Sendai Framework defines; Hazard: as a process that may causes negative disruption on life, society, economy or environment. These processes/phenomenon can be categorized in different types based on characteristics of such events. Disaster: A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.
Defining: Hazard and Disaster
A hazard is the source of danger, it has the potential to cause a problem. For something to be a hazard, it needs to have the potential to cause harm, and it has to come from somewhere-some source, obviously. Based on these two aspects differet people, organisation categorise them differently.
A disaster, on the other hand, is the realized impact of a hazard. It occurs when a hazard event materializes in such a way that it causes significant harm to humans, property, or the environment. In simple terms, when a hazard affects human systems and leads to serious disruption, it becomes a disasters.
\[Hazard + Effect on Human = Disaster\]Why use these term Separately?
The short answer is, because we need conceptual clarity.
Conceptual clarity allows us to communicate precisely and design appropriate solutions.
A hazard is primarily about probability and physical processes. It may occur naturally or accidentally, and its study focuses on understanding how and why such events happen. Hazard research is grounded in the physical sciences — physics, chemistry, earth sciences — and examines material reality and environmental processes.
A disaster, however, is a more subjective and impact-oriented concept. It depends not only on the hazard but also on exposure and vulnerability. The severity of a disaster is shaped by human factors — how populations are affected, how long they remain exposed, and what coping capacity or resilience they possess.
| Aspect | Hazard | Disaster |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Potential threat | Realized impact |
| Stage | Pre-event | Post-impact |
| Focus | Physical process | Human & socio-economic impact |
| Discipline | Geology, Hydrology, Meteorology | Sociology, Economics, Public health |
| Example | Cyclone formation | Cyclone causing deaths & infrastructure damage |
| Measurability | Probability, magnitude | Loss, damage, disruption |
HAZARD INTELLIGENCE By Bishwa
Multi-Hazard :- Multiple Hazard (The term “multi-hazard” refers to situations where two or more hazards take place at the same time, in sequence, or accumulate over a period, while also accounting for the ways they may interact and influence one another.)