Hazard : “It is any dangerous condition or event that threatens or has potential to cause injury to life or damage to property, environment. On the basis of origin, the hazard can be classified into Natural and Manmade.”
Vulnerability : “It is defined as an extent to which a community, structure, service or a geographic area is likely to be damaged or disrupted by the impact of a particular hazard on account of their nature, construction, proximity to disaster prone area.”
As per UNISDR, “Vulnerability is accompanied by Hazard it is a Disaster“
“Disaster is also defined as a situation which overwhelm local capacity to withstand, cop and recover requiring external assistance and involving various stakeholders.”
As per Disaster Management Act, 2005 “Disaster is a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area arising from natural or manmade causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to and destruction of property, or degradation of environment and is of such a nature as to be beyond the coping capacity of community or the affected area.”
Risk : “It is a measure of expected losses be it death, injuries, property, etc due to a hazard of a particular magnitude occurring in a given area in a specific time period.”. Factors are Hazard, Vulnerability, Location, Exposure.
Accident : “It is an unexpected event with multiple causes occurring having less far reaching impact with respect to human loss or loss of property.” Different variables determine the difference between Accident and Disaster such as causes, frequency, duration and scope of impact, destructive potential, human vulnerability.
Crisis : “It is an abnormal situation which presents a high risk to businesses or human life and may trigger rapid policy changes. Its significance lies in unexpectedness and uncontrollability which disrupts or impedes normal operations”
Emergency : “It is an imminent or actual event that threatens people, property, or environment. normal procedures are suspended and extraordinary measures are taken to save lives, protect people, limit damage and return conditions to normal. Also, there are events that can be managed locally with resources available at the disposal of administration and community.”
Risks that were not managed lead to Crisis and Crisis may become an Emergency and an Emergency may lead to Disaster if left unattended. Some Disasters can be immediate.