ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the key principles of disasters which are commonly used in public health analysis and planning post emergencies. It focuses on the “what” aspect of risk and impact of disaster. Depending on the academic discipline, definitions of disaster differ according to the emphasis of the field of study. Difference between a hazard and a disaster are important concepts to be distinguished. Natural disasters are caused by natural hazards, such as earthquakes, floods and heavy rains that affect many human environments. Climate is the “average state of the atmosphere in a specific region over a long period of time”. Human-induced hazards and disasters are associated with hazards that have elements of human intent, negligence or error resulting from anthropogenic system failure. Technological disasters are emergency events or incidents that are caused by human error or breakdown of technological systems. Another type of human-caused disaster is complex emergencies.
