What is the difference between Hazard and Disaster?

A hazard is a risk, while a disaster is a kind of risk that harms humanity. It is an event that can be catastrophic or tragic. Both can both be a threat in the natural and human-made context.

However, a hazard is a step below a disaster. Hazards can be geographical, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions, cyclones, storms, floods, wildfires, and droughts. Hazards are classified by the severity of the damage that has been caused, and hazards can threaten life, health, property, and the environment.

A disaster can be even more serious. A disaster is a severe hazard that has become life-threatening. The severity of these hazards and disasters are measured on the Richter scale.

Hazards and disasters can both be dangerous situations. One difference between them comes with predictability for the dangerous system. A hazard is a known thing, and it is called a hazard to caution those that if it is not taken seriously and steps not taking from preventing it from happening, it could cause loss to life of the property. An example is a fire hazard that can warn someone that there is a potential for fire if not careful. A disaster is all of a sudden and unpredictable. An example is Hurricane Katrina. That was a natural disaster, which cost many lives and damage to many areas of the world.