ABSTRACT
Disaster risk management (DRM) is the process of mitigating exceptional threats to society and communities by reducing and where possible avoiding the impact of catastrophe. Through DRM society is encouraged to develop coping strategies in order to achieve resilience, which is defined as the ability to deflect, absorb or resist the adverse impacts of disaster and to resume normal life as soon as possible. In the event that ‘normal life’ is insufficiently safe and productive, resilience must also be a direct function of security and economic development.
