A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts
the functioning of a community or society and causes human,
material, and economic or environmental losses that exceed the
community’s or society’s ability to cope using its
own resources. Though often caused by nature, disasters can
have human origins. VULNERABILITY + HAZARD = DISASTER

A disaster occurs when a
hazard impacts on vulnerable people.
The combination of hazards,
vulnerability and inability to reduce the potential negative
consequences of risk results in disaster. |