1. What is the difference between a hazard and a disaster?
2. What impact does disaster do on the societ?
3. When does a hazard become a disaster?
4. How can the effect of disaster be reduced?

1) Hazards are unsafe conditions or circumstances that can imperil or cause injury to life or damage to

property or the environment.

• Hazards can be Natural or Unnatural. Natural Hazards have their origin in meteorogical, geological or biological factors. Unnatural hazards are usually caused by human factors or technological reasons.

• Only when natural phenomena like earthquakes or landslide interact with man made environment that the hazardous situation is created.

2) 

When a hazard such as earthquake, flood or windstorm coincidents with a vulnerable situation such as communities, cities or villages a disaster is caused.

• Disasters are thus no act of God.

• Disasters are different from accident. Causes, frequency, duration of the impact, speed of onset, scope of the impact, destructive potential, human vulnerability are some factors that distinguishes between the two.