Network Foundation Guide

1. What constitutes a humanitarian or natural disaster?

​

<<THE HUMANITARIAN SECTOR>>

 

The key objective of humanitarian action is to support the national efforts in protecting the lives, livelihoods and dignity of people in need. ReliefWeb, operated by The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, provides a useful 'Glossary of Humanitarian Terms.' A relevant subset of these terms:

 

Humanitarian assistance is defined as:

"Aid that seeks, to save lives and alleviate suffering of a crisis affected population. Humanitarian assistance must be provided in accordance with the basic humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality, as stated in General Assembly Resolution 46/182. In addition, the UN seeks to provide humanitarian assistance with full respect for the sovereignty of States. Assistance may be divided into three categories – direct assistance, indirect assistance and infrastructure support - which have diminishing degrees of contact with the affected population."

​

A humanitarian action is defined as:

"Assistance, protection and advocacy actions undertaken on an impartial basis in response to human needs resulting from complex political emergencies and natural hazards."
 

<<HUMANITARIAN DISASTERS>>

 

A humanitarian disaster can be defined as:

"A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources.[1]"

​

A natural hazard is defined as:

"Natural processes or phenomena that may cause the loss of life or injury, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation."

 

A natural disaster can be defined as:

"Natural disasters are events brought about by natural hazards that seriously affect the   society, economy and/or infrastructure of a region. Depending on population vulnerability and local response capacity, natural disasters will pose challenges and problems of a humanitarian nature."

​

​

There are many types of disasters,[2] including but not limited to

• Chemical threats: Can have many sources including industrial or transportation accidents

• Droughts: An abnormally dry weather condition which can damage crops or create water supply shortages

• Earthquakes: Sudden rapid shaking of the earth, which occur without any warning

• Floods: Often occur after a thunderstorm, or periods of sustained rain

• Heat waves: Prolonged period of excessive heat, often combined with excessive humidity

• Hurricanes: Strong storms which can include floods, high winds and tornados

• Landslides: Downhill movements of earth, often associated with high rainfall or rapid snowmelt

• Thunderstorms: Severe storm which includes lightning and strong winds, often hail

• Tsunamis: Large ocean waves, often caused by earthquakes occurring at the ocean floor

• Volcanic eruptions: An eruption of ash, lava, rocks and gases

• Wildfires: Large fires which spread through an area or region, increased risk with droughts or dry conditions

​

Network Example: The Philippines Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) was founded in 2009 in the aftermath of typhoons Fengshen, Ketsana and Parma, with a focus on addressing the needs of hurricane-affected communities.  Over the years it has expanded its support following major earthquakes and super-typhoon Yolanda in 2013, as well as regular seasonal flooding.

 

<<ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL RESOURCES>>

​

For further information on the humanitarian sector we suggest consulting

• ReliefWeb's comprehensive glossary of humanitarian terms: http://reliefweb.int/report/world/reliefweb-glossary-humanitarian-terms

 

For more information on humanitarian disasters and types, we suggest

• The American Red Cross's website: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies

• The US Government's Disaster Assistance page https://www.disasterassistance.gov/information/disaster-types

 

To understand the highest risk disasters for your country or region, we suggest using

• The INFORM index, produced by the IASC and EU and available at: http://www.inform-index.org/

• ThinkHazard!, produced by the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and available at: http://thinkhazard.org/

 

[1] Relief Web http://reliefweb.int/report/world/reliefweb-glossary-humanitarian-terms

[2] https://www.disasterassistance.gov/information/disaster-types or http://www.redcross.org/get-help/prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies