Disaster and its types

SOCIAL WORK

1. Gireesha C R Assistant Professor Department of Social Work G F G C Bellare, Sullia Tq D. Kannada District (Mangalore University) BSW VI Sem Paper: Community Organization and Development Disaster: Types of Disaster

2. Disaster : A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, and economic or environmental losses .

3. A Disaster can be defined as any occurrence that cause damage, ecological disruption, loss of human life, deterioration of health and health services on a scale, sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from outside the effected community or area. (W H O) Definitions:

4. A Disaster can be defined as any occurrence either nature or manmade that causes human suffering and creates human needs that victims cannot alleviate without assistance. (American Red Cross- ARC)

5. Disasters are of two types : Natural disasters Man-made disasters Types of disasters

6. Natural disasters: Natural disasters  are those  disasters  that are  caused  due to some  natural  Processes. A natural disaster is a disruption in the balance of the environment. Human activities play a role in the frequency and severity of disasters. Manmade disasters: Man made disasters  are those  disasters  that are  caused  by the human’s intent and negligent activities

7. Natural Disasters are of the following type: Earthquakes Volcanic eruptions Cyclones Floods Droughts Tsunami Wild Fire Natural disasters:

8. An earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and movement of tectonic plates of the earth's rocky outermost crust. The edges of the tectonic plates are marked by faults. Most earthquakes occur along the fault lines when the plates slide past each other or collide against each other. The shifting masses send out shock waves that may be powerful enough to alter the surface of the Earth, thrusting up cliffs and opening great cracks in the ground and cause great damage ... collapse of buildings and other man-made structures, broken power and gas lines, landslides, snow avalanches, tsunamis. Earthquakes

9. Volcanoes erupt when molten rock called magma rises to the surface. Magma is formed when the earth's mantle melts. Melting may happen where tectonic plates are pulling apart or where one plate is pushed down under another. Magma is lighter than rock so rises towards the Earth's surface. As the magma rises, bubbles of gas form inside it. Runny magma erupts through openings or vents in the earth's crust before flowing onto its surface as lava. If magma is thick, gas bubbles cannot easily escape and pressure builds up as the magma rises. When the pressure is too much an explosive eruption can happen, which can be dangerous and destructive. this can build up enough pressure to cause an explosion. Volcanic Eruptions

10. To form a cyclone, warm, moist air over the ocean rises upward from near the surface. As this air moves up and away from the ocean surface, it leaves less air near the surface. So basically as the warm air rises, it causes an area of lower air pressure below.  Air from surrounding areas with higher air pressure pushes in to the low pressure area. Then this new “cool” air becomes warm and moist and rises, too. And the cycle continues…  As the warmed, moist air rises and cools the water in the air forms clouds. The whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows, fed by the ocean’s heat and water evaporating from the ocean surface. As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the centre. It is very calm and clear in the eye, with very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into the eye. Cyclones

11. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a significant flood unless the water covers land used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area, roads, expanses of farmland, etc. Floods

12. Drought can be defined as a condition of unusually dry climate within a certain geographic region due to lack of annual rainfall. It is a natural disaster, which is hazardous to human beings because it results in water shortage, damages to crops, and an increased death rate of livestock and wild animals. It also results in shortage of electricity. Reports show, many people worldwide die during the these extreme conditions. In drought-prone areas certain measures such as construction of reservoirs, rain-harvest system and stopping over-grazing could be taken. It causes increase in food prices and unemployment. Droughts

13. Tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5 meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause widespread destruction when they crash ashore. What Causes a Tsunami? These awe-inspiring waves are typically caused by large, undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. When the ocean floor at a plate boundary rises or falls suddenly, it displaces the water above it and launches the rolling waves that will become a tsunami. Tsunami

14. A wildfire is simply an uncontrolled fire that is wiping out large fields and areas of land. It is typically fires that started out of a lightning strike, or people carelessly starting it, or accidentally, or even arson, that went un-noticed and got out of hand. These fires sometimes burn for days and weeks. They can wipe out an entire forest and destroy almost every organic matter in it. Wild fires can also be termed forest fires, grass fires, peat fires and bush fires depending on type of vegetation being burnt. Note that these fires tend to thrive in very warm and dry climates, rather than the thick, moist rainforest types. Wildfire

15. Man made disasters can be the following: Nuclear disaster Chemical disasters Terrorism Accident Building collapse Civil Unrest Fire Accidents Man Made Disasters

16. An accident taking place in any nuclear facility of the nuclear fuel cycle including the nuclear reactor, or in a facility using radioactive sources, leading to a large-scale release of radioactivity in the environment. A ‘criticality’ accident in a nuclear fuel cycle facility where an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction takes place inadvertently leading to bursts of neutrons and gamma radiation (as had happened at Tokaimura , Japan). An accident during the transportation of radioactive material. The malevolent use of radioactive material as Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) by terrorists for dispersing radioactive material in the environment. A large-scale nuclear disaster resulting from a nuclear weapon attack (as had happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan) which would lead to mass casualties and destruction of large areas and properties. Nuclear disaster

17. Chemical disasters  are occurrence of emission, fire or explosion involving one or more hazardous  chemicals  in the course of  industrial  activity (handling), storage or transportation . Disasters  that are caused by the excessive use and misuse of  chemicals  in  industries  are called  chemical disasters . Exaples : Bhopal : Union Carbide gas tragedy, 1984 (Official death toll: 5,295 ). The April 1986 disaster at the  Chernobyl  nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Chemical disasters

18. Terrorism is the use of fear and acts of violence in order to intimidate societies or governments. Many different types of social or political organizations might use terrorism to try to achieve their goals. People who do terrorism are called terrorists. It is difficult to explain terrorism . Terrorism has no official criminal law definition at the international level. Common definitions of terrorism refer to violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror); are done for a religious, political, or ideological goal; and which target civilians. Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war. The use of similar tactics by criminal gangs is not usually called terrorism, though these same actions may be called terrorism when done by a politically motivated group. Terrorism

19. Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance or civil unrest, is an activity arising from a mass act of civil disobedience in which the participants become hostile toward authority, and authorities incur difficulties in maintaining public safety and order, over the disorderly crowd. C ivil U nrest

20. A  road accident  refers to any accident involving at least one road vehicle, occurring on a road open to public circulation, and in which at least one person is injured or killed . Air Crashes An  accident in which an aircraft hits land or water and is damaged or destroyed. Ship collision  is an incident of hitting between two ships or hitting to a floating or still object such as an  Iceberg . A  train  wreck or  train crash  is a type of disaster involving one or more  trains .  Train  wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving  train  meets another  train  on the same track; or an  accident , such as when a  train  wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler explosion occurs. A ccident

21. A  collapse  refers to the failure of a structure or component to maintain its  structural  integrity. Structures that could  collapse  include  buildings , bridges, and trenches. The  collapse  of structures such as trenches and scaffolds are among the most common causes of worker injury in the construction industry. Building C ollapse

22. An accidental  fire  is a mishap that could be either man-made or natural caused by  fire  can result in serious injury, damage or loss life of human and other creatures and personal property. Fire accidents

23. Thank You