BSC-03 Introduction to Key Hazards

BSC-03 Introduction to Key Hazards

Prof. Rajib Shaw, Keio University, Japan

Ms. Sukhreet Bajwa

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Date: 13-09-21

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SPEC-01 Phases of Disaster Management

Outline of the Module

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02 04

03 05

Geological hazards Biological hazards

Hydro-meteorological hazards Technological hazards

Environmental hazards

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Cascading hazards

BSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this course do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part

of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

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SPEC-01 Phases of Disaster Management


Key hazards clusters

Total 302 hazards listedHazard clusters

Fig: Classification of hazards (ISC, UNDRR, 2020)

The ‘Hazard Definition &

Classification Review’ (ISC,

UNDRR, 2020) identifies 302

hazards in the world

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1. Geological hazards

• Internal & external earth processes

• Internal earth processes or tectonic origin:

• earthquakes,

• tsunamis, and

• volcanic activity

• External processes:

• mass movements - landslides, rockslides, rock

falls or avalanches, surface collapse, expansive

soils and debris or mud flows.

• It can be single, sequential or combined in their

originBSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Fig 1: Geological hazards

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Earthquakes• The result of a sudden release of energy due to tectonic

changes in the earth’s crust

• Two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another.

The surface where they slip is called the fault plane

• The location below the earth’s surface where it starts is

called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it

on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

• Recorded on seismographs

• The size of the earthquake is called its magnitude

• The intensity describes the severity of an earthquake in

terms of its effects.

• Magnitude is measured in Richter scale and intensity in

Modified Mercilli scale


Fig 2. Different aspects at the origin of

Earthquake (USGS)

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Earthquakes (contd.)

• Earth crust is made up of tectonic plates, and the

edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries

• The plate boundaries are made up of many faults,

where most earthquakes occur

• Earthquake generates

• P or compressional waves: travel fastest and

are the first to arrive from the earthquake.

• S or shear waves: travel about 60% the speed

of P waves, and the S wave always arrives after

the P wave

• Two types of surface waves are L-waves (or

love waves) and R-waves (or Rayleigh waves)-

destructiveBSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Fig 3. The tectonic plates (USGS)

Fig 4. An example of a seismic wave (USGS)

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Earthquakes (contd.)


Fig 5. Earthquake Hotspots in MENA

Region (The World Bank, 2014)

• From 1900 to 2011, Algeria, Djibouti,

Egypt, Iran, Morocco, and the Republic of

Yemen have been affected by over 100

earthquakes that have killed almost

170,000 people and affected 4.5 million

others.

• 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran killed

approximately 27,000 people, affected

270,000 million, with more than US$500

million in damages and losses

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Earthquakes (contd.)2017 Iran–Iraq earthquake

• 12 November 2017

• Magnitude: 7.3

• Total 630 people killed

• Left about 70,000 people homeless

• Destroyed approximately 12,000 homes

and

• Damaged another 15,000

1967 Koynanagar Earthquake, India

• Reservoir trigger as one of the

contributory factor

• Magnitude: 6.3

• Largest earthquake near a reservoir


Fig 6. Earthquake at Sarpol-e Zahab in

Iran's Kermanshah province on November

13, 2017 (Arab News, 2017)

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Mitigation Measures for Earthquakes

Structural Measures:

• Earthquake Resistant Design:

• Engineered structures as per building

by-laws

• Incorporation of earthquake resistant

features

• Strengthening and seismic retrofitting of

critical and vulnerable infrastructures


Fig 7. Essential requirements in a masonry

building

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Mitigation Measures for Earthquakes (contd.)

Non-Structural Measures:

• Proper anchoring or bracing of non-

structural elements

• Seismic zonation

• Land-use planning

• Earthquake Early Waning System

• Capacity Development: regular mock

drills, training of masons and response

teams

• Risk transfer and disaster insurance


Fig 8. Non-structural elements (UEVRP)

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Landslides

• The movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth

down a slope

• Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," which

denotes any down-slope movement of soil and

rock under the direct influence of gravity.

• It encompasses five modes of slope movement:

falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows.

• Debris flows (commonly referred to as mudflows

or mudslides) and rock falls are examples of

common landslide types.BSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Fig 9. Parts of a landslide (USGS)

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Landslides (contd.)• Slope movement occurs when forces acting

down-slope (due to gravity) exceed the strength

of the earth materials that compose the slope.

• Multiple causes: heavy rainfall, stream erosion,

changes in ground water, earthquakes, volcanic

activity, deforestation, heavy construction in

mountain regions etc.

• A landslide in the Atlas Mountains south of

Marrakech in Morocco killed 15 people in a van in

June 2021 including 11 women, three men and a

child

• Palu city landslide, 2018: The Central Sulawesi

earthquake triggered landslides, and tsunami.


Fig 10. Landslides occurred the

Mediterranean coastal zone of Morocco

between Oued Laou and El Jebha City

(Harmouzi et al, 2019)

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Mitigation Measures for Landslides


• Slope stabilization: terracing and

engineering

• Retaining Walls, Gabion walls, etc.

• Developing rock-fall barriers

• Surface drainage control works

• Geo-technical engineering (soil treatment,

etc.)


Fig 11. Gabion retaining wall (Ocean Global)

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Mitigation Measures for Landslides (contd.)


• Landslide zonation maps for

identification of active landslide

spots

• Landslide monitoring and

warning

• Bio-engineering (Plantation e.g.

vetiver grass, bamboo)

• Community education, training

and awareness


Fig 12. Installation of monitoring equipment in

Oregon Coast Range (USGS)

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Volcanic Eruption

• Occurs when magma is released from a volcano

• It can be quite calm and effusive, or they can be

explosive

• It can also cause secondary events, such as floods,

landslides and mudslides, if there are

accompanying rain, snow or melting ice.

• Hot ashes can also start wildfires.


Fig 13. Parts of a Volcano (World Atlas)

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Volcanic Eruption (contd.)

• Process of a volcanic eruption:

• Magmatic eruption: gas is released under

decompression.

• Phreatomagmatic eruption: thermal

contraction comes from water.

• Phreatic eruption: steam starts to erupt

• It can aggravate climate change due to emitted

volcanic gases like

• sulfur dioxide causes global cooling, & volcanic

carbon dioxide promote global warming


Fig 14. Types of Volcanic (Encyclopedia

Britanica)

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Volcanic Eruption (contd.)

• Three stages of a volcano:

• Active: erupting or may erupt soon.

• Dormant: may have erupted before, but it is

no longer erupting. It has the ability to erupt

again.

• Extinct: not erupting and will never erupt

again.

• Saudi Arabia: over 2,000 dormant volcanoes


Fig 15. Volcanic craters in Saudi Arabia

(Alarabiya News, 2020)

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Mitigation Measures for Volcanic Eruption


• Compliance with relevant building codes

• Promotion of fire-resistant structures.

• Engineering of structures to withstand

additional weight of ash deposit

• Strengthening and retrofitting of critical

and vulnerable infrastructures



• Hazard Zonation Maps

• Avoidance of likely lava-flow channels

• Avoid constructions in hazard prone

areas.

• Monitoring and warning

• Community education, training and

awareness

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Avalanches • Large mass of rock debris or snow that

moves down a mountain slope

• Forms:

• Rock avalanches (which are made up of

massive chunks of shattered rock),

• Ice avalanches (which usually happen

near a glacier), and

• Debris avalanches (which contain a

variety of unconsolidated materials, such

as loose stones and soil).


Fig 16. Search and rescue works continue at site

after a second avalanche buries search team

during search and rescue efforts in Bahcesaray

district of Turkey's eastern Van province on 5

February 2020 (Middle East Monitor, 2020)

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Avalanches • It is a significant hazard to people living in,

or visiting, glacial areas.

• Multiple Causes: heavy snow fall,

deforestation, steep slopes, earthquake, etc.

• In December 2020 series of avalanches in

Iran killed 10 people in a mountainous area

north of the Tehran in,

• In 2017, two avalanches killed 11 hikers in

Iran


Fig 17. A rescue helicopter carrying dead

bodies of mountaineers after avalanches

in a mountainous area north of Tehran in

December 2020 (Gulf News, 2020)

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Mitigation Measures for Avalanches


• Direct protection of roads and buildings

• Channelizing the flow of the snow: Deflecting

Berm, Steel Splitting Wedge, Deflecting Structures

etc.

• Collecting and storing Snow: Avalanche Dam,

stone and concrete mold etc.

• Starting zone snow supportive: Earth and Masonry

Terraces, Wood and steel avalanche prevention

structures, Snow nets, etc.

• Fences and Baffles


Fig 18. An avalanche snow bridge (geo-

xchange)

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Mitigation Measures for Avalanches


• Avalanche Zonation Maps

• Artificial Triggering of

Avalanches

• Afforestation


Fig 19. Treeline along the slope (Larimit)

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2. Hydro-meteorological hazards

• Atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic origin

• Resulting from

• The state and behavior of the Earth’s

atmosphere,

• Its interaction with the land and oceans,

• The weather and climate it produces, and

• The resulting distribution of water resources

• Such as:

• Tropical cyclones;

• Floods, including flash floods;

• drought;

• dust and sandstorms;

• heatwaves and cold spells; and

• coastal storm surges.BSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Fig 20. Sandstorm and orange cloud

hovers over Gafsa, Tunisia (World Bank

Blogs)

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Hydro-meteorological hazards (contd.)

• Hydrometeorological conditions may also be a contributing factor to other hazards such

as

• landslides,

• wildland fires,

• locust plagues,

• epidemics and

• in the transport and dispersal of toxic substances and volcanic eruption material

• Floods, droughts and storms are the most common hazards in MENA region.


Floods

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• An overflow of water that submerges land

which is usually meant to be dry

• A temporary coverage with water of an area

• Caused by high water in natural water-

courses, reservoirs, onshore canals, etc.

• Both natural and anthropogenic causes.

• Intense precipitation

• River overflow

• Dam burst

• Snowmelt

• Deforestation, etc.

Fig. 21. A military vehicle on a rescue mission in

Golestan Province, Iran, March 2019 (The New

York Times, 2019)


Types of floods

26BSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

• The water level in a river, lake or stream rises and overflows onto the surrounding banks, shores and neighboring land

• Occurs when excessive rain or snowmelt over an extended period of timeFluvial floods:

• An extreme rainfall creates a flood independent of an overflowing water body

• Happen in relatively flat areas.

• 1. Surface water floods occur when an urban drainage system is overwhelmed and water flows out into streets and nearby structures.

• 2. Flash floods- an intense, high velocity torrent of water triggered by torrential rain falling within a short amount of time within the vicinity or on nearby elevated terrain.

Pluvial floods:

• Inundation of land areas along the coast by seawater

• These are caused by tides, storms, tropical cyclones and tsunamis.

Coastal floods:

Floods (contd.)

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• Most frequent hazard of MENA countries

• Total 213 floods have hit 15 MENA countries

between 1900 to 2011

• Killed almost 19,000 people

• Affected 8.6 million people (World Bank,

2014)

• In 2020, Iraq was the country with the

highest flood risk among conflict and risk

countries in the MENA region (Mirza, 2021)Fig. 22. Flood Hotspots in MENA Region (The

World Bank, 2014)


2019 Floods in Iran

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• Flash Floods: March 19 to May 1, 2019

• lasted over 5 weeks including

• The worst flooding in 70 years

• Affected more than 2000 cities and towns across

almost all of Iran's 31 provinces

• Total 78 persons died & more than 1170 injured

• Over 60,000 displaced

• Destroyed thousands of kilometers of roads,

homes and infrastructural facilities costing at

least US$ 8 billion.

Fig. 23. Devastating flood in Iran (ISRC, 2019)


Mitigation Measures of Floods

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• Flood resistant design


• Embankments and levees

• Increasing water percolation capacity

• Strengthening and retrofitting of critical

infrastructure

• Drainage improvement and floodwater

diversion through existing or new channels


Fig 24. Flood resistant design (The

Constructor)

Mitigation Measures of Floods



• Flood line mapping

• Flood risk assessment

• Flood plain zoning

• Flood forecasting and warning

• Operation and maintenance of

drainage systems

• Capacity Development

Fig. Illustration of Flood Plain Zoning

Cyclones

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• A rapid rotating storm originating over

oceans from where it draws the energy to

develop.

• Low pressure centre and clouds spiraling

towards the eyewall surrounding the

"eye"

• Around 200 to 500 km in diameter

• The winds blow counterclockwise in the

Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in

the Southern Hemisphere.Fig. 25. Anatomy of a tropical cyclone

(Encyclopedia Britannica) BSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Cyclones (contd.)

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Different terminologies based on location:

• Hurricanes: North Atlantic Ocean and

Northeast Pacific.

• Cyclones: South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

• Typhoons: Northwest Pacific Ocean.Fig. 26. Different terminologies of cyclone

(tnm services)


Classification of Tropical Cyclones


* 10-min

average wind

speed,

** 10-min

(recording) 3-

min (non-

recording),

*** 1-min

average wind

speed

Table 1: Classification of tropical cyclones (WMO)

Mitigation Measures of Cyclones

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• Cyclone & flood resistant design


• Strengthening and retrofitting of

critical infrastructure

• Cyclone Shelters


Fig 27. Cyclone resistant housing (NIDM, 2007)

Mitigation Measures of Cyclones



• Vulnerability analysis and cyclone risk

assessment

• Cyclone forecasting and warning

• Plantation

• Capacity developmentFig 28. Shielding with permeable barriers like trees

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• Common in arid and semi-arid regions

• Caused by thunderstorms – or strong pressure gradients associated with cyclones – which increase wind speed over a wide area.

• Strong winds lift large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry soils into the atmosphere

• Transporting them hundreds to thousands of kilometres away

• Some 40% of aerosols in the troposphere are dust particles from wind erosion.

Fig 29. A massive sandstorm over Saudi Arabia and

Iraq on October 29, 2017 (American Thoracic

Society, 2018)


Sand and Dust Storms

Sand and Dust Storms (contd.)

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• More than 20 severe storms have affectedthe MENA region between 1900–2011

• Countries most affected: Iran, Oman,Egypt, and Algeria

• Oman:

• Gonu in 2007 and Phet in 2010 caused24 fatalities and severely damagedinfrastructure

• Storms have killed 155 people since1980, with damages reaching US$3.95billion Fig 30. Storm hotspots in MENA Region (The World

Bank, 2014)


Mitigation Measures of Sand and Dust Storms

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• Source mitigation

• Temporary mechanical methods: concrete

barrier, mulching, tree buffer etc.

• Use of native plants and trees as buffer can

reduce wind velocity and sand drifts at the

same increase the soil moisture

• Appropriate building design

• Air infiltration testing during building

commissioning


Fig 31. Source mitigation at Kubuqi desert

China (UNEP, 2016)

Mitigation Measures of Sand and Dust Storms



• Risk assessment

• Sand and dust storm forecasting and warning


Northern Africa, Middle East and Europe

Regional Center by WMO Sand and Dust Storm

Warning Advisory and Assessment System works

towards advisory and forecasting of sand and

dust stormsFig 32. Visibility reduced by SDS (NAMEERC,

2021)

Droughts

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• Marked by a period of below-normal

precipitation

• Reduced soil moisture or groundwater,

diminished stream flow, crop damage, and a

general water shortage.

• Slow onset - difficult to pinpoint start or end

• It may last for weeks, months, or even years

• MENA is the most water scarce region in the

worldFig. 33. Drought Hotspots in MENA Region (The

World Bank, 2014)


Types of Droughts


Meteorological

Drought:

when a region’s rainfall falls

far short of expectations

Hydrological

Drought:

when a lack of rainfall persists

long enough to deplete surface

water—rivers, reservoirs, or

streams—and groundwater

supplies

Agriculture

Drought:

available water supplies are

unable to meet the needs of

crops or livestock at a

particular timeFig. 34. Dried out agricultural land in the

Amizmiz region in Morocco (Sarant and

McDonnell, 2020)

Mitigation Measures of Droughts

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• Watershed management

• Water supply augmentation and

Conservation: Structures for rainwater

harvesting & recharging ponds, dams

farm, etc.

• Repair & maintenance, de-silting of

water sources, hand pump etc.

• Development of fodder plots & banks



• Drought risk assessment

• Drought monitoring, forecasting and

warning


• Farmer education to practice drought

resistant crops and efficient water use

• Setting up control mechanism for

regulating water use

• Afforestation

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3. Biological hazards

• Organic origin or conveyed by biological

vectors,

• pathogenic microorganisms,

• toxins and

• bioactive substances

• Examples

• bacteria,

• viruses or parasites,

• venomous wildlife and insects,

• poisonous plants and

• mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents.Fig. 35. People wearing face masks in

Rabat, Morocco, on June 12, 2020

(XinhuaNet)


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Biological hazards (contd.)

Outbreak: illness happens in unexpected high numbers

• It may stay in one area or extend more widely.

Epidemic: infectious disease spreads quickly to more people than experts would expect.

• It usually affects a larger area than an outbreak.

Pandemic: a disease outbreak that spreads across countries or continents.

• It affects more people and takes more lives than an epidemic.


The biohazard symbol was developed by the Dow Chemical Company to

educate people about the toxins or materials that carry significant health

risk.

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Biological hazards (contd.)


Major biological hazard events in history

• Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa in 2013-2016

• Biological warfare during World War II

• Outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus (MERS CoV) in 2012

• Zika virus infection in the Americas and the Pacific region

• Outbreak of Yellow fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda in 2016

• Chemical warfare with mycotoxins in Afghanistan-Soviet war

Major causes of biological hazards

• Animal farm vulnerability: Lack of welfare, insurance of livestock and unsustainable

farming practices

• Zoonotic diseases: from animal to humans and vice versa

• Trans boundary diseases: Disease occurrence followed by subsequent problems between

countries on trade, production, and economy

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Drivers of biological hazard risk

Fig 36. Key drivers of biological hazard riskBSC-03 Introduction to key hazards

Almost all the newly emerging

or re-emerging viral infections

have come from transmission

from animals (GAR 2019) Change

in land

useChange in

food

production

Change in

agricultural

practices

Change in

animal

husbandry

Livestock

production

system

Live

animal

markets

Unplanned

urban

development

Ecological

changes

Water

scarcity

Disasters

&

conflicts

Population

displacement

Various levels of Biohazards


Biohazard level 1:

• Agents generally do not cause disease in healthy humans.

• Such as bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and chickenpox

Biohazard level 2:

• Agents can cause severe illness in healthy humans, but can only cause infection through direct contact

• Such as hepatitis A, B, and C, Lyme disease, Salmonella, measles, mumps, HIV, and dengue.

Biohazard level 3:

• Pathogens that cause serious diseases and can become airborne.

• Such as tuberculosis, anthrax, hantavirus, Rift valley fever, malaria, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and yellow fever, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19

Biohazard level 4:

• Pathogens that cause diseases for which there are no treatments.

• Such as Ebola, Marburg virus, Lassa fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever

Various levels of biohazards (contd.)


Fig 37. The sphere of transmission of infectious diseases (sectoral

analysis) (UNDRR, 2020)

Mitigation Measures of Biological Hazards

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• Establishment of specialized health

care and laboratory facilities



• Improvement of ventilation

• Designs to encourage partial isolation

of the contamination source

• Installation of negative pressure and

separate ventilation and air-

conditioning system


Fig 38. Hospital redesign Mount Senai Hospital

USA (World Architecture, 2020)

Mitigation Measures of Biological Hazards (contd.)



• Integrated surveillance systems

• Capacity development based on

epidemiological surveys, detection and

investigations of disease outbreaks.

• Establishment of Early Warning System

• Rapid health assessment and provision of

laboratory support.

• Hospital preparedness

• Personal protective instruments

• Risk assessment:

• Strategic Risk Assessment is used for

risk management planning with a focus on

prevention and preparedness measures,

capacity development and medium- to

longer-term risk monitoring and

evaluation.

• Rapid Risk Assessment is used to

determine the level of risk associated with

detected events and to define response

interventions accordingly.

• Post-event assessment is used for

recovery planning

Integration of Biological Hazards into DRR


Fig 39. Key themes for integration of biological hazards into DRR planning

(UNDRR, 2020)

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4. Technological hazards

• Technological disasters account for 36.4% of all reported disasters worldwide

since 1900 (CRED)

• A subset of human-made hazards (UNDRR, 2018)

• Originate from:

• technological or industrial conditions,

• dangerous procedures,

• infrastructure failures or

• specific human activities

• Caused by a malfunctioning of a technological structure and/or some human

errors in controlling or handling of technology.


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Technological hazards (contd.)

Failures in large-scale structures, transport systems or industrial processes

inducing loss at a community scale (Smith, 2015)

Technological hazards: theory

• Normal Accident Theory suggests that no matter what organizations do, accidents

are inevitable in complex, strongly–coupled systems

• High Reliability Theory asserts that there is potential for individual human error,

but organizations can contribute significantly to the prevention of accidents through

designs and management. Top priority should be reliability and safety


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Technological disasters when triggered by impacts of natural hazard events are called

NATECH

Technological hazards may include:

• Industrial pollution

• nuclear radiation

• Release of toxic wastes

• Dam failures

• Transport accidents

• Factory explosions

• Fires

• Chemical spills


Fig 40. Types of hazards triggering NATECH (UNDRR, 2020)

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Specific challenges:

• Require specialized response teams and equipment

• Require technical know-how for management and disposal of hazardous material

• In case of cyber hazard, impacts may include breach of privacy and data security

• Threat cannot be anticipated

• Animosity/disputes between affected persons and industry owners

• Community breakdowns

• Longer recovery

• Media exposure and visuals can enhance stress

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Beirut port explosion - August 4, 2020,

• One of the largest non-nuclear explosions

• Resulted from the detonation of tonnes of

ammonium nitrate

• The killed 218 people, & wounded 7,000

people,

• Damaged 77,000 apartments, displacing

over 300,000 people

Fig 41. The city of Beirut after a massive blast on

August 4, 2020 (Outlook India)

57



The Kocaeli earthquake- August 17, 1999

• Mw=7.4

• 17 500 fatalities and 44 000 injured

• Significant structural damage and

machine equipment loss.

• Led to many Natech events ranging from

small-sized hazardous substance releases

to enormous fires

• The massive fire at the TUPRAS Izmit

refinery in Korfez

• The acrylonitrile spill at the AKSA

acrylic fiber production plant in

Ciftlikkoy, Yalova

Fig. Massive fire at the Tank farm

Mitigation Measures of Technological Hazards

58


• Technological hazard resistant

construction

• Land-use restrictions: provide

minimum safe distances from hazardous

sources to residential complexes, school,

hotel and other public places



• Risk assessment

• Process safety

• Anchoring and bracing

• Maintenance and inspection

• Alert mechanism

• Capacity development

59

5. Environmental hazards

• Caused by chemical, biological, or physical

agents, either as a result of current or prior human

activity, or as a result of a natural attribute.

• Environmental degradation or physical or

chemical pollution in the air, water and soil.

• Drivers: soil degradation, deforestation, loss of

biodiversity, salinization and sea-level rise.

Fig 42. Deforestation in South Sudan,

2019 (Middle East Online)


60

Environmental hazards (contd.)


Environmental

hazards

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation

(Forestry)

Air pollution

Land degradation

Soil degradation

Non-point source

pollution

Salinity

Biodiversity loss

Desertification

Loss of mangroves

Wetland

loss/degradation

Death/bleaching of

coral reefs

Soil erosion

Coastal erosion,

shoreline change

Permafrost loss

Sand mining

Sea-level rise

Eutrophication

Deforestation

Forest decline and

diebacks

Forest disturbances

Forest invasive

species

Wildfires

Fig 43. Examples of environmental hazards (UNDRR, 2020)

61

Environmental hazards (contd.)

Environmental stresses in MENA region include:

• Water scarcity

• Arable land depletion

• Air pollution

• Inadequate waste management

• Loss of biodiversity

• Declining marine resources

• Degradation of coastal ecosystems

Fig 44. Smog over Cairo, 2018


Mitigation Measures of Environmental Hazards

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Monitoring:

• Emissions inventories (records of the permitted or actual level of emissions from

specified sources);

• Environmental data (measurements of the concentrations of pollutants in the

environment);

• Bio-monitoring data (measurements of specific agents in biological samples,

routine (surveillance), clinical surveillance


Mitigation Measures (contd.)


• Control measures are guided by risk assessment

• These include:

oAlert mechanism

oLicensing / banning specific substances

oSetting of emissions controls

oEnforcement of concentrations or exposure limits for specific target groups

oEnforcement of health and safety protection

oSetting of guidelines/standards relating to environmental levels

64

6. Cascading hazards

• Extreme events in which cascading effects

increase in progression over time

• Generate unexpected secondary events of strong

impact

• Multiple hazardous events are considered

cascading when they act as a series of toppling

dominoes

• Cascading events may begin in small areas but

can intensify and spread to influence larger areas.

Fig 45. Japan earthquake and tsunami,

2011 (Britannica)


65

Cascading hazards (contd.)


Fig 46. Example of cascading hazard (de

Brito,2021)

The Egg hypothesis:

• Disaster - root cause, vulnerabilities, pressures

• Context – marginalization, poverty, general

vulnerability

Cascading hazards spread due to:

• Lack of awareness, information flow and

mobilization

• Lack of knowledge about isolated incidents

• Mass hysteria and panic

• Snowball dynamics – cumulative damage over time

66

Cascading hazards (contd.)

The negative events involves:

• A primary impact (the trigger)

• Chains and network of consequences

• Secondary impacts

• Complex interacting vulnerabilities

• Escalation points

• Complex impacts upon critical

infrastructure


Fig 47. Cause and effect of cascading hazard

(Alexander and Pescaroli, 2019)

Mitigation Measures of Cascading Hazards

67


• Hazard-resistant construction



• Land-use restrictions



• Multi-hazard risk assessment

• Process safety

• Redundancy in services

• Maintenance and inspection

• Alert mechanism

• Scenario planning

• Capacity development

Mitigation Measures of Cascading Hazards (contd.)


Fig 48. Understanding multi-hazard and cascading risks through scenario

planning (UNDRR,2020)

Scenario planning


Addressing cascading risk

Urgent need to investigate the direct and

indirect linkages and effects of natural,

biological, technological and other human-

induced hazards to identify better and

understand cascading and complex hazards

and risks in a systematic way (UNDRR and

ISC, 2020)

Multi-sectoral multi-hazard risk

approach

70

Thank you

Documents

BSC-03 Introduction to Key Hazards