Hazard Types and Mitigation Plans

This document discusses different types of hazards, including natural disasters, cross-border disasters, meteorological/hydrological disasters, geomorphological disasters, biological hazards, and technological/man-made hazards. It also explores the pros and cons of disaster mitigation plans and suggests ways to improve them for better management of disasters.

HAZARD TYPES AND THE MITIGATION PLANS 1
The Name of the Class (Course)
Professor (Tutor)
The Name of the School (University)
The City and State where it is located
The Date

HAZARD TYPES AND THE MITIGATION PLANS 2
Contents
QUESTION ONE............................................................................................................................3
NATURAL DISASTER..............................................................................................................3
Cross-border disaster................................................................................................................3
Meteorological/ hydrological disasters....................................................................................4
Geomorphological disasters.....................................................................................................4
Biological hazards....................................................................................................................5
Technological/man-made hazards............................................................................................6
QUESTION TWO...........................................................................................................................7
PROS OF DISASTER MITIGATION PLANS...........................................................................7
Planning on various land uses......................................................................................................7
Management of emergencies.......................................................................................................7
Limited future innovations in flood-prone areas..........................................................................7
DISADVANTAGES OF MITIGATION PLANS...........................................................................8
WAYS TO IMPROVE THE PLANS FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF DISASTERS...........8
Understanding the community’s vulnerability.............................................................................8
Learning about various agencies and their roles..........................................................................8
Acquiring funding for mitigation.................................................................................................8
Conducting assessments of risks in an area.................................................................................9
Understanding statistics were done on calamities........................................................................9
Planning for all risk types............................................................................................................9
Researching (NGOs) Non-Governmental Organizations............................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10

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INTRODUCTION
Hazards refer to disasters that cause extensive damage, disruption of the ecology, human
life loss, retardation of health and the services offered to foster healthcare to an extent of a dire
need to involve external response Perry (2018, p. 3-22). The extraordinary rescue team,
therefore, helps to prevent more effects of the calamity. Recently, an upward range in the
consistent effects of disaster has been noticed. Factors that spur up this trends include increased
population rates in the hazard-prone areas, rising investments, and innovations in such areas,
global complexity in terms of their interconnections and the shortcomings of climate change that
contribute to drastic meteorological occurrences Perry (2018, p. 3-22).
These issues have conspired calamity managements to crucial relevant disciplines from
mere research contexts compelled with increased professionalization processes. There is the
existence of guidelines, policies, and standards that plan for future disaster management
irrespective on their non-acceptance as vital models Amponin (2016). From these, firms like the
Disaster Management Consulting (DMC) have been introduced to investigate possible causes,
monitor situations in affected areas and give remedial suggestions related to hazard management
to hamper their recurrences.

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QUESTION ONE
Based on the analysis of the two case studies, there are different types of hazards mostly
natural and man-made hazards considering the categories of hazards highlighted by the
UNISDR. Natural hazards can cause other hazards within the course of their occurrence. These
include:
NATURAL DISASTER
Floods are naturally occurring events unless with incorporation of human causes. They
lead to other hazard types like:
Cross-border disaster
These are types of hazards that cut across borders of countries leading to severe effects
on the affected areas. In the first case study, the floods begin in Bangladesh where a third of the
land is said to have submerged. Approximately 115 people lost their lives with other 5.7 million
people being affected. The floods extended to Assam, a state in India that borders Bangladesh
claiming the lives of about 180 individuals. The same effects are experienced in Nepal where
141 people had lost their lives while 38,000 settlements had been demolished by the floods.
Emergency plans to counter these effects lay between regional, local and domestic efforts with
less predictability in international sectors. However, there is a necessity in involving the
international aid agents in the supply of relief food, medical facilities and implementation of
right procedures for teamwork in the victim states (Kramer 2009).
Meteorological/ hydrological disasters
These are hazards that originate from factors like too much rainfall that cannot be drained
by soil. In most cases, areas affected by these hazards, mostly floods have clay soils that exhibit

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low drainage properties. From the first case study, floods act as the core origin of the other
calamities seen in the affected areas. In all of the three states mentioned, floods are seen to cause
severe impacts on human, households, and crops. Rainfall is also reported to have hit India's
Assam state Kaziranga national park. The associated effects included the killing of 225 animals
in total since its beginning. The park serves as home for two-thirds of Indian one-horned
endangered rhinos. Also, Bihar estate, to the east of India suffers consequences from heavy rains
that killed 253 people (Spain 2012, p. 38-44).
An aspect of urban flooding is seen by the inundation of property including settlements
and land in the affected areas. In Bangladesh, approximately more than half million homesteads
were destroyed with about 400,000 hectares of land. On the other side, rivers embankments in
Assam state had been breached forcing almost 400 families to evacuate to other safer places as
the water level hit eight feet Ericson (2015. The impacts extend to the infrastructure, power
supplies and population as seen from the first study case Neumann et.al (2015 pg. 44-61). The
appropriate remedy of the hazard could be a safe evacuation of the victims to a more reserved
area so as to reduce the risk of more disaster (Fotovatikhah et.al 2018, p. 411-437).
Geomorphological disasters
This includes submerged land reported in Bangladesh. This was associated with the
burying of crops and property in the flood water Friendly and Meyer (2015). There is also a
possibility of landslides from the raging water in the north-flowing towards the southern regions
Manzoni and Sterlacchini (2014, p. 1-6). These come with massive erosion of soil in the
cultivated areas and the affected areas at large.
Geomorphological disasters are those hazards that have their origins near or at the surface
of the earth including soil erosion, subsidence of the ground, changes in river channels, glaciers,

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karst, slope failures and erosions of the coastal regions Neumann et.al (2015 pg. 44-61). Some
factors of this category of calamities are evidenced in the first case study.
Biological hazards
Based on the case studies, the affected humans are subject to level 1, 2 and 3 biohazards. In
most of the cases, safety aids reported the risk of disease infections due to unhygienic conditions.
UNICEF reported the lack of adequate medical facilities to prevent the communities from
diseases thus making the Bangladesh victims more susceptible to the biological pathogens. The
water taps had also been destroyed by the flood waters thus victims were likely to take in dirty
water with microbes posing them to risks of contracting typhoid, cholera, malaria, and diarrhea.
Many children in Nepal are reported to be living in damp conditions that can render them sick. In
some parts, signs of skin infections, fevers, and eye problems were recorded in camps of the
flood victims Friendly and Meyer (2015).
Biological hazards are also called biohazards. They are biological compounds that are
capable of case adverse effects on the health of living things most humans. This comprises of
bacteria, toxins or viruses considered as disease pathogens. There are four different levels of
biohazards namely level 1, 2, 3, and 4. Level 1 is made up of viruses and bacteria such as
Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, cell cultures and some bacteria that are non-infectious.
Protection against their effects are minimal and involves the use of gloves. Level 2 cause mild
infections to humans like influenza, fever, salmonella, measles, scrapie, and HIV. The third level
of biohazards cause drastic effects to humans that mostly cause death but, despite their fatal
effects, the infections are avoided by use of vaccines such as anthrax, SARs virus, malaria,
tuberculosis, and yellow fever vaccines Paton and Johnston (2017). The fourth level of
biohazards lacks preventive measures like vaccines, which render them more fatal hazards such

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as the cases of Ebola, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever virus and Marburg virus. Dealing
with victims at this level requires a segregated supply of air and a personal suite with positive
pressure (Fotovatikhah et.al 2018, p. 411-437).
Technological/man-made hazards
Basing on the study case, the cause of the shipwreck in Salvador, Brazil’s capital city,
may have been faults in its technological make-up leading to the accident. From the report by
port authorities, local fire department personnel joined the rescue team which shows the
possibility of fire outbreaks in the ship that could claim more lives. The boat was operated by a
private company thus depicting an aspect of man-made hazard Paton and McClure (2013).
Technological hazards result from industrial and technological conditions including
accidents, deficiencies in infrastructure, perilous procedures and specific individual acts that lead
to diseases, death or injuries. These effects are associated with the property, services, livelihood,
environmental, social and economic jeopardize. Some of the examples of this hazard in history
include pollutions from industries, chemical spills, explosions from factories, accidents in the
transport sector, fires, nuclear radiations and failure of dams.
These hazards can also originate from events related to epidemics that occur naturally the
best example being the effect of tsunami accompanied by earthquakes on the nuclear plants in
Fukushima, Japan. Man-made events originate from faults in individual, group, companies and
other organizations that can head specified entities (Friendly and Meyer 2015).
QUESTION TWO
Mitigation of hazards involve the efforts undertaken to minimize the loss of property and
lives by reducing the effects of catastrophes. The plans are vital in breaking cycles of recurring

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damages, reconstructions and damage by disasters hence they are most effective when brought as
long-term, comprehensive policies.
PROS OF DISASTER MITIGATION PLANS
Planning on various land uses.
Various actions involved in the mitigation process enhance proper planning on the use of
land and decision making (Emerick 2015)This is made possible via protection of future
advancements, lives, improved or damaged structures and maintenance of the economy in a
quest to conserve the identity of the community Hardy (2013).
Public Works
Mitigation actions serve to protect investments made on infrastructure either through
designing improvements or siting their appropriate locations (McDaniel’s 2015, pg.252-263).
Management of emergencies
The Human Mitigation Plan (HMP) acts as a tool for uniting various departments with
the aim of prioritizing and strategizing the actions towards appropriate mitigation Hardy (2013).
It, therefore, recommends many areas concerned with the management of emergencies including
response, preparedness and post-event recoveries in communities (Emerick 2015).
Limited future innovations in flood-prone areas.
Conventional plans to control floods help to reduce the impact of the calamity thus keeps floods
away from the people. These involve accommodating rather than controlling more frequent and
minimal flood occurrences that link the flood-prone plains to their streams. This calls for
investments on sustainable alternatives to curb occurrences of floods such as flood easements,
levee setbacks, reoperation of reservoirs and use of flood retention depressions.
DISADVANTAGES OF MITIGATION PLANS
Most risks are difficult to mitigate thus the effectiveness of mitigation plans is unpredictable

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WAYS TO IMPROVE THE PLANS FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF DISASTERS
Planning for emergencies calls for cooperation which makes it an endeavor bound with
questions of responsibilities, rights and just participation. Broad and full supports are equivalent
to the best functioning of the plan. Improving the plans for better management involves diverse
aspects of engineering and analysis so as to determine the aspects of disasters hence an
appropriate approach of managing it Alexander (2015). Some of the ways that can improve the
plans for better management of disasters include:
Understanding the community’s vulnerability
These involve vivid comprehensions of the types of hazards that are likely to impact a
given location thus a proper plan to manage their occurrences in the future. Studies of places
provide the susceptibility of different places to different types of hazards making these a success
Dillon et.al (2014).
Learning about various agencies and their roles
All the government agencies in the U.S pursue preparedness as shared accountability thus
a knowledge of different organizations helps to plan on different strategies based on the limits of
the organization Dillon et.al (2014). As a result, it gives a platform for different agencies to work
together in ensuring the safety of the calamity-prone areas.
Acquiring funding for mitigation
The existence of grant programs make it easy for amendment and implementation of the
plans towards mitigation. Knowing and acquiring funds from these grunts allow easy operations
in activities like assessments and creating awareness among the people Oliver (2010). These,
therefore, allow better management of the plans made towards mitigation.

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Conducting assessments of risks in an area
This involves conducting a survey in an area with the aim of identifying the potential
catastrophes, their consequences and thus appropriate planning of actions towards mitigating the
risks. A knowledge of the same gives room for the application of more specific plans depending
on the specific hazard type. As a result, there is the possibility of effective mitigation.
Understanding statistics were done on calamities
A clue on the most expansive and recurring hazard types facilitates better planning
towards the same. It facilitates the building of the appropriate resilience mechanism that offers
maximum safety to the potential victims of the epidemic Handmer and Dovers (2007).
Planning for all risk types
Disasters have different origins which are mostly unpredictable and thus planning for all
types of calamities gives room for proper mitigation plans to reduce their impacts Alexander
(2015). These are because not all of the hazards can be natural but some may reside from man-
made faults like oil spills, explosions, fires and accidents related to transport.
Researching (NGOs) Non-Governmental Organizations.
Non-Governmental Organizations are crucial in preparing the communities for disasters,
aiding in recovery and response towards the epidemic. Partnerships with these organizations
facilitate better management of the disaster in a quest to reduce the extent of consequences
Crichton et.al (2009, p. 24-37). Aside from these factors, other steps that can be incorporated to
ensure better disaster management involve preparedness, practice and plan at home and
workplaces to ensure the safe evacuation of victims in case of calamity occurrences Alexander
(2015).
A possible mitigation plan for study one, flood occurrences could be proper monitoring
of weather to determine the likely occurrence of heavy rainfall so that people could be evacuated

HAZARD TYPES AND THE MITIGATION PLANS 11
safely. Factors like drought and floods pose a direct effect on the livelihood of humans. In the
first case study, despite the recorded deaths, floods have resulted in limited access to primary
needs. These include food and clothing that come with increased poverty levels, food insecurities
that make individuals subject to malnutrition. In Assam, a mother of three admits that they do not
have a second pair of clothes to put on in Kaliabor Willison (2016, p.251). The floods killed 800
individuals in South Asia, 115 in Bangladesh, 180 in Assam state, 253 in Bihar, and 141 others
in Nepal. These shows how mitigation plans had been limited in the affected areas by lack of
preparedness to counter the effects of the drought. These extends to the aid programs that are set
to provide assistance to the victims of the calamity (Friendly and Meyer 2015).
CONCLUSION
It is vividly clear that the consequences of one disaster may extend to various countries
causing more destructions. Hazards originate from natural causes to more artificial causes termed
as man-made origins (Kaliabor Willison (2016, p.251). In general, mitigation plans acts as an
important avenue for emergency preparedness within the communities dwelling in hazard-prone
regions. These process considerably varies among these communities as planning is done by
assigned offices with notable budgets and others done by informal bodies with minimized
budgets (Crichton et.al (2009, p. 24-37).
From these planning is best viewed as a process aimed at responding to emergency cases.
It, therefore, involves analysis sequences, development plans, and, team and individual
acquisition of skills based on performances. The skills are obtained through critiques, drills,
training, and exercises. Some of the remedies towards the management of disasters like floods
include weather monitoring to deduce the possible occurrence of heavy rainfall that can lead to
floods. Landslides can be minimized through reafforestation programs that target the mangrove

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forests. The essence of this is to strengthen soil particles thus reduce the possibility of run-off to
cause slides. Technological hazards can be reduced through regular check-up of the innovations
before being used by humans hence prevent wreckages.
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