Hazard
Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value.
Examples of natural disasters with highly harmful impacts on a society are floods, droughts, earthquakes, tropical cyclones, lightning strikes, volcanic activity and wildfires.
[1] Technological and anthropogenic hazards include, for example, structural collapses, transport accidents, accidental or intentional explosions, and release of toxic materials.
These are hazards that stem from climate-related events and can be associated with global warming, such as wildfires, floods, droughts, sea level rise.
A hazard is defined as "the potential occurrence of a natural or human-induced physical event or trend that may cause loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service provision, ecosystems and environmental resources.
As an example, the center of the Earth consists of molten material at very high temperatures which would be a severe hazard if contact was made with the core.
Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community.
This definition also focuses on the probability of future loss whereby the degree of vulnerability to hazard represents the level of risk on a particular population or environment.
[12] The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) explains that "each hazard is characterized by its location, intensity or magnitude, frequency and probability".
According to the Red Cross, each year 130,000 people are killed, 90,000 are injured and 140 million are affected by unique events known as natural disasters.
[5] A natural hazard can be considered as a geophysical event when it occurs in extremes and a human factor is involved that may present a risk.
There may be an acceptable variation of magnitude which can vary from the estimated normal or average range with upper and lower limits or thresholds.
[18] For example, above-average wind speeds resulting in a tropical depression or hurricane according to intensity measures on the Saffir–Simpson scale will provide an extreme natural event that may be considered a hazard.
Although generally a natural phenomenon, earthquakes can sometimes be induced by human interventions, such as injection wells, large underground nuclear explosions, excavation of mines, or reservoirs.
Societal hazards can arise from civil disorders, explosive remnants of war, violence, crowd accidents, financial crises, etc.
"[13] The socionatural hazards are those that are "associated with a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors, including environmental degradation and climate change".
These are hazards that stem from climate-related events such as wildfires, floods, droughts, sea level rise.
[3]: 909 Climate scientists have pointed out that climate hazards affect different groups of people differently, depending on their climate change vulnerability: There are "factors that make people and groups vulnerable (e.g., poverty, uneven power structures, disadvantage and discrimination due to, for example, social location and the intersectionality or the overlapping and compounding risks from ethnicity or racial discrimination, gender, age, or disability, etc.)".
[16] For example, naturally occurring bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella are well known pathogens, and a variety of measures have been taken to limit human exposure to these microorganisms through food safety, good personal hygiene, and education.
The potential for new biological hazards also exists through the discovery of new microorganisms and the development of new genetically modified (GM) organisms.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) controls GM plants that produce or resist pesticides (i.e. Bt corn and Roundup ready crops).
Many biological hazards are associated with food, including certain viruses, parasites, fungi, bacteria, and plant and seafood toxins.
The hazards from these bacteria can be avoided through risk mitigation steps such as proper handling, storing, and cooking of food.
Pesticides, which are normally used to control unwanted insects and plants, may cause a variety of negative effects on non-target organisms.
[30] Corrosive chemicals like sulfuric acid, which is found in car batteries and research laboratories, can cause severe skin burns.
Many other chemicals used in industrial and laboratory settings can cause respiratory, digestive, or nervous system problems if they are inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin.
Such hazards as a lack of accessible emergency exits, poorly marked escape routes, or improperly maintained fire extinguishers or sprinkler systems may result in many more deaths and injuries than might occur with such protections.
[32] Ergonomic hazards are physical conditions that may pose a risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system, such as the muscles or ligaments of the lower back, tendons or nerves of the hands/wrists, or bones surrounding the knees.
Ergonomic hazards occur in both occupational and non-occupational settings such as in workshops, building sites, offices, home, school, or public spaces and facilities.
[citation needed] Cultural property can be damaged, lost or destroyed by different events or processes, including war, vandalism, theft, looting, transport accident, water leak, human error, natural disaster, fire, pests, pollution and progressive deterioration.
