WHAT IS DISASTER?

Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and devastation to life and property. The damage caused by disasters is immeasurable and varies with the geographical location, climate and the type of the earth surface/degree of vulnerability. This influences the mental, socio-economic, political and cultural state of the affected area. Generally, disaster has the following effects in the concerned areas,

1. It completely disrupts the normal day to day life

2. It negatively influences the emergency systems

3. Normal needs and processes like food, shelter, health, etc. are affected and deteriorate depending on the intensity and severity of the disaster.

It may also be termed as “a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources.”

Thus, a disaster may have the following main features:-

• Unpredictability

• Unfamiliarity

• Speed

• Urgency

• Uncertainty

• Threat

Thus, in simple terms we can define disaster as a hazard causing heavy loss to life, property and livelihood.

e.g. a cyclone killing 10,000 lives and a crop loss of one crore can be termed as disaster.