Hazard, Vulnerability and Disaster Risk

A hazard is a potentially damaging event or process, such as a flood, earthquake or cyclone. Vulnerability is the susceptibility of people, assets or systems to harm because of their physical, social, economic or environmental conditions. A hazard becomes a disaster when it affects exposed and vulnerable communities so severely that their capacity to cope using their own resources is exceeded.

The hazard-to-disaster pathway

Disaster risk arises from the interaction of hazard, exposure, vulnerability and coping capacity; the hazard alone does not determine the outcome.

• Exposure places people, infrastructure, livelihoods or ecosystems within the area affected by a hazard.
• Vulnerability determines how severely exposed elements are damaged, while capacity determines their ability to anticipate, withstand and recover.
• When resulting losses produce serious disruption beyond local coping capacity, the event meets the meaning of disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

Sources of vulnerability

Vulnerability is multidimensional and varies between places, social groups and periods of time.

• Physical vulnerability arises from unsafe locations, weak buildings and inadequate protective infrastructure.
• Social vulnerability may reflect age, illness, exclusion, limited awareness or restricted access to institutions and warnings.
• Economic vulnerability increases when households lack secure livelihoods, savings or resources for recovery.
• Environmental degradation can remove natural buffers, increasing ecosystem and settlement vulnerability to hazards.

Why similar hazards produce different outcomes

Hazards of similar intensity can cause unequal losses because exposure, vulnerability and preparedness differ.

• Enforced land-use planning and building codes can prevent hazard exposure from becoming catastrophic damage.
• Early warning, evacuation planning, resilient infrastructure and social protection strengthen coping capacity and reduce mortality and losses.
• Risk-sensitive development and ecosystem protection address the underlying conditions that convert hazards into disasters.

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