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In case of an emergency or disaster

Specific needs and practical issues

A disaster is a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability, and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic, and environmental losses and impacts. (UNDRR)

The vulnerability is defined by the characteristics and circumstances of a community or system that make it susceptible to the effects of a hazard. (UNDRR)

Exposure is the situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities, and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas. (UNDRR)

The capacity is the combination of all the strengths, attributes, and resources available within an organization, community, or society to manage and reduce disaster risks and strengthen resilience. (UNDRR)

Le Risk is the combination of the probability of an event and its negative consequences. Risk translates into the potential loss of human lives, injuries, or destroyed or damaged property that could occur to a system, society, or community in a given period, determined probabilistically based on hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and capacity .Risk is the product of hazard (an event likely to harm people, property, and/or the environment) and a stake (persons, property or the environment) is likely to suffer injuries and damages. (UNDRR ; Ministry of the ecological transition and territorial cohesion)

Risk = hazard x stake

A hazard is a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity, or condition that may cause loss of human lives, injuries or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruptions, or environmental damage. (UNDRR)

A natural hazard is a natural process or phenomenon that may cause loss of human lives, injuries or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruptions, or environmental damage. (UNDRR)

The Stakes are the people, property, systems, or other elements present in hazard zones that are thereby subject to potential losses. (UNDRR)

Le Danger results from a process, phenomenon, or human activity that may cause loss of human lives, injuries or other health consequences, property damage, social and economic disruptions, or environmental degradation. (UNDRR)

A flood corresponds to the temporary submersion of areas usually out of water. It can be due to the overflow of a watercourse; urban runoff; groundwater rise; marine submersion. (Georisques)

The Earthquakes or tremor are ground shakes resulting from the sudden release of energy along a fault. (Georisques)

The Tropical cyclones are also known as hurricanes or typhoons, depending on the region. A tropical cyclone is a storm in a quicker rotation that starts above the tropical oceans and the speed, the size and intensity can vary. (World Meteorological Organization)

A storm is characterized by a strong wind, usually accompanied by heavy rainfall, storms can cause significant damage to human and material resources. (Georisques)

The Eruptions volcanic can be divided into two types : explosive and effusive.

An explosive eruption emits materials at high temperature, but, for the most part solid, and releases a large amount of gas.
An eruption effusive, she rejects the fluid lava that flows along the slopes.

(Georisques)

Risk coasts :

• The marine flooding occurs during storms when the sea level rises by several meters and waves can penetrate inland, causing coastal flooding. These can last from a few hours to a few days. Some are harmless, but others can be dramatic.
• The Tsunamis can reach several tens of meters in height. Caused by an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or underwater landslide, these waves begin with a retreat of the sea far from the coasts, before rising very quickly, generating violent and destructive currents.

The Landslides are natural displacements of soils and subsoils. Their occurrence depends on many parameters, such as the nature of the soil, the configuration of the places, on the surface and underground, or the weather.

These movements can be classified into two categories :

• slow movements, which deform gradually the ground and eventually damage to the buildings ;
• fast movementssudden and brutal, that may endanger persons and cause significant damage.

Le Climate represents the average weather conditions observed at a specific location over a long period, ranging from a few months to thousands or millions of years. The WMO uses a 30-year period to determine the average climate. (World Meteorological Organization)

Le Climate change corresponds to all changes in the climate system that persist over the long term (longer than a weather event). There are two definitions proposed by the UNDRR:

(a) A change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties, and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings, or to persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) The intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC)

(b) A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) The United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC)

Concept and practice of the risk reduction through efforts to analyze and manage their causes, including by reducing exposure to hazards, which helps reduce the vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. (UNDRR)

The risk management is a systematic process of using administrative directives, operational skills, capacities, and organizations to implement appropriate policies, strategies, and response capacities to mitigate the impact of natural hazards and related environmental and technological disaster risks. (UNDRR)

The prevention is the set of activities aimed at completely avoiding the adverse impact of hazards and minimizing related environmental, technological, and biological disasters. (UNDRR)

L’Mitigation of natural hazards is achieved by reducing or minimizing the negative impacts of a hazardous event through various strategies and actions. Mitigation measures include engineering techniques and hazard-resistant constructions, as well as improved environmental and social policies and public awareness. (UNDRR)

The disaster preparedness translates into the knowledge and capacities developed by governments, response and recovery organizations, communities, and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from the impacts of likely, imminent, or current disasters. (UNDRR)

L’Disaster intervention are the measures taken directly before, during, or immediately after a disaster to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety, and meet the basic subsistence needs of the affected people. (UNDRR)

Le Recovery corresponds to the restoration or improvement of livelihoods and health, as well as goods, systems and economic activities, physical, social, cultural and environmental, a community or a society affected by a disaster, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and the " rebuilding for the better ", in order to avoid or reduce the risk of disaster in the future. (UNDRR)

The resilience is the ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and effective manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its structures and basic vital functions through risk management. (UNDRR)

Early warning

Monitoring system that detects, monitors, and communicates relevant information about potential disaster risks, to enable the population and authorities to react in time to avoid or limit the impacts.

Evacuation

Organized process to temporarily move people out of a risk area to a safe place, with the aim of protecting them in case of an imminent threat.

Crisis management Plan

Strategic document defining the procedures to follow, responsibilities, and mobilizable resources before, during, and after a critical event, to limit its impacts and ensure a coordinated response.

Bag / emergency bag emergency

Set of essential supplies (water, food, documents, first aid kit, flashlight, radio, clothing, etc.) to prepare in advance, allowing to cope with the first hours of a disaster or evacuation.

Combined risk / cascade

Situation where multiple risks occur simultaneously or successively, leading to amplified effects. These risks can be natural, technological, or health-related, and their interactions increase the complexity of management.

People with special needs

Individuals who, due to their age, physical, mental, social, or economic condition, may face increased difficulties in disasters (reduced mobility, elderly, pregnant women, children, homeless, etc.).

Self-protection

Set of actions and reflexes that each individual or family can adopt to prepare for a hazard (e.g., take shelter, prepare an emergency kit, follow safety instructions).

Risk Culture

Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of a society that influence how individuals perceive, anticipate, and protect themselves against hazards. Strengthening this culture helps better prepare and limit losses.