Abstract
The magnitude of a disaster’s severity cannot be easily assessed because there is no global method that provides real magnitudes of natural disaster severity levels. Therefore, a new universal severity classification scheme for natural disasters is developed and is supported by data. This universal system looks at the severity of disasters based on the most influential impact factor and gives a rating from zero to ten: Zero indicates no impact and ten is a worldwide devastation. This universal system is for all types of natural disasters, from lightning strikes to super-volcanic eruptions and everything in between, that occur anywhere in the world at any time. This novel universal severity classification system measures, describes, compares, rates, ranks, and categorizes impacts of disasters quantitatively and qualitatively. The severity index is useful to diverse stakeholder groups, including policy makers, governments, responders, and civilians, by providing clear definitions that help convey the severity levels or severity potential of a disaster. Therefore, this universal system is expected to avoid inconsistencies and to connect severity metrics to generate a clear perception of the degree of an emergency; the system is also expected to improve mutual communication among stakeholder groups. Consequently, the proposed universal system will generate a common communication platform and improve understanding of disaster risk, which aligns with the priority of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. This research was completed prior to COVID-19, but the pandemic is briefly addressed in the discussion section.
Highlights
One or more natural disasters occur on most days somewhere in the world causing immense hardship to living beings and major damage and losses
It is difficult to express the level of severity caused by different types of natural disasters, in different countries, and in different time periods because there is no agreed upon terminology, no global standard communication platform, and no single common measurement for all types of natural disasters for all stakeholders that can estimate the total impact of an event and understand the full scope of severity
The novel Universal Disaster Severity Classification Scheme (UDSCS) is developed to assess the impact of any uncontrollable forces of nature regardless of disaster type, place, or time. This universal severity classification system is applicable to all stakeholders, such as civilians, emergency responders, disaster managers, relief agencies, all levels of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), insurance managers/estimators, reporters, media, database/information managers, academics, researchers, and policy makers
Summary
One or more natural disasters occur on most days somewhere in the world causing immense hardship to living beings and major damage and losses. Natural disasters can be land based (e.g., earthquakes), water based (e.g., river floods), atmospheric (e.g., tornadoes), biological (e.g., pandemics), extraterrestrial based (e.g., comet strikes), or any combination of. Natural Hazards these (e.g., undersea earthquake and tsunami). These disasters are different, their impacts on humans and habitats are similar. All natural disasters can cause loss of life and damage to humans and their possessions, and they disturb people’s daily lives. There is no system that can be used for communication purposes without confusion and for educating the public regarding the disaster continuum
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