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 and news
Guide to ISO 19650 for Architecture Firms (2026)
A user gives their low down.
A UK training and membership provider for mould remediation professionals.
Building Safety recap April, 2026
A short and longer run-through of the month, with links to further information and sources.
CIAT May 2026 briefing.
Independent NSI and BAFE study exploring how organisations are changing the way they buy fire safety services.
From medieval scribes to modern word art.
ECA welcomes crackdown on late payment and push for clean energy, whilst CIOB seek fixed cladding removal timeframes.
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.
The UK's campaign to reduce noise pollution: Mythbusting, articles and topic guides.
Setting Expectations on Competence Management
Industry Competence Committee.
New Scottish and Welsh governments
CIOB stresses importance of construction after new parliament elections.
The sad story of Derby Hippodrome
An historic building left to decay.
ECA, JIB and JTL back Fabian Society call to invest in skills for a stronger built environment workforce.
Women's Contributions to the Built Environment.
Calls for the delayed Circular Economy Strategy
Over 50 leading businesses, trade associations and professional bodies, including CIAT, and UKGBC sign open letter.
The future workforce: culture change and skill
Under the spotlight at UK Construction Week London.
A landmark moment for postmodern heritage.