International Science Council, U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Issue Report Entitled 'Hazard Definition & Classification Review – Technical Report'

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 -- The International Science Council and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction have issued a 88-page report on June 22, 2020, entitled: "Hazard Definition & Classification Review - Technical Report".

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Table of Contents

Foreword from the Chair ... 7

Executive Summary ... 9

1 Introduction ... 13

1.1 Background ... 13

1.2 The project ... 14

1.3 Technical working group ... 15

2 Need for a Hazard Definition and Classification ... 16

2.1 Current Status ... 16

2.2 Standardisation in nomenclatures of hazard information ... 18

2.3 Importance of defining hazards for risk-informed decision-making and risk reduction ... 19

2.4 Hazard event characterisation ... 20

3 Conceptual Framework for Identifying Hazards ... 22

3.1 Hazard and the other dimensions of risk ... 22

3.2 Applying the UNGA definition of hazard in this project ... 22

3.3 Need to better account for the influence of human activity ... 25

4 Proposed Hazard List ... 26

4.1 Main data sources ... 26

4.2 Consensus building ... 26

4.3 Overall hazard list ... 27

4.4 Description of hazard clusters ... 28

4.5 Scientific description of individual hazards ... 31

4.6 Need for user-driven classifications ... 31

5 Potential Applications ... 33

5.1 Use at national and global level ... 33

5.2 Cataloguing loss and damage ... 34

5.3 Multi-hazard early warning systems ... 34

5.4 Need to strengthen the science-policy interface ... 36

6 Scientific Debates and Limitations ... 37

6.1 Scientific debates ... 37

6.2 Limitations ... 37

7 Recommendations ... 39

References ... 42

Annexes ... 45

Technical Working Group members, contributors and reviewers ... 45

TWG members ... 45

Co-facilitators ... 46

Project support team ... 46

Library services courtesy of knowledge & library services of public health England and evidence aid ... 46

Authors of the Hazard Information Profiles (HIPs) ... 46

Review of the HIPs ... 49

Review of the technical report ... 51

Thanks to advisory group ... 51

Pre-defined hazards in the Sendai Framework Monitor ... 52

Definitions adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) ... 53

Scientific glossaries ... 56

UN funds, programmes, specialised agencies and others from UNDRR (2017) ... 65

Initial hazard list ... 72

Methodology and process ... 82

Main data sources ... 82

2014 IRDR peril classification ... 85

Hazard terminology review project: Guidelines for reviewers ... 86

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Executive Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic is a timely reminder of how hazards within the complex and changing global risk landscape can affect lives, livelihoods and health. It provides a compelling case for an all- hazards approach to achieve risk reduction as a basis for sustainable development. The broad range of hazards of relevance to risk reduction and resilience building, and the increasingly interconnected, cascading and complex nature of natural and human-induced hazards, including their potential impact on health, social, economic, financial, political and other systems, are all interlinked in the discussions on sustainable development and climate change adaptation.

Hazard information when combined with exposure, vulnerability and capacity is fundamental to all aspects of disaster risk management, from multi-hazard risk assessments for prevention and mitigation to warnings and alerts, to disaster response and recovery, long-term planning and public awareness. Although understanding of hazards and their related impacts has evolved over recent decades, and lists of hazards are available at many levels from many organizations, a single overview that provides a full picture of hazards to help inform the policy, practice and reporting of disaster risk reduction and management within and across all sectors is not currently available. The need for a more systematic approach and standardised characterisation of hazards has been highlighted by both the policy and scientific communities.

This lack of a coherent view of hazards hampers disaster risk reduction in several ways: it compromises effective reporting by countries on aspects such as mortality, morbidity, economic loss, damage to basic infrastructure and disruption of basic services; it is a barrier to implementing a comprehensive and inclusive approach to the development of national and local disaster risk reduction strategies and related financing and regulatory frameworks; and it affects the capacity to develop and use multi-hazard early warning systems effectively and forecast events in the future.

In May 2019, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the International Science Council (ISC) jointly established a technical working group to identify the full scope of hazards relevant to the Sendai Framework as a basis for countries to review and strengthen their risk reduction policies and operational risk management practices. This report presents the first results of this international collaborative effort.

As a scientific undertaking, the technical working group was guided by the definition of 'hazard' adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in February 2017; namely, "a process, phenomenon or human activity that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation". This definition covers a broader scope of hazards than has traditionally been the case in the field of disaster risk reduction, and expands the definition of hazard to include processes and activities.

The initial hazard list was compiled from existing hazard glossaries and terminologies. To limit the potentially infinite scope of hazards addressed, a hazard was only included if it fulfilled each of three criteria: has the potential to impact a community; has measurable spatial and temporal components; proactive and reactive measures are available. The hazard list currently excludes complex human activities and processes where it was difficult to identify a single or limited set of hazards, compound and cascading hazards, and underlying disaster risk drivers (such as climate change).

The technical working group used an iterative process of developing and reviewing the hazards listed through extensive consultation with over 500 technical experts from relevant science groups, UN organizations, the private sector and other partners. The hazard list comprises 302 hazards grouped according to eight clusters: meteorological and hydrological hazards, extraterrestrial hazards, geohazards, environmental hazards, chemical hazards, biological hazards, technological hazards, and societal hazards. Although this hazard list is considered to be the most useful at the present time, it is not a definitive list and needs regular review and updating.

Hazard definitions are sourced from the highest possible authority (such as the UN agency responsible for providing guidance on the hazard), reflect scientific consensus on the issues addressed, and are of broad international relevance. To help compile consistent definitions and descriptions for the hazards listed, the technical working group developed a common template to be applied to all hazards. A hazard information profile ('HIP') for each hazard has been completed for most of the hazards. The finalization of all HIPs will continue in the coming months.

This technical report, does not prescribe the list of hazards to be used for risk management in a given area or stakeholder group but rather provides a baseline of knowledge on hazards that can be used to engage government entities and stakeholders representing different risk management interests. Further development or prioritisation of hazards should be made in the context of the risk management objectives of each stakeholder, and the hazard list developed as part of this project can serve as a tool to help countries and communities investigate the potential sources of risk in their own context.

Ultimately, this report takes stock of how our understanding of hazards is shifting as we move from managing disasters as events to managing risks, as called for in the Sendai Framework by addressing the systemic drivers of risk in relation to climate change, health, sustainable development and resilience building. As hazards are expected to intensify with the effects of complex challenges, such as climate change and in the current COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing resilience to hazards is key for disaster risk reduction. This requires robust hazard and risk information as well as strengthening the science-policy-society interface to achieve better risk informed public and private decision-making and investment for long-term resilience. This UNDRR/ISC Sendai Hazard Definition and Classification Review will support and enhance this interaction.

Given its scope and complexity, this report raises important opportunities for further work. These are presented in a series of recommendations for consideration by the UN system, individual countries, the scientific community and other actors constituting the disaster risk reduction community.

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Recommendation 1: Regular review and update

The development and regular review and updating of a standard set of classifications of hazards, and the development of an agreed process of identifying and defining hazards is a critical foundation for risk-based decision-making and action . It is recommended that the hazard list be reviewed by the proposed end-users reflecting the needs of those involved in disaster risk reduction, emergency management, climate change, and increasingly sectoral actors pursuing sustainable development. The latter being consistent with the stipulation of the Sendai Framework that the reduction of disaster risk is an all-of-society and all-of-State institutions engagement. In particular, it will be important to have a more detailed scientific review of the list and hazard information profiles (HIPs) for those hazards that are not currently routinely included in disaster risk management, such as societal hazards. With this review, it will be important to maintain the development of the HIPs, including the hazard definition and any additional scientific description. This involves developing the ownership of hazard definitions by bodies that have an intergovernmental process for agreeing on wording and definition for standardisation, with continuous engagement from the broader scientific community; and for these coordinating institutions to regularly review and update the list and hazard definitions. Risk by nature is dynamic - hazard definitions and terminologies must adapt to such a reality.

Recommendation 2: Facilitate the development of a multi-hazard information system

Enhancing the classification of hazards and facilitating access to the definition and description of hazards will be important. The next step should be the continuing development of hazard definitions as online resources, encoded following linked-data and open-science best practices. Through a meta-data approach, hazards could be tagged to allow for the list to be searched in multiple ways, thus accommodating diverse user needs. This will involve the development of a simple hazard definition schema to capture all the details of each individual hazard definition, including preferred and alternative names, relationships to other hazards (including parental or causality relationships), and citation of source material. Further alignments to related vocabularies covering the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 and some standard scientific vocabularies, as well as incorporating additional language functionality to encompass local hazard terminology, is recommended for future versions.

Recommendation 3: Engaging with users and sectors for greater alignment and consistency of hazard definitions.

Engagement with a range of users working in disaster risk reduction, emergency management, climate change, and increasingly sectoral actors pursuing sustainable development is needed to further develop hazard definitions. These users are likely to be representatives of Sendai Framework Focal Points and National Platforms for disaster risk reduction, regional economic and social commissions, policymakers, communities and practitioners within and across all sectors. By socialising this report, it will be possible to assess the value of the hazard terminology report and tool by users and sectors. The HIPs could also be used by the United Nations Statistics Division and the National Statistical Offices to ensure interoperability and standardisation of statistically relevant definitions of hazards across the Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement and the SDGs for use at local, national and international levels. This will ensure synchronisation among global and national statistical mechanisms and processes.

Recommendation 4: Use this hazard list to actively engage policymakers and scientists in evidence-based national risk assessment processes, disaster risk reduction and risk-informed sustainable development, and other actions aimed at managing risks of emergencies and disasters.

This includes supporting the uptake of the hazard list and HIPs as a tool for countries to investigate the potential sources of risk in their particular context, which requires developing further guidance for end-users. The guidance would elaborate for UN Member States on the efficient application of the hazard list in the implementation and monitoring of and reporting on the Sendai Framework and disaster risk-related SDGs, mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and resilience building with and across all sectors as agreed in Sendai Framework Global Target E. Relevant activities may include strengthening the science-policy interface for policy development, open-science research investments, setting evidence-based legislation and regulations, undertaking national and local risk and capacity assessments, plan-making, conducting exercise simulations, service delivery, infrastructure development, community mobilisation, education, monitoring and evaluation and other forms of capacity development.

Recommendation 5: Conduct further work to operationalise parameters for exposure, vulnerability and capacity, building on the UNGA definitions.

This is a much needed complementary exercise to the hazard definition process, which is the subject of this report. Exposure and vulnerability, and capacity, together with hazard, are the fundamental ingredients of risk, yet there is no agreed set of parameters for vulnerabilities or exposures. Much work has been done in defining and standardising parameters for exposure in the context of natural or geophysical hazards, and in defining indicators of vulnerability for disaster risk reduction, but no consensus exists in the definition or application of exposure or vulnerability for use in risk assessment across the list of hazards within the broad scope of this report. This is an undertaking that could be charged to the recently established Working Group on Vulnerability and Exposure of the Global Risk Assessment Framework (GRAF).

Recommendation 6: Address cascading and complex hazards and risks.

There is an urgent need to investigate further the direct and indirect linkages and effects of natural, biological, technological and other human-induced hazards to identify better and understand cascading and complex hazards and risks in a systematic way. The shift towards a broader view and a more context-dependent definition of hazards requires a systematic approach to risk that considers hazard, vulnerability, exposure and capacity together and better understands their complex interactions. The hazard list and associated HIPs may assist the activities of the GRAF, informing efforts to develop an enhanced understanding of the systemic nature of risk, including the management of systemic risks.

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The full report can be viewed at: https://council.science/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/UNDRR_Hazard-Report_DIGITAL.pdf

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