Natural Hazards & Disaster Management

Natural hazards are related to the geography of a particular locality or region. A natural hazard may be a river that is prone to flooding, or an active volcano. Many thousands of people may live close enough to such a hazard to be in danger of serious harm if there is a flood or other naturally occurring event. Management of the risks associated with natural hazards is important to many people.

Relationships

• The management of natural hazards and disasters begins with an understanding of the relationship between geographic hazards and the vulnerability of human populations. Management of the potential harm from a hazard begins with mitigation of the danger posed by the hazard itself. Secondly, hazard management procedures need to be developed to provide guidance to people who must evacuate their homes and businesses in face of a natural disaster. A balance must be struck between providing for the safety of the people living near hazards, and efforts to mitigate natural hazards.

Risk Assessment

• Classifying the risk that a natural hazard poses to communities requires judgment based upon scientific research conducted by responsible agencies. Mathematical and scientific studies will be used to determine the probability that a natural hazard will pose a risk to life and property. Agencies responsible for emergency response must plan how to use the available resources most efficiently. Resources must be used to mitigate possible loss of life and the financial costs associated with recovery and rebuilding.

Coordinated Response

• There are local, state and federal agencies that are tasked with the responsibility to respond to natural hazards and disasters. Each agency has jurisdiction over a specific geographical area or political subdivision. Effective disaster response management requires that efforts of all the response agencies are coordinated to eliminate duplication and wasteful use of limited resources. Each response agency has unique capabilities and skills that can be employed by disaster managers in a coordinated effort to provide assistance to people at risk.

Hazards Indentified

• There are many different naturally occurring phenomena in the United States that are natural hazards. The most common hazards that present a risk to life and property are floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and winter storms. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is responsible for managing the federal response to natural hazards and disasters throughout the country. When a disaster strikes a community, FEMA marshals all the required resources to bring relief to people who have suffered significant loss, once an event qualifies for a federal response.

Planning

• Emergency response managers take all of the scientific, regional traffic planning, population demographics and potential risk scenarios into account as they prepare plans for responding to contingencies that may be faced in the future. Planning includes conducting emergency response exercises that are used to train emergency response personnel, and to prepare the public for any actions that will be required to protect human life and property. Hospitals and medical facilities need to have plans in place to handle mass casualty scenarios.