There is difference between disaster and risk. While the former may be defined as a major hazard (occurrence of a natural or anthropogenic threat such as earthquake, landslide, flood, industrial fire, nuclear explosion etc. with potential to cause loss to life and/or property) is a phenomenon that cause loss to life and property on a larger or regional scale in terms of loss to life/property/environment etc, the latter (risk) states for the probability of above kind of hazard event.

Disasters can be both, natural and anthropogenic i.e. the ones caused by man.

In general, risk is a function of hazard probability (Hp) and the damage potential (Dp) . i.e. R = f (Hp, Dp)

Development and Disaster Risk, as their names are specifying and of course by way of taking into consideration, one can say that they are interrelated though the relationship is too complex and may vary from one individual to another, one community to another, one hamlet or settlement, one township to another and so on, depending upon how much a community is exposed towards risk i.r.o. a particular disaster.

A summary is at. http://currents.plos.org/disasters/index.html%3Fp=1829.html

Thanks Atul Kohli for your comment. I was looking at the UNDRR definition, it's a connection between risk and disaster risk, and how it is connected with the concept of development. Here is what I have found

Risk is a combination of three components: hazard, exposure, and vulnerability

Risk assessments are produced in order to estimate possible economic, infrastructure, and social impacts arising from a particular hazard or multiple hazards.

Disaster risk is expressed as the likelihood of loss of life, injury or destruction and damage from a disaster in a given period of time.

Disasters are sometimes considered external shocks, but disaster risk results from the complex interaction between development processes that generate conditions of exposure, vulnerability and hazard. 

https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NAPC/Country%20Documents/General/apf%20technical%20paper03.pdf

Thanks Ilan Kelman for this list. I am sure your contribution will enrich our conversation. Appreciated.

Truly said about the definitions Ranjan. As the definitions keep on changing sometimes, depending upon vast understanding of these topics, what is important is to learn from the actual ground conditions, for which often there is no way except actual field work as they enrich our understanding. Thanks for the interesting article.

Some developmental interventions can increase hazards (watershed erosion, deforestation) while others will reduce the occurance of disasters (irrigation schemes, flood levees).

Thanks

@Ranjan Datta

Poor development choices increase risk as in New Orleans (see below.) On a national developmental level, poor governance severely comprises disaster management capabilities because government is often indifferent to human health and safety, communities lack social, economic and knowledge capital to respond, recover, prepare, mitigate and plan.

https://www.academia.edu/15786258/Katrina_as_an_Everyday_Disaster

In New Orleans, a canal developed to facilitate shipping actual caused the transportation of the Hurricane Katrina storm surge into New Orleans city.

Also development choices reclaiming below sea-level land (which then further sunk after reclamation) meant that New Orleans lay in a depression of land and the water couldn't flow out of the city.

"A second design consideration involved the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO). Construction of the MR-GO (1956–1965) overlapped the design phase of the hurricane protection system but little attention was paid to the impact of one project on the other. However, the MR-GO played a significant role in delivering Katrina’s storm surge into New Orleans. Furthermore, a study by Hassan Mashriqui showing that the ‘funnel effect’ could increase the storm surge hitting the Intracoastal Waterway by 20–40 per cent, was ignored when the levees were constructed (van Heerden and Bryan, 2006, pp79–81). "

". At the largest scale, it was the levees, pumps and drainage ditches that made the expansion of New Orleans (through the reclamation of land that was below sea level) possible and led to the creation of a city in a bowl.

However, these various water control technologies would not have been necessary if New Orleans were located in a different place. Thus, at the macro level, it is necessary to understand how New Orleans came to be an inevitable city in an impossible location. The answer lies in the economic and ideological relation of humans and their environment. Water transport is the most economically efficient mode for transporting large volumes of product vast distances and, officially founded in 1718, the original city rested on a slip of high ground at the crossroads of three navigable bodies of water (Lake Pontchartrain, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River). As America settled the Ohio valley and Louisiana Territory in the 19th century, commerce along the Mississippi River increased and New Orleans grew appreciably, requiring repeated bouts of land reclamation and levee building. Thus, it was the human transformation of the natural environment that enabled the city to expand. What began with efforts to tame the Mississippi River (through flood control) and reclaim land (to enable the city to grow) gradually turned into a system also aimed at protecting the city from hurricanes. Additionally, as water was removed from the swamps to reclaim land, the dry land settled and the city continued to sink (McQuaid and Schleifstein, 2006, pp3–101). "

I think this says a great deal about which development choices we should make:

"Underlying these developments was an ideology of environmental domination in which taming nature, rather than living in harmony with it, lay at the root of the city’s physical vulnerability (Cutter, 2006)."

Quotes all taken from:

Katrina as everyday disaster

Dynamics of Disaster

Lessons on Risk, Response and Recovery

Edited by Rachel A. Dowty and Barbara L. Allen

with a foreword by Alan Irwin

Part 3 Disasters as System Accidents: A Socio-ecoloogical Framework

by Gary Bowden pg 53,54,55

Many thanks Nicola Scott for your detailed comments and resources, I will read these soon. Appreciated.

Development increases exposure, thus increases disaster risk.

Thanks Rafael Silva Araújo Therefore, we need to rethink the following questions on "development"

1) Who can define what are the meanings of development

2) development for whom, by whom, to whom

3) who can get benefit from the development

4)how to see development from community perspectives

Development doesn't necessarily increase risk; poor governance leading to poor development choices, decreased group and personal capacities and increased vulnerability of the same. We cannot go to war on our planet and not expect a disaster.

The impact of disasters on development is well documented. Disasters have a devastating effect on local livelihoods and their development. Losses for disasters compromise Sustainable Development Goals unless effective measures to reduce disaster risk.

The communities have made progress in mitigating losses associated with disasters through better response preparedness and early warning.

However, they don't address development processes that shape disaster risk first; generally, they continue to view disasters as exceptional natural events that disrupt normal development and can be managed through humanitarian actions. Communities aren't doing enough to disaster risk through appropriate development.

When I contrast the testimonies, case studies and material which I have read describing actual disasters with theoretical and best practice research and recommendations, I get the impression that disaster management is not fully integrated into societies, cultures or administrations. Nor does it seem to be taken as seriously as it should by government. Additionally, it is often politicized.

The organization and homogenization which I would anticipate to be happening globally - so that any organisation can interact with any other during a disaster - doesn't seem to exist.

I must add that have just started studying disaster management and I in no way intend to criticize or be disrespectful of the field, practitioners or researchers (all of whom have far more knowledge and experience than I), but the impression I am given is that disaster management is in its infancy.

Does this impression have any validity or is it rather due to my 'greenness?'

Although there have been notable gains in DRR, such as the Sendai Framework, there is a long way to go. First, in my view, we would have to question the development rates used. Other elements are also relevant to improve people's lives that are not necessarily linked to income and expenses, such as enjoying a healthy environment, living in a safe place, participate effectively in decisions that affect the community, etc.

Disaster Management has not quantified its efforts in measurable units just as Physics or Other scientific fields. First, standardislng disaster efforts is a priority. Then comes, scaling the development efforts. It is then possible to relate development to DM universally.

Agreed, do you have thoughts on how quantification could be achieved?

@Dr. Nicola Scott

Step I: Identifying the smallest fundamental units in Disaster Management cycle of i) Mitigation ii) Preparedness iii) Response and iv) Recovery

Step II : Defining universally each unit ( Most difficult )

Step III : Creating measurable units ( Just as Ampere for Current, Ohm for Resistance, (in Physics ) Mole for mass ( in Chemistry) and so on. In the case of earthquakes, Richter scale provides some quantitative measure! ).

Step IV: As Disaster Management is an international subject with inter disciplinary nature, universal acceptance of these units is a must. Hence definitions of these units have to be precise and acceptable.

Step V: Comparative analysis of each disaster effort around the globe and statistically ranking it can provide greater impetus.

Step VI: Finally, an arbitrating body combined with Scopus like assessing institution can standardize the entire efforts.

Unless this is done, Disaster Management will be viewed as a subjective study with volumes of essays read by a few and followed by a fewer group.

Over the past several decades there was been increased development and population growth on the coast. Due to climate change sea levels continue to rise and threaten these coastal areas. In addition climate change has resulted in an increased number of Hurricanes and due to increased growth in coastal areas has resulted in increased costs for these disasters.

http://www.mccip.org.uk/media/1769/2017arc_sciencereview_009_cof.pdfhttps://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk

https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk

https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/pubs/CoastalFloodingClimateChangeandYourHealth-508.pdf

@Rengarajan Parth

Thank you. I must just point out that I am not a doctor.

I think standardisation and globalization is imperative. Something along the ISO perhaps.

@Juan March

Thank you for the info on risks faced by coastal development. I have been looking for exactly this for my next assignment!

Dangers can cause damage only to one person or to many people (which we call disasters). Destiny has nothing to do with it! disasters are caused by failure to comply with safety measures. in my opinion the "development" of security measures does not cause an increase in the risk of disasters but rather reduces them! The key word is safety! we must act collectively while respecting safety! We can measure the risk of disaster by quantifying the safety of our actions! We are all linked by a common destiny as the ongoing pandemic teaches us!

I think disasters are caused by poor governance and unsustainable development. National and local poor governance ito land use, construction, safety etc regulations, corruption, negligence, incompetence. Globally ito emissions management, imperialism, negligence. Unsustainable development ito reliance on fossil fuels, ecological destruction, marine pollution. Global warming, inequality, military aggression, uninformed or ill-considered development, social exclusion all contribute to hazards becoming catastrophic disasters. None of this is necessary; it is driven by self interest, lack of knowledge or ignorance. Disasters can be prevented (those resulting from global warming may now be unavoidable, but can be mitigated and prepared for to the maximum degree.) Stewardship and systemic risk could align economic needs with social and humanitarian needs. However, this alignment would still require political will and we don't have the most powerful nations (and biggest polluters) on board. Until we do (which itself is a question of good governance) - until we are all acting in the interests of the inhabitants of Earth, development will not be sustainable, unnecessary disasters will continue to happen and in equality will continue to foster social unrest.

and once that is all sorted, get yourself a tip -top disaster management team!

Exposure create disaster - is the widely adopted concept. Can measure the risk in terms of likelihood and cosequesnce , standard methodologies for disaster risk quantification is lacking, I think. Number of examples can cite the development - disaster relationship and reverse.

Thanks

Thanks, Joice k joseph Nicola Scott Pietro Astazi Rengarajan Parth Juan March, for your time and interesting comments. I wondered about more critical aspects of the concept of "Development and our responsibilities as a researcher."

• Who has the power to define the meanings of development?
• Development for when? Or, Whose development is it?
• How to know/learn the community's perspectives on development?
• As researchers, we are responsible for understanding communities' perspectives on development and challenging the governments/industries' meanings of enforcing development?

Development is the dynamic evolution of human knowledge.

Knowledge is the engine of development. Researchers (of knowledge) must set the ethical limit of their investigation. It is necessary to work as seekers only for the good of humanity and not to destroy the essence of man. Only good makes humanity happy!

• You brought up 4 questions.
• Who has the power to define the meanings of development? In theory anyone and everyone including: researchers (like us), administrators, government entities, ems agencies and providers.
• Development for when? Or, Whose development is it? development before an event which we define as planning, during an event which we define as operational, and after which is defined as recovery. Can be anyone and everyone as mentioned earlier.
• How to know/learn the community's perspectives on development? Ideally at least once a year members of the EOC (emergency operations center) get together once a year to discuss new developments or changes needed to their disaster response. We in eastern North Carolina hace an annual meeting of not just the local county EOC, but of anyone and everyone in the region to discuss hurricane disasters. This year we added numerous meetings due to COVID and also the effects on hurricane response. We also performed a table top drill over a week long period to simulate a hurricane hitting our coast, and multi jurisdictional response. During these meetings and drill we get input from anyone and everyone.
• As researchers, we are responsible for understanding communities' perspectives on development and challenging the governments/industries' meanings of enforcing development? Yes, absolutel. But unfortunately it is rarely something that we study nor publish about.

Thanks Juan March for your comments, appreciated it.

• From my 15 community-based research experiences, I have seen the local community in most time cases, they are left behind in defining their meanings of development, in many cases, the meanings of development are forced by the outsiders for our outsider benefits. Therefore development became genocide for many communities.
• In many cases, the researcher became silent as the process of research objectivity. Many communities suggested that both research and researchers became colonial tools for justifying oppressive development to many communities.
• Others (administrators, government entities, ems agencies and providers), as many communities suggested, are colonial tools to maintaining colonial systems.

2. Since local communities in many cases do not have the right to define it, they do not have control over the decision-making process.

3. I think, we need to decolonize both our research and who are as a researcher for learning how to know/learn the community's perspectives on development. We need to learn community leadership and cultural knowledge on how to rethink the development and reshape us regarding what to do.

4. I agree with you. here are some examples: Cover Page Environmental Sustainabilities, Responsibilities, Community-...

Totally agree with you.

My answers were in an ideal situation/community/world.

You are right, unfortunately in most cases the community leaders and their needs are ignored.

Thanks Juan March

Maybe "an ideal situation/community/world" does exist in reality, until or unless we all take our own responsibilities.

Thanks again

Development can create disaster risks through making environmental degradation (exploit & deplete natural resources, use more fossil fuels, rise sea level...). However, development can reduce disaster risk through increasing adaptability, using high technology to improve environmental quality....

Thanks Cong Minh Huynh I agree with you to some extend. Technological innovation is significant to reduce disaster risk; however, if local peoples are not engaged with techno-related decision making, it may not help. Thus, I think, we can think, rethink, how to create community-led decision-making//practice/design in our technological innovations/practice/design. An only techno-oriented solution may bring other forms of suffering to the local people.

The geophysical setting with unplanned and inadequate developmental activity is a cause for increased losses during disasters. In the case of India, the contribution of over-population to high population density, which in turn results in escalating losses, deserves to be noted.

Thanks M. Kamraju well said. I agree with you. This is happening in many parts of the world, particularly in South Asia. Many minority and local people have been serious consequences.

After reading some of the other excellent responses, it made me think more about how development increases disaster risk? Over the past 50 years there has a been large increase in building near the ocean. There has been a boom in beachfront housing with an ever increasing population at the water‘s edge. Thus, today when a hurricane hits a coastal area it results in increased damages and increased cost compared to 50 years ago. Due to these increased costs and with the threat of climate change worsening the situation, there has been a renewed effort to once again make the owners of these coastal properties pay a higher insurance premium.

But why do we allow building in geographically high risk area??? You don't have to look to very far, just follow the money (building/taxes/etc)

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/climate/federal-flood-insurance-cost.amp.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.fayobserver.com/amp/4513582001

Juan March and Maren Aase Thanks for your important points that the "disaster" created by our neo-liberal greediness. It is not always natural. This is high time to deconstruct its meanings and our responsibilities as a researcher.

Example from Tunisia on the impact of watershed development on hydraulic disorders and flood risks: Indigenous, Carthaginian, Roman, and Muslim cities were, without exception, located high up, sheltered from flooding. The centrifugal developments of urbanization around the old cities during the last century have increased runoff and urban agglomerations have reached low flood zones. The transformation of watersheds and the artificialization of the water cycle due to hydraulic infrastructure have increased the concentration of flows so that flooding has become a national plague.

Thanks, Jamel Chahed, for your comment. You provided an excellent example of human-centric development may create disaster risk.

Thank you Ranjan Datta, indeed, the impacts of human activity on the natural environment may imply huge risks. This is another example from Tunisia, also valid in most other countries in the south of the Mediterranean, where the expansion of modern irrigated agriculture, has resulted in increasing groundwater overexploitation. Most of the aquifers are submitted to disastrous overexploitation leading to drawdowns and irreversible degradation of water quality. Some aquifers are withdrawn at more than 250% of the average recharge rate and the oases of the South draw on very weakly renewable “fossil” aquifers to produce dates sold at prices ranging between $ 1 and $ 3 (approximately 8 m3 of water are required to produce 1 kg of dates) [1]. Coastal aquifers in the Cap-Bon region (in the North) are used in the production of citrus fruits sold at less than $ 1 per kg. The aquifers are stressed to such an extent that marine intrusion has, in some cases, resulted in definitive depletion of the resource. If the decision-makers and the scientific community do not put urgently all their human and material resources and all the scientific and technical means, to solve this nagging problem; well, we will be going to the general squandering of ground-water resources as it is already the case of certain coastal aquifers.

[1](4) National Water Security, Case Study of an Arid Country: Tunisia | Request PDF (researchgate.net).

Water Security is one of the most (if not the most) nagging issues in water-scarce countries, particularly as it is exacerbated by Climate Change concerns. Perspectives for sustainable development in the arid region are given in the following discussions:

(2) Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change: "Temporal Paradox" versus "Chronology Protection Conjecture". (researchgate.net)

(2) On Water Scarcity Indicators (researchgate.net)

Thanks Jamel Chahed I agree

Dear Dr Ranjan Datta . See the following useful RG link: Article Linking disaster risk reduction and human development

Kindly check also the following useful RG link: Article Advancing the Disaster and Development Paradigm

Also check please the following good link: https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/46639/1/S2000452_en.pdf

As earth quack happens, but disaster created by humans. Here is an example of how greedy companies violated the disaster code: https://www.bbc.com/news/64568826?fbclid=IwAR0LajzdJQjfViu3rKL_CUO0CJLj2f9GCy3LAR6awLQcPndbEzcW1Fvq5Sc.

So many lives... Many could be preventable

And corrupt collusive governments support them.

On Water Risks & Water Security. Dear Colleagues, With pleasure, I inform you that the Editor of our book "Besbes, M.; Chahed, J.; Hamdane, A. (2014). Sécurité hydrique de la Tunisie, Gérer l'eau en conditions de pénurie. Ed. L'Harmattan" authorized us to distribute the chapters for academic and teaching purposes. Chapters are available within the references of the present project: https://www.researchgate.net/project/SHT-Securite-Hydrique-de-la-Tunisie-Tunisias-Water-Security

Unfortunately, we do not have yet the right to share the updated English version of the book:

Besbes, M., Chahed, J., & Hamdane, A. (2019). National water security: Case study of an arid country: Tunisia. Springer International Publishing.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356907618_National_Water_Security_Case_Study_of_an_Arid_Country_Tunisia

The National Security Conceptual Model has been generalized to arid and semi-arid countries and in particular to the Maghreb countries:

Besbes, M., Chahed, J., & Hamdane, A. (2019). Food and water management in Northwest Africa. The Oxford Handbook of Food, Water and Society, 426.

To be requested on: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Scientific_Watch_on_Water_Scarcity_IndicatorsPublisher: Allan, T., Bromwich, B., Keulertz, M., & Colman, A. (Eds.)

French version available on:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357016786_Securite_hydrique_et_securite_alimentaire_dans_la_region_de_l'Afrique_du_Nord-Ouest

Related topics are discussed within the following threads: https://www.researchgate.net/post/National_Water_Security_in_Water-Scarce_Countries https://www.researchgate.net/post/Water_Footprint_Water_Colors_Blue_Water_Green_Water_Grey_Water_Virtual_Water https://www.researchgate.net/post/Scientific_Watch_on_Water_Scarcity_IndicatorsPublisher: Allan, T., Bromwich, B., Keulertz, M., & Colman, A. (Eds.)

Thanks Jamel Chahed for sharing these resources.

Louis Pasteur: "We drink 90% of our illnesses". This recent paper demonstrates by the example of Sudan [1], the sanitary importance of urban water. This example shows that the issue of "Water Security" should be raised as a matter of "National Security" concern. The findings of this research are in this respect edifying particularly in defining a Drinking Water Security Index (DWSI). One may read at the very end of the conclusion: "These findings may provide important information for policy makers and stakeholders in the health and water sectors in Sudan to improve public health and better prepare for future climatic changes. Future similar studies aimed at optimizing the EmONC network, and particularly in the drier countries of the Sahel, could benefit from additional insight coming from DWSI"

[1] Simonin, V., Vaghefi, S. A., Abdelgadir, Z. M., Eltayeb, D., Sidahmed, M. A. M., Monet, J. P., & Ray, N. (2022). Present and Future Drinking Water Security and its Impacts on Maternities: A Multi-scale Assessment of Sudan. Preprint available on:

https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202210.0461/download/final_file

See also references within the references on the following Project (10 Chapters) https://www.researchgate.net/project/Urban-Hydrology-and-Hydraulics-Hydrologie-et-Hydraulique-urbaines

Thanks Jamel Chahed for your comment and for providing resources, they are very interesting and timely.