 This is the first session in the first unit of our series. In this session we shall provide an introduction to disasters. We shall discuss the background concepts, meaning and key issues related to disasters, as well as terminologies commonly used in disasters. We shall also look at the classification of disasters and the public health consequences of disasters. What does the term disaster mean to you? A disaster can be defined as the serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. A key issue to note here is that the disruption exceeds the ability of the affected community to cope and they often need external help. This definition is by the World Health Organization. We shall define other terms. What is an emergency? It is a state in which no more procedures are suspended and extraordinary measures are taken in order to avert a catastrophe. Often these two terms emergency and disaster are used interchangeably. But emergencies involve suspension of normal procedures, the normal way we've been doing things so that we put in place emergency procedures to avert the possibility of occurrence of a catastrophe. Let us look at other terms. Hazard, risk, vulnerability and capacity. What is a hazard? A hazard is a threatening event of potential damaging incident. It hasn't yet occurred but it is a potential source of a disaster. What is risk then? It is the probability of suffering damage to life, property, economic disruptions from a hazard for a given area and reference period. Risk is a term usually used in probability and it is the product of hazard and vulnerability. What is vulnerability then? Vulnerability refers to the susceptibility to physical or emotional injury following a disaster. It is the degree to which an area, a people, physical structures or economic assets are exposed to loss, injury or damage caused by the impact of a hazard. What is capacity? It refers to the resources available including human, material and other types of resources that will enable a community to cope with a threat or resist the impact of a hazard. What is then the relationship between these terms? Disaster risk can mathematically be given by the equation risk equals to hazard times vulnerability minus capacity. Disasters may be natural, they may be technological that is human generated and then there are those that are in between also called hybrid disasters. Another way to classify disasters is based on the speed of onset. Disasters may be rapid onset or slow onset. Slow onset natural disasters could include drought and desertification, famine, deforestation, pests and plant diseases. Rapid onset natural disasters may include climatic disasters like floods, windstorms, wildfires and hail storms and geological disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity and landslides. Technological disasters are often man-made. They result from activities by human beings or omissions by human beings. They include conflict, wars leading to refugees and internal displacement. These are often called complex emergencies. But technological disasters also include disasters like structure failure, building collapse, transportation crashes and accidents both on water and on roads and other types of accidents like chemical explosions, factory explosions and this type of accidents. Technological disasters also include military accidents, fire disasters, terrorism and industrial accidents. Hybrid disasters. In some situations it is difficult to classify a disaster on the basis of whether it is natural or technological. For instance, where do epidemics fall? We shall now look at the public health consequences of disasters. There are several consequences and they include death, injuries, loss of clean water, loss of shelter, loss of personal household goods, major population movements, loss of sanitation, loss of routine hygiene, disruption of solid waste management, public concern for safety that may include panic, increased pests and vectors, damage to healthcare systems, worsening of chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension, loss of electricity, toxic and hazardous exposures, loss of food supply, standing surface water. This is a pictorial presentation of some of the consequences of drought and famine. And this is an illustration of some of the effects of flash floods. This is an illustration of some of the effects of slow onset floods. This is an illustration of some of the effects of landslides. The Hiogo framework for disaster management is an international framework that emphasizes the following at all levels including operational levels. Establishment of subtle early warning systems, capacity building, emphasis on safety and resilience of communities, reducing risk factors and strengthening disaster preparedness at all levels. Pre-disaster definitions include preparedness which implies actions that result in persons knowing what to do and how to respond after a disaster has occurred. Prevention which means activities designed to provide permanent protection from disaster which include engineering and physical protective measures as well as legislation to control land use and urban planning. And then mitigation which refers to measures taken in advance of an event aimed at decreasing or eliminating its impact on society and in the environment. Post disaster definitions include response, these are decisions and actions taken during and after a disaster and they include immediately rehabilitation reconstruction. Recovery is another post disaster term. It refers to activities that restore vital life support systems to normalize operating standards and long term activities that return life to normal in the post disaster phase. Other definitions relief and rescue, this occurs in the time period immediately following the disaster. Exceptional measures are taken to save lives and care for survivors as well as meet their basic needs. There is a distinction between rescue and relief. Rescue is mainly aimed at securing life while relief is mainly meant to sustain life. Rehabilitation on the other hand is a process that occurs after the closure of the relief phase. There is no more dependency on support needed for basic needs. Basic needs have already been satisfied. It involves restoring mental and physical health and stability of the community. It involves instilling principles of sustainable livelihoods and empowering victims and survivors. It should lead to better development. Examples of rehabilitation include early recovery plans for internally displaced persons, reforestation programs, post recovery plans. The emphasis is on restoration of the original status before the disaster. Recovery examples include physical infrastructure repairs, enhancement of pre-disaster steps, building resilience of communities, providing new structures and housing that will be able to withstand a similar disaster in the future. There is an evolution in approach from response and relief to disaster risk reduction. A challenge to you, what mechanisms have you put in place to prevent disasters in your district? To reduce vulnerability to disasters in your district? To prepare for disasters in case they occurred in your district? All disasters are local. All disasters occur locally in a particular community. The earliest response to disasters often comes from the community itself. The capacity of the community to respond to disasters should therefore be built. Thank you for listening to this presentation.