Synonyms
Danger; Frequency of danger; Frequency of threat; Threat
Definition
Hazard is an event, phenomenon, process, situation, or activity that may potentially be harmful to the affected population and damaging to the society and the environment. A hazard is characterized by its location, magnitude, geometry, frequency or probability of occurrence, and other characteristics.
Introduction
Hazard involves something which could potentially be harmful to a person’s life, health, and property; to the society as a whole; or to the environment. There is a lack of a common ground among different disciplines and schools of thought regarding what hazard means and different disciplines apply the term in different ways (e.g., Alexander, 2002; EEA (European Environment Agency), 2006; Emergency Management, 1998; ISSMGE (International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering), 2004; TRADE (The Training Resources and Data Exchange), 1999; UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy...
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Alexander, D. E., 2002. Principles of Emergency Planning and Management. New York: Oxford University Press.
Emergency Management Australia, 1998. Australian Emergency Manuals Series Manual 3: Australian Emergency Management Glossary. Canberra: Emergency Management Australia. Compiled and typeset by Peter Koob, Tasmania State Emergency Service. ISBN 0 7246 4675 2.
European Environment Agency (EEA) 2006. Multilingual Environmental Glossary. http://glossary.eea.eu.int/EEAGlossary/.
International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) – Technical Committee 32 (Risk Assessment and Management), 2004. Glossary of Risk Assessment Terms – Version 1. http://www.engmath.dal.ca/tc32/2004Glossary_Draft1.pdf
The Training Resources and Data Exchange (TRADE) 1999. Glossary and Acronyms of Emergency Management Terms, 3rd edn. Prepared for the Office of Emergency Management U.S. Department of Energy. http://orise.orau.gov/emi/prod-trng/files/glossary-emt.pdf
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) 2009. UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk. http://www.unisdr.org/eng/terminology/terminology-2009-eng.html
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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Nadim, F. (2013). Hazard. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_164
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_164
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Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-4399-4
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