Hazard and Disaster can be analyzed on the basics of different factors where one important factor is time, as it can either be long-term or short-term, and another is the probability of occurrence, which could be low or high. Both Hazard and Disaster are confusing, alike, and equivalent, yet they are distinguishable.
Hazard vs Disaster
The main difference between Hazard and Disaster is that a Hazard can be defined as an event or situation that has the potential to cause harm, whereas, Disaster, on the other hand, are events or situations that cause enormous loss of life, property, or resources.
The word Hazard is derived from the French word “haver,” which means “catch.” For an event to be considered a Hazard, the element of risk has to be present. Moreover, A Hazard can be defined as an event or situation that has the potential to cause harm.
The word Diasater is often defined as “a severe adverse event characterized by extreme loss of life, severe economic damage, or both. Moreover, it is a word that conjures up unsettling images. For instance, Disasters include earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and floods.
Comparison Table Between Hazard and Disaster
| Parameters of Comparison | Hazard | Disaster |
| Definition | A Hazard can be defined as an event or situation that has the potential to cause harm. | Disasters are events or situations that cause enormous loss of life, property, or resources. |
| Upshot | It has less severe upshots. | It has severe upshots. |
| Period | It can be short-term. | It can be long-term. |
| Occurrence Probability | It can be predicted. | It cannot be predicted. |
| Example | Using machinery without knowing how it works or overexposure to harmful chemicals. | It includes earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and floods. |
What is Hazard?
A Hazard is anything that could cause injury, death, or damage to property. It can be environmental hazards like earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods. It can also be caused by the way things are done at work or in the home. For instance, using machinery without knowing how it works or overexposure to harmful chemicals. Moreover, there is an increase in injuries caused by something other than machinery, cuts to hands and feet.
The word Hazard is well-known as a possible source of danger or a source of possible loss or injury. Moreover, a Hazard can be defined as an event or situation that has the potential to cause harm. For instance, Floods themselves do not directly cause harm. However, the harmful consequences of flood occur if flood water damages one’s property or causes injury to people and their belongings. The flood is therefore considered a hazard only because there is the potential that it could cause damage.
Some of the Hazards are Health risks from chemicals and physical factors such as noise, vibration, or extremes of temperature. Environmental factors such as exposure to dust, fumes, noxious gases, radiation, and poor lighting. Workplace factors such as injuries from work tools, equipment, or machinery as well as from lifting, working at height, or working for a long time without a break.
What is Disaster?
A disaster is an event that causes such tremendous damage and arrives so suddenly that it overwhelms local or national authorities and the people living in the neighborhood. Disasters can happen anywhere and to anyone. They can be natural such as earthquakes, tsunamis, or human-made, such as war. Disasters can affect a single person, a business, a neighborhood, or a country.
The word “Disaster” has come to mean a wide range of different things depending on context. It’s a word that conjures up unsettling images: of floods, fires, and famine. However, it is revealed that there are many different types of Disasters. For example, natural disasters are caused by forces of nature such as earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions. These are often referred to as “Acts of God.” However, it is often defined as a severe adverse event characterized by extreme loss of life and severe economic damage.
Man-made Disasters result from human actions, such as nuclear accidents or carelessness with hazardous materials. Technological disasters happen when technology doesn’t work properly or is destroyed in a catastrophe. With millions of people affected by Disasters in some way each year, the authorities often choose a new natural disaster to be focused on each year. This allows the authorities to highlight how that particular disaster depends on the climate and what it means for countries around the world.
Main Differences Between Hazard and Disaster
- A Hazard can be defined as an event or situation that has the potential to cause harm, whereas, Disasters are events or situations that cause enormous loss of life, property, or resources.
- Hazards can have less severe upshots, whereas, Diasaters can have severe upshots.
- Hazards are well-known to be short-term, whereas, Disasters are well-known to be long-term.
- The occurrence Probability of Hazards is often predicted, whereas the occurrence Probability of Disasters cannot be predicted.
- For instance, Hazard, using machinery without knowing how it works, or overexposure to harmful chemicals, whereas, For instance, Disasters include earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and floods.
Conclusion
A Hazard is anything that could cause injury, death, or damage to property. For an event to be considered a Hazard, the element of risk has to be present. It is also important to realize that not all events with the potential to cause harm are Hazards. The seriousness of the consequences also varies considerably depending on these events. It can be environmental hazards like earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, floods, and the way things are done at work or in the home.
Disasters are events or situations that cause enormous loss of life, property, or resources. Moreover, these are often referred to as “Acts of God.” They are caused by some major factor that has unimaginable consequences, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and floods.
References
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10950-007-9083-x
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-017-9825-4
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0011392113484456