Understanding the Impact of Disasters

• Disasters can happen to any community, regardless of size or location.
• Disasters can cause significant human, economic, and environmental losses.
• Disasters can be classified based on the severity of the effects they have on the community.
• Primary effects of a disaster are the direct situations arising from the disaster itself.
• Secondary effects are situations that result from the primary effects.
• Tertiary effects are those that are not experienced as a disaster but can still be felt some time after the disaster has occurred.
• Risk factors underlying disasters include human actions that worsen the risk of their occurrence.
• Disasters can cause physical changes to an area, such as cracks on roads.
• Disasters can also cause changes in the use of properties in the area, such as an increase in traffic.
• Disasters can have long-term effects on the economy, and on the way people live.

Explore the different classifications and effects of disasters, as well as the risk factors underlying their occurrence. Learn about the primary, secondary, and tertiary effects of disasters, and how they can lead to significant human, economic, and environmental losses.