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Session 1: Hazard, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment Actions for ‘Session 1: Hazard, Vulnerability, and Risk Assessment’
Week 1 — Overview & Introductions
After completing your reading assignments below, please respond to one or more of the following discussion questions:
1. The Terminology Subcommittee of the ASTM International Homeland Security Committee has foundered because it could not come up with a definition of risk. What do you think it (“risk”) means?
2. What is the difference between a risk assessment and a vulnerability assessment?
3. In your own words define hazard, risk, and vulnerability. Give a personal example for each or from an event or events you witnessed/followed in the news, etc.
MINIMUM LENGTH PER RESPONSE = 100 words (Initial posting must contain references)
Write it in a short essay format. Don’t forget references for your sources.
– – – – – Your discussion posting (a First Level Response) should be at least 100 words. Why 100 words? To ensure that each posting is meaningful, substantial, and reflects deep and thoughtful research and insight. Endeavor (i.e., the requirement is) to include URLs or references to ‘reveal’ your sources or to spur others’ additional readings. Inform your peers; offer an opinion; take a stand; prompt a discussion that others might wish to respond to or continue.
Assigned readings
[KAN]Kane, S. (2012). Natural disasters. In W. Bainbridge (ed.) Leadership in science and technology: A reference handbook(Vol. 2, pp. 512-519). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781412994231.n58 Retrieved from http://sk.sagepub.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/reference/hdbk_leadershipscitech/n58.xml
[LINb]Lindell, M. K., Prater, C. S., and Perry, R. W. (2006b). Hazard, vulnerability, and risk analysis. In Fundamentals of emergency management (pp. 153-191).Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/hiedu/aemrc/booksdownload/fem/
[LINc]Lindell, M. K., Prater, C. S., and Perry, R. W. (2006c). Principal hazards in the United States. In Fundamentals of emergency management (pp. 120-152).Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/hiedu/aemrc/booksdownload/fem/
[SND] Sandman, P. (2007). Understandingthe risk: What frightens rarely kills. Nieman Reports, 61, 1. Retrieved from http://psandman.com/articles/NiemanReports.pdf
FM4]Federal Emergency Management Agency. (1997a). Activities under the National Mitigation Strategy.Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1545-20490-2450/mhira_ac.pdf
[FM5]Federal Emergency Management Agency. (1997b). Multi-hazard identification and risk assessment.Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1545-20490-4487/mhira_in.pdf
[FM6]Federal Emergency Management Agency. (1997c). Risk assessment approaches. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1545-20490-4252/mhira_ra.pdf
[FM7]Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2001). Understanding your risks: Identifying hazards and estimating losses.Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1521-20490-4917/howto2.pdf
[FM10]Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2013). Mitigation ideas: A resource for reducing risk to natural hazards. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1904-25045-0186/fema_mitigation_ideas_final508.pdf
Answer
Hazard Risk and Vulnerability
Risk is the potential of losing something that is of value as a result of encounters with situations whose effects are uncertain. Risk factors pose aspects of unpredictability in terms of the encounter in question and its potential outcomes (Lerbinger, 1997). The term has been applied in different sectors including healthcare, finance, insurance, safety, security and the environment.
Despite ASTM International Homeland Security Committee’s inability to define the term, it is imperative to clearly identify what qualifies as a risk as part of planning and management of organizational operations. In this regard, risk may be defined as any uncertain event that holds varying probabilities of posing threat or negative effects on the people involved or the resources allocated (Kane, 2012). These threats may be biological, nuclear, radioactive or terror-related. In terms of causation, they may be human-induced or natural. Events are classified as risk depending on the extent of potentially negative outcome it carries. Risk tends to threaten human life in addition to physical resources. Thus, appropriate measures should always be put in place to prevent both human and natural risks. In human-created risks, the measures taken are preventive and employ security methods to ward off potential threats. Similarly, natural risks can be mitigated to a certain extent to reduce damage and promote coping mechanisms and foster victims’ ability to return or bounce back to previous states (Kane, 2012). Using specialized tools and equipment, speculated risk can be quantified and classified in terms of potential damage.
Risk assessment and vulnerability assessment are remotely different, though they hold profound similarities. Vulnerability assessment in disaster management means analyzing threats and exposure to natural hazards and potential threat to the population and other resources (Perrow, 2007). Risk assessment is the analysis of qualitative and quantitative estimates of an identified and outlined event or situation that poses as a threat. Therefore, risk assessment is a more accurate assessment of the extent to which negative outcomes will emerge should the undesirable event occur. Thus, it moves from a complete assumption to a more quantitative measure of the threat. Consequently, it is particularly useful in designing mitigation and recovery strategies. Risk Assessment focuses on causes and direct effects while vulnerability assessment dwells on the risk in terms of both primary and secondary consequences on victims and the environment (Sandman, 2007). The two concepts also share some similarities such as the recognition of the need to take up methods that eliminate or mitigate risks and threat in order of importance or severity.
A hazard is any biological, environmental, human or physical factor whose occurrence could cause damage and destruction to humans, other living organisms and infrastructure. Risk and hazard, though often used interchangeably, hold different meanings. The former is popularly differentiated as the probability of negative results due to exposure to a hazard. Therefore, hazard is the agent of threat while risk is the probability of the agent occurring (Pelling, 2003). Interestingly, a hazard does not create any risk is it remains static by virtue of gaining no exposure. This explains why hazards are observed as infinite, such that they only bring about damaging consequences where they are exposed or activated. They are further divided into mechanical and physical hazards. Mechanical hazards are typically common daily encounters such as motor vehicle accidents while physical hazards comprise floods, hurricanes and other natural phenomena. Vulnerability is the susceptibility to an active hazard that has gained exposure and been transformed into a risk. Areas of seismic and ground movement are classified as hazard areas, while the occurrence of potential earthquakes in these areas is classified as a risk. On the other hand, poor design, construction and architecture qualify as vulnerabilities that lead to greater exposure of damage should the risk occur (Perrow, 2007). This combination of hazard and risk has been observed and reported in press with particular attention to earthquake-prone areas such as the Hawaii and India.
References
Kane, S. (2012). Leadership in science and technology: A reference handbook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. http://sk.sagepub.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/reference/hdbk_leadershipscitech/n58.xml
Lerbinger, O. (1997). The crisis manager: Facing risk and responsibility. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Eribaum Associates. http://samples.sainsburysebooks.co.uk/9781136594151_sample_821574.pdf
Pelling, M. (2003). Natural Disasters and Development: In a globalizing World. New York, NY: Routledge. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=S_hBbgxAsLIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=Natural+Disasters+and+Development:+In+a+globalizing+World&ots=cbmZeE2c4R&sig=JgpoNI-xLZjg5SAvKUCDvLPtYVE&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Natural%20Disasters%20and%20Development%3A%20In%20a%20globalizing%20World&f=false
Perrow, C. (2007). The next catastrophe: Reducing our vulnerabilities to natural, industrial and terrorist disasters. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FJlCP5DalUMC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=The+next+catastrophe:+Reducing+our+vulnerabilities+to+natural,+industrial+and+terrorist+disasters&ots=qrXBfJq170&sig=G2ARMlJ7LH-zrM06UPzq3PdQp-k&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20next%20catastrophe%3A%20Reducing%20our%20vulnerabilities%20to%20natural%2C%20industrial%20and%20terrorist%20disasters&f=false
Sandman, P. (2007). Understanding the risk: What frightens rarely kills. Nieman Reports, 61, 1. http://psandman.com/articles/NiemanReports.pdf
