Knowra Disaster risk Disaster risk Disaster risk is the potential for deaths, injuries, damaged assets, disrupted livelihoods, and other losses arising from hazards interacting with exposure, vulnerability, and capacity.
Natural hazard : A natural process or phenomenon that may cause death, injury, or damage to people, property, or the environment. Hazards provide the potentially damaging events that can combine with exposure and vulnerability to produce disaster risk.
Probabilistic risk assessment : A method that estimates risk by assigning probabilities to possible events and their consequences. Probability-based estimates compare losses across events with different likelihoods and severity.
Disaster risk reduction : Policies and measures that prevent new disaster risk, reduce existing risk, and manage residual risk. Risk reduction translates knowledge of potential losses into prevention and mitigation measures.
Social vulnerability : The susceptibility of people or groups to harm shaped by social, economic, political, and cultural conditions. Social vulnerability helps explain why disaster losses are concentrated among some groups.
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami : A major undersea earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004 that caused widespread deaths and destruction around the Indian Ocean. The event exposed severe coastal risk where powerful waves met dense settlements and limited warning.
Exposure (disaster risk) : The presence of people, infrastructure, housing, and other assets in places that may be affected by hazards. Without people or assets in harm’s way, a hazard cannot cause their losses.
Risk matrix : A chart that classifies risks by combining categories of likelihood and consequence. Matrices offer a simple way to compare hazards, though they can obscure uncertainty and complex interactions.
Early warning system : An integrated system that monitors hazards, forecasts impacts, communicates warnings, and enables timely action. Warnings can reduce exposure and losses when people receive and act on them in time.
Environmental justice : The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decisions and outcomes. Unequal exposure to hazards makes disaster risk a question of fairness and power.
Hurricane Katrina : A 2005 Atlantic hurricane whose storm surge and levee failures inundated parts of the Gulf Coast, including New Orleans. Its impacts revealed how exposure, infrastructure weaknesses, and social vulnerability shaped losses.
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