Classifications of Disasters.

    Typically classification of disasters is on two levels, causes which are natural vs human and speed of onset.. sudden or slow.. They are others like  duration of disaster,degree of personal impact, potential for occurrence, and control over future impact.Natural disaster causes usually occur near people structures or on economic assets,being caused by biological, geographic, seismic, hydrological or meteorological conditions or processes in the natural setting. They are typically floods, earthquakes, tsunami,landslides and volcanic eruptions.

         

       Lets get to know more about the mentioned causes. We start with cyclones, hurricanes or typhoons. Cyclones develop when warm oceans give rise to got air, giving rise to the creation of convectional air that
produces the cyclone while it is being displaced. Hurricane is the name given to a cyclone in the Norther Atlantic and Caribbean basin and in Asia and the pacific oceans they are called cyclones.   The typical warming procedures for cyclones are the following. They are courtesy of the Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC). 

i) Small crafts and fishing boats: approx 25-35mph winds.
ii) Wind advisory for the public: approx. 25-35mph winds.
iii) Gale watch: when a mature tropical cyclone has a significant probability to threaten a part of the country within 48 hours.
iv) Gale force warning: issued when wind speeds are expected to reach gale force intensity of (34-47knots) within the next 24 hours.
v) Storm watch: if a post tropical cyclone disturbance is a notable to threat to an area or the entire country within a 24 to 48 hour time frame, a storm watch statement would be included with the gale warning.
vi) Storm warning: issued every three (3) hours when the average wind speeds are expected to reach storm force intensity of 48-63 knots within the next 12 to 24 hours.
vii) Cyclone watch: issued when tropical cyclone winds is expected to reach cyclone force winds of above 63 knots (or 70 mph) in 24 to 48 hours.
viii) Cyclone warning: issued every three (3) hours, when wind speeds are expected to exceed 63 knots within the next 12 to 24 hours.

Situations we are watching

1.http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/03/world/meast/syria-refugees-unhcr/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
2.http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/03/world/meast/syria-refugees-unhcr/index.html?hpt=hp_t1


Benson Mutahi
Disaster Management Enthusiast

References

Emergency Management: the American Experience,1900-2010. ed. Claire B.Rubin 

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