ABSTRACT
Issue What processes will ensure that residents, government officials, and business leaders understand the nature of hazards and their impacts?
Introduction Disasters are natural and human-caused events that have an adverse impact on a community, region, or nation. Events associated with a disaster can overwhelm response resources and have damaging economic, social, or environmental impacts. The capacity of the community, region, or nation to deal with the impacts of disasters provides a basis for us to classify the event as a crisis that can be addressed by local resources or a disaster that requires outside assistance and support. The process of clarifying the nature and impacts of hazards is the foundation of hazards analysis.
