Disaster
AR5 Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Glossary, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines disaster as: Severe alterations in the normal functioning of a community or a society due to hazardous physical events interacting with vulnerable social conditions, leading to widespread adverse human, material, economic, or environmental effects that require immediate emergency response to satisfy critical human needs and that may require external support for recovery.’
It defines disaster management as: ‘Social processes for designing, implementing, and evaluating strategies, policies, and measures that promote and improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery practices at different organizational and societal levels.’
Articles about disaster on Designing Buildings include:
- After Mexico - earthquakes and resilient cities.
- Avoiding disaster in existing buildings and infrastructure.
- Climate change.
- Disaster Planning.
- Disaster Planning: North Staffs.
- Disaster Planning: School Buildings.
- Earthquake Design Practice for Buildings.
- Earthquake resistant building materials.
- Earthquakes and the seismic strengthening of churches.
- Engineers and hurricanes.
- Flood.
- Future proofing construction.
- Helping communities recover from disasters and protecting them before they occur.
- How to rebuild using the debris from disasters.
- Hurricane cellar.
- Hurricane design considerations.
- Managing and Responding to Disaster.
- Natural disaster.
- Research and development in disaster response.
- Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
- Summerland disaster.
- Ten years on – Lessons from the Flood on building resilience.
- Tropical cylcone.
- Tsunami.
Featured articles
Check out some of the best features and news from Designing Buildings as well as key stories from around the web.
The heritage of nuclear and conventional power stations.
New measures to stop people being ripped off
Government to protect families from cowboy builders and aggressive bailiffs.
New Futurebuild showcase brings an innovation-first approach.
National Planning Policy Framework
Understanding the 2026 changes.
ECA's public affairs priorities
Member consultation opens to shape priorities for 2027 to 2030.
Dutyholder responsibilities from 1 July 2026.
Where performance meets practice
The Building Envelope Stage at UKCW Birmingham.
CIAT publishes briefing on planning reforms.
Leaders in Learning for Practice Network
Call for conservation leaders in learning to register interest in new network.
The importance of early engagement
Construction lessons from the Trillium HealthWorks Experience Centre.
Mayors are to be given planning call in powers
Mayors across England will be able to make the most important planning decisions.
The Master Builder: William Butterfield and his times. Book review.