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Natural Hazards and Disasters: Mitigation Strategies

Often natural hazards and disasters are used interchangeably. Before we understand the importance
and the methods of mitigation, it is crucial to define the distinction between the two.

WHAT IS A HAZARD?

• Any phenomenon or an event that has the potential to cause disruption or damage to people and
their environment. When these hazards involve elements of risks, vulnerabilities and capacities,
they can turn into disasters.

WHAT IS A DISASTER?

• Disaster is a sudden, calamitous event bringing great damage, loss, and destruction and
devastation to life and property on a large scale.

• It refers to a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence from natural or man-made cause,
which is beyond the coping capacity of the affected community.

SO HOW DOES A DISASTER DIFFER FROM A HAZARD?

• A disaster is said to take place when a community is affected by a hazard. Disaster is basically the
consequence of hazard.

• When there is interaction with the humans, a hazardous geophysical event can become a disaster
Whereas, if there is no interaction with humans, there would not be any disaster. For example, a
volcanic eruption in a remote, unpopulated area or a landslide in an unsettled land.

• A hazard is perceived event which threatens both life and property. A disaster is a culmination of
this hazard.
• Hazards may be inevitable, but disasters could be prevented.

Natural Disasters
• Natural disasters are adverse events that occur due to the workings of the natural elements
of the Earth. These are essentially geological processes that tend to cause widespread
calamities, and sometimes losses in terms of life and economy.
• Some of these disasters are floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes and
cyclones. When the affected area is uninhabited, the damage incurred is not of much
concern. The presence of a vulnerable population in a disaster-prone area increases the risk
factors by significant amounts. This demands that adequate infrastructure, funds and
policies be set in place to counter the effects— even prevent in some cases— of natural
disasters.
• The following fall under the ambit of disasters:

❖ Geological disasters

○ Avalanches and landslides

○ Earthquakes

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○ Sinkholes

○ Volcanic eruptions

❖ Hydrological disasters

○ Floods

○ Tsunami

○ Limnic eruptions

❖ Meteorological disasters

○ Cyclonic storms

○ Blizzards

○ Hailstorms

○ Ice storms

○ Cold waves

○ Heatwaves

○ Thunderstorms

○ Tornadoes

❖ Wildfires
❖ Space disasters

○ Impact events and airburst

○ Solar flare

Natural Hazards
• Natural hazards are a more critical category or phenomenon. These are directly negative
impacts on humans or the environment due to natural causes. In other words, natural
disasters cause natural hazards. For example, the earthquake in Nepal in 2015 was a natural
disaster, and the hazard was living right on top of a fault line. Mitigation for hazards involves
a hazard analysis.
• Often the analyses isolate hazards. Meaning, that the analyses have a tendency to pigeon-
hole the event that caused the hazard and suggests strategies that discount the possibility of
another event that might affect the hazard.
• There have been multiple examples of one event triggering the other that caused hazards of
a capacity that was never estimated before. For example, the last few disasters in Japan saw
the confluence of an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear disaster. Each of these events was
a part of a chain reaction out of the movement of the fault lines that lie under the island
nation. Ideal analysis of an area must account for all hazards and their interactions.
• Hazards are broadly categorized into geophysical ad biological hazards. A geophysical one
can cause a biological one.

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• Almost all of the events mentioned under disasters cause hazards, except that of the space.
A hazard is a direct fallout of a disaster. The area that is worst hit by a natural event is a
hazardous zone.

CLASSIFICATION OF HAZARDS:

1. Natural hazards: are naturally-occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or slow onset
events having atmospheric, geologic and hydrologic origins on solar, global, regional, national and
local scales. Example: cyclone, tsunami etc.

2. Quasi-natural hazards: arise through the interaction of natural processes and human activities.
Example: smog, desertification etc.

3. Man-made hazards: Hazards arising directly from human activities. Example: the accidental
release of radiation from nuclear installations.

WHAT IS DISASTER MANAGEMENT?

• Disaster management is the organization and management of resources and responsibilities
for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular, preparedness,
response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of the disaster.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

• The Disaster Management Act, 2005, defines "disaster management" as a continuous and
integrated process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which
are necessary or expedient for:

1. Prevention of danger or any threat of any disaster

2. Mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences

3. Capacity-building

4. Preparedness to deal with any disaster

5. Prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster

6. Assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster, evacuation, rescue and relief.

7. Rehabilitation and reconstruction

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What is Mitigation?
The actions are taken to prevent or reduce the risk to life, property, social and economic activities,
and natural resources from natural hazards" is known as mitigation. International decrees by the UN
ensures all property and human life destroyed and displaced due to either natural disasters or
hazards is protected, alleviated and that adequate measures are in place to reduce the trauma and
loss due to events that might occur again.

Other International Provisions

● Geneva Conventions (1949): International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement the Convention
on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, requires that "The States shall, in accordance with their
obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international
human rights law, take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with
disabilities in situations of risk, including the occurrence of natural disaster."

● Kampala Convention (2009): Further United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs is formed by General Assembly Resolution 44/182. People displaced due to natural disasters
are currently protected under international law (Guiding Principles of International Displacement).

Mitigation Strategies
The mitigation is countered at local levels guided by national frameworks and further by
international mandates. The local systems are called LMS— Local Mitigation Strategies. They are in
place to handle disasters and hazards at the level of the province or the county. These are a
combination of the following elements:

• Awareness and Education

• Building codes on past observations
• Preparation and Warning Systems
• Land Zoning
• Using technology to predict disasters and estimating the degree of damage
• Certain pre-requisites in terms of administrative measures and actionable frameworks is a
must before the beginning of any mitigation strategy.

Institutional Pre-requisites
• Nodal agency must be in place to regulate all disaster management funding and policies.
• Coordination of responses to disasters: The Ministries of Forest, Home, Transport, Science
and Technology, Agriculture, Atomic Energy and Defence
• Coordination of post-disaster relief and rehabilitation
• Amendment of existing laws and procedures
• State departments dedicated to natural disaster management must be established
• Urban local bodies to ensure compliance

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Mitigation and Prevention

● Schemes and projects to be sanctioned to find better ways of mitigating the impact

● Regular review of building codes

● Adequate techno-financial regime

● Constructions to adhere to building codes suited to the hazard.

● Land zoning regulations to be enforced

Social Measures
Apart from the educational and awareness campaigns, there are certain things to be kept in mind to
remain sensitive to human life affected by natural disasters and hazards.

• Include key groups like public officers, civic groups, planners and architects, marketing
specialists, educators, and researchers in the decision-making process
• Identification of hazard/disaster zone
• Mock drills and training
• Delegating enforcement to the local jurisdiction:
• Incorporating both structural and non-structural mitigation measures in new development,
examine ways to reduce the vulnerability of existing structures,
• Take steps to reduce the vulnerability of natural resources, and undertake mitigation training
with support from state and federal governments.
• Protection to community goods:
• Incorporation of mitigation into new development zones
• Protection of schools and hospitals
• Protection of cultural sites
• Protection of natural resources.
• Evacuation plan
• Establishment of safe havens
• Funding for improving protection against natural disasters in areas that are worst hit

Disaster Specific Mitigation Strategies Flood, Tsunamis and Earthquakes:

• Seismic retrofit pipes with flexible joints.

• Reinforce settling tanks.
• Harden or replace transmission lines with earthquake-resilient designs.
• Secure aboveground pipes.
• Install earthquake shutoff valves

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Wildfire:

• Remove debris, trees or other fire-hazard materials.

• Institute high fire danger procedures such as smoking bans and fire bans.
• Install fire, resilient building materials.
• Modify the treatment process for sediment in the water.

Draught:

• Haul in water with tanker trucks permitted to carry potable water.

• Implementing a leak detection and repair program to reduce lost water.
• Consider interconnections with other water sources and systems.
• Place restrictions designed to reduce or eliminate non-essential uses.

Tornado:

• Reinforce water towers and welds.

• Remove sources of potential flying debris.
• Bolt down chemical tanks.
• Design new facilities, control rooms and offices to withstand high winds.
• Secure and anchor any trailers or temporary structures used by the facility and designate
them as non-habitable during severe weather.

Current Events
• Currently, the wildfires in Australia are a perfect example of the confluence of a natural
disaster and a natural hazard. The fires are the event that has mounted a bio-hazard for
human and animal life. The loss in vegetation and depleted levels of oxygen due to 1)
burning and 2) reduced amount of greens, are the fallout.
• The mitigation of this is particularly community lead where people themselves are stepping
up to the purpose while the national governing institution faces backlash over inaction. This
wildfire comes after the Amazon fires and the Nepal earthquakes in 2015.
• The awareness and education levels are much higher than 50 years ago when the most
horrific of disasters killed thousands, razed extensive properties to the ground.