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Introduction
A disaster is defined by the [1] Asian Disaster Reduction Center (2003) as:
A serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of affected society to cope using only its own resources.
Disaster types and definitions have been discussed by [25] Turner and Pedgeon (1997), [19] Richardson (1994), the [27] World Health Organization (2003), the [6], [7] Federal Emergency Management Agency (2003a, b) and the [16] Mid-Florida Area Agency on Aging (2003). Disaster types have been reviewed, and it was found that natural, man-made and hybrid disasters cover all types of disastrous events.
Natural disasters are catastrophic events resulting from natural hazards. Natural hazards result from internal (beneath the Earth's surface), external (topographical), weather-related (meteorological/hydrological) and biological phenomena. Natural disasters are beyond human control. Natural disasters are often termed an "Act of God".
Man-made disasters, on the other hand, are those catastrophic events that result from human decisions. Man-made disasters can be sudden or long-term disasters. Sudden man-made disasters are known as socio-technical disasters. [19] Richardson (1994) highlighted that socio-technical disasters occur in at least four types of organizational situations. These are:
plant and factory failures (major accidents);
transport failures;
stadia or other "public place" failures; and
production failures.
Long-term disasters tend to refer to national and international conflicts.
Hybrid disasters are a compound of human decisions and natural forces. Disasters have a common denominator, which is the severity of their impact on people, property, and the environment.
Natural and/or man-made disasters sometimes trigger subsequent disasters, such as displaced people or haze. Subsequent disasters have social and economic impacts.
This paper presents an overview of natural, man-made and hybrid disasters in addition to subsequent disasters. The overview covers disaster types, definitions, hazards and mitigations. The paper also proposes a disaster tree depicting the various disaster types.
Natural disasters
Natural disasters are catastrophic events resulting from natural causes, such as volcanic eruptions, tornados, earthquakes, etc., over which man has no control. Natural disasters are often termed an "Act of God". Natural disasters can result from the following.
Natural phenomena beneath the Earth's surface
Natural disasters that result from phenomena beneath the Earth's surface can be summarized as follows.
Earthquakes
- Definition. An earthquake is a...