What Does the Word Disaster Come From

Event or combination of events resulting in major damage, destruction or death

A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.^[1] ^[2] Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95% of all deaths caused by hazards occur in developing countries, and losses due to natural hazards are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing countries than in industrialized countries.^[3] ^[4] No matter what society disasters occur in, they tend to induce change in government and social life. They may even alter the course of history by broadly affecting entire populations and exposing mismanagement or corruption regardless of how tightly information is controlled in a society.

Etymology [edit]

The word disaster is derived from Middle French désastre and that from Old Italian disastro, which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek pejorative prefix δυσ-, (dus-) "bad"^[5] and ἀστήρ (aster), "star".^[6] The root of the word disaster ("bad star" in Greek) comes from an astrological sense of a calamity blamed on the position of planets.^[7]

Classification [edit]

Disasters are routinely divided into natural or human-made,^[8] although complex disasters, where there is no single root cause, are more common in developing countries. A specific disaster may spawn a secondary disaster that increases the impact. A classic example is an earthquake that causes a tsunami, resulting in coastal flooding. Some manufactured disasters have been ascribed to nature.^[8]

Some researchers also differentiate between recurring events such as seasonal flooding, and those considered unpredictable.^[9]

Natural disasters [edit]

Driving through flash flood

A natural disaster is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.

Various phenomena like earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, cyclones, wildfires, and pandemics are all natural hazards that kill thousands of people and destroy billions of dollars of habitat and property each year.^[10] However, the rapid growth of the world's population and its increased concentration often in hazardous environments has escalated both the frequency and severity of disasters. With the tropical climate and unstable landforms, coupled with deforestation, unplanned growth proliferation, non-engineered constructions make the disaster-prone areas more vulnerable. Developing countries suffer more or less chronically from natural disasters due to ineffective communication combined with insufficient budgetary allocation for disaster prevention and management.^{[ citation needed ]}

Artificial disasters and hazards [edit]

Human-instigated disasters are the consequence of technological or human hazards. Examples include war, social unrest, stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, conflicts, oil spills, terrorist attacks, nuclear explosions/nuclear radiation.^[10]

Other types of induced disasters include the more cosmic scenarios of catastrophic climate change, nuclear war, and bioterrorism.^{[ citation needed ]}

One opinion argues that all disasters can be seen as human-made, due to human failure to introduce appropriate emergency management measures.^[11]

Famines may be caused locally by drought, flood, fire, or pestilence, but in modern times there is plenty of food globally, and sustained localized shortages are generally due to government mismanagement, violent conflict, or an economic system that does not distribute food where needed. Earthquakes are mainly hazardous because of human-created buildings and dams; avoiding earthquake-generated tsunamis and landslides is largely a matter of location.^{[ citation needed ]}

Responses [edit]

The following table categorizes some disasters and notes first response initiatives.^[12]

Natural	Disaster
	Example	Profile	First response
	Avalanche	The sudden, drastic flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers, such as loading from new snow or rain, or artificial triggers, such as explosives or backcountry skiers, overload the snowpack	Shut off utilities; Evacuate building if necessary; Determine impact on the equipment and facilities and any disruption
	Blizzard	A severe snowstorm characterized by very strong winds and low temperatures	Power off all equipment; listen to blizzard advisories; Evacuate area, if unsafe; Assess damage
	Earthquake	The shaking of the earth's crust, caused by underground volcanic forces of breaking and shifting rock beneath the earth's surface	Shut off utilities; Evacuate building if necessary; Determine impact on the equipment and facilities and any disruption
	Fire (wild)	Fires that originate in uninhabited areas and which pose the risk to spread to inhabited areas	Attempt to suppress fire in early stages; Evacuate personnel on alarm, as necessary; Notify fire department; Shut off utilities; Monitor weather advisories
	Flood	Flash flooding: Small creeks, gullies, dry streambeds, ravines, culverts or even low-lying areas flood quickly	Monitor flood advisories; Determine flood potential to facilities; Pre-stage emergency power generating equipment; Assess damage
	Freezing rain	Rain occurring when outside surface temperature is below freezing	Monitor weather advisories; arrange for snow and ice removal
	Heat wave	A prolonged period of excessively hot weather relative to the usual weather pattern of an area and relative to normal temperatures for the season	Listen to weather advisories; Power-off all servers after a graceful shutdown if there is imminent potential of power failure; Shut down main electric circuit usually located in the basement or the first floor
	Hurricane	Heavy rains and high winds	Power off all equipment; listen to hurricane advisories; Evacuate area, if flooding is possible; Check gas, water and electrical lines for damage; Do not use telephones, in the event of severe lightning; Assess damage
	Landslide	Geological phenomenon which includes a range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows	Shut off utilities; Evacuate building if necessary; Determine impact on the equipment and facilities and any disruption
	Lightning strike	An electrical discharge caused by lightning, typically during thunderstorms	Power off all equipment; listen to hurricane advisories; Evacuate area, if flooding is possible; Check gas, water and electrical lines for damage; Do not use telephones, in the event of severe lightning; Assess damage
	Limnic eruption	The sudden eruption of carbon dioxide from deep lake water	Shut off utilities; Evacuate building if necessary; Determine impact on the equipment and facilities and any disruption
	Tornado	Violent rotating columns of air which descend from severe thunderstorm cloud systems	Monitor tornado advisories; Power off equipment; Shut off utilities (power and gas); Assess damage once storm passes
	Tsunami	A series of waves hitting shores strongly, mainly caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake, usually caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, glacier calvings, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water	Power off all equipment; listen to tsunami advisories; Evacuate area, if flooding is possible; Check gas, water and electrical lines for damage; Assess damage
	Volcanic eruption	The release of hot magma, volcanic ash and/or gases from a volcano	Shut off utilities; Evacuate building if necessary; Determine impact on the equipment and facilities and any disruption
Human-made	Bioterrorism	The intentional release or dissemination of biological agents as a means of coercion	Get information immediately from public health officials via the news media as to the right course of action; If you think you have been exposed, quickly remove your clothing and wash off your skin; put on a HEPA to help prevent inhalation of the agent^[13]
	Civil unrest	A disturbance caused by a group of people that may include sit-ins and other forms of obstructions, riots, sabotage and other forms of crime, and which is intended to be a demonstration to the public and the government, but can escalate into general chaos	Contact local police or law enforcement^[14] ^[15]
	Fire (urban)	Even with strict building fire codes, people still perish needlessly in fires	Attempt to suppress fire in early stages; Evacuate personnel on alarm, as necessary; Notify fire department; Shut off utilities; Monitor weather advisories
	Hazardous material spills	The escape of solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property or the environment, from their intended controlled environment such as a container.	Leave the area and call the local fire department for help.^[16] If anyone was affected by the spill, call the your local Emergency Medical Services line^[17]
	Nuclear and radiation accidents	An event involving significant release of radioactivity to the environment or a reactor core meltdown and which leads to major undesirable consequences to people, the environment, or the facility	Recognize that a CBRN incident has or may occur. Gather, assess and disseminate all available information to first responders. Establish an overview of the affected area. Provide and obtain regular updates to and from first responders.^[18]
	Power failure	Caused by summer or winter storms, lightning or construction equipment digging in the wrong location	Wait 5–10 minutes; power off all servers after a graceful shutdown; do not use telephones, in the event of severe lightning; shut down main electric circuit usually located in the basement or the first floor

References [edit]

^ "What is a disaster?". www.ifrc.org. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
^ "Disasters & Emergencies: Definitions" (PDF). Addis Ababa: Emergency Humanitarian Action. March 2002. Retrieved 26 November 2017 – via World Health Organization International.
^ "World Bank: Disaster Risk Management".
^ Luis Flores Ballesteros. "Who's getting the worst of natural disasters?" 54Pesos.org, 4 October 2008 Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Dus, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus".
^ "Aster, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, "A Greek-English Lexicon", at Perseus".
^ "Disaster" in Etymology online
^ ^a ^b Didi Kirsten Tatlow (15 December 2016). "Don't Call It 'Smog' in Beijing, Call It a 'Meteorological Disaster". The New York Times.
^ L. Bull-Kamanga; K. Diagne; A. Lavell; E. Leon; F. Lerise; H. MacGregor; A. Maskrey; M. Meshack; M. Pelling (1 April 2003). "From everyday hazards to disasters: the accumulation of risk in urban areas". Environment and Urbanization. 15 (1): 193–204. doi:10.1177/095624780301500109. ISSN 0956-2478. S2CID 17439273.
^ ^a ^b Cueto, Lavinia Javier; Agaton, Casper Boongaling (2021). "Pandemic and Typhoon: Positive Impacts of a Double Disaster on Mental Health of Female Students in the Philippines". Behavioral Sciences. 11 (5): 64. doi:10.3390/bs11050064. PMC8147095. PMID 33946801.
^ Blaikie, Piers, Terry Cannon, Ian Davis & Ben Wisner. At Risk – Natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters, Wiltshire: Routledge, 2003, ISBN 0-415-25216-4
^ Business Continuity Planning (BCP): Sample Plan For Nonprofit Organizations. Archived 2 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Pages 11-12. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
^ What should I do if there has been a bioterrorism attack?. Edmond A. Hooker. WebMD. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
^ Report of the Joint Fire/Police Task Force on Civil Unrest (FA-142): Recommendations for Organization and Operations During Civil Disturbance. Page 55. FEMA. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
^ Business Continuity Planning: Developing a Strategy to Minimize Risk and Maintain Operations. Archived 27 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine Adam Booher. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
^ Hazardous Materials. Archived 11 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine Tennessee Emergency Management Office. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
^ Managing Hazardous Materials Incidents (MHMIs). Center for Disease Control. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
^ Guidelines for First Response to a CBRN Incident. Project on Minimum Standards and Non-Binding Guidelines for First Responders Regarding Planning, Training, Procedure and Equipment for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Incidents.] NATO. Emergency Management. Retrieved 21 October 2012.

External links [edit]

List of Disasters at ReliefWeb of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The Disaster Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences
EM-DAT International Disaster Database of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System – The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System is a joint initiative of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the European Commission
UN-SPIDER – UN-SPIDER, the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response], a project of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

What Does the Word Disaster Come From

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disaster

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