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Disasters are also interconnected through their effect on people and the environment, both the intermediate aftermath of the disaster and their cascading effects.
It is important to remember these impacts and attempt to remediate them and the root causes that brought them about. They can create conditions of further vulnerability or exposure to a hazard and could become building blocks of a disaster in the future.
Select an impact to learn more.
Reduction of people’s ability to support themselves or their family, both temporarily or permanently, is an impact that is interconnected with many others, including health and food security.
Just like people, nature also feels the impacts of various hazards resulting in threats to health and physical damage to individuals, populations, communities or entire ecosystems.
Even those surviving disasters when they occur can be at risk of short- and long-term health impacts cascading from pollution or damage of critical infrastructure and livelihood disruption.
Disasters cause fatalities both when they occur and in the aftermath with cascading effects on physical and mental health.
Public and private structures and systems can be impacted by disasters, from homes and properties to physical assets critical for providing health services, transport, food, water, communications and more.
Disasters can force people to move from their homes due to the loss of shelter, livelihoods or the risk of further incidents occurring. People may be temporarily displaced or urged to migrate to other areas.
Water security can be impacted by disasters when sufficient availability or access to water for health and livelihoods is disrupted. Water sources can also get contaminated and make vectors for other risks.
Through their impacts on natural and agricultural systems, supply chains and economies, disasters can put access to the foods we depend on for survival at risk.