hazard risk map is a
combination of all risk elements on several
hazards
Capacity
Capacity refers to all the strengths, attributes
and resources available within a community,
organization or society to manage and reduce
disaster risks and strengthen resilience.
Resilience:

Disaster resilience is the ability of individuals,

communities, organisations and states to
adapt to and recover from hazards, shocks or
stresses without compromising long-term
prospects for development.
Disaster Risk Reduction
Disaster risk reduction involves structural and
non-structural measures.
Structural measures include the use of physical
or engineering solutions (such as ocean wave
barriers or earthquake resistant buildings) to avoid
disaster or reduce its impacts.
Non-structural measures involve the use of
policies, laws, education and awareness creation,
and practices to avoid or reduce the impacts of
disaster.
Early Warning System (EWS):

EWS is a socio-technical system designed to

generate and circulate meaningful warning
information in a timely manner
Disaster Preparedness, Disaster
Prevention and Disaster Mitigation
Disaster Preparedness:
◦ It consists of the knowledge and capacities of institutions, communities
and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from
the impacts of likely, imminent or active hazard events or conditions.
Disaster Prevention:
◦ Disaster Prevention is the elimination or reduction of the likelihood of
occurrence of natural hazard event, or their adverse impacts.
◦ Examples of disaster prevention actions include flood protection
embankments.
Disaster Mitigation:
◦ It refers to a set of measures to reduce or neutralise the impact of
natural hazards by reducing social, functional, or physical vulnerability.
Disaster Response:

Disaster response (relief) is the provision of

assistance or intervention through the
emergency services during or immediately after
a crisis in order to save lives, reduce further
impacts on health and public safety and to
meet the basic subsistence needs of affected
populations.
Damage Assessment:

Damage Assessment is the process for

determining the nature and extent of the loss,
suffering, and/or harm to the community
Crisis counselling
Crisis counselling is the process of
alleviating the emotional and psychological
disturbances of persons affected by disaster
in order to restore a sense of control and
mastery and to aid the process of recovery
and reconstruction.
Needs Assessment:
► Needs assessment is a process of estimating the
financial, technical, and human resources
needed to implement the agreed-upon programs
of recovery, reconstruction, and risk
management.
► Post-damage needs assessment is normally a
rapid, multi-sectoral assessment that
measures the impact of disasters on the
society, economy, and environment of the
disaster-affected areas.