Classifying hazardous events

Abstract

Classification is an information management technique that helps achieve the goals of scientific and applied research by simplifying and ordering complex and varied observations. This paper is intended as a guide to the use and application of classifications of hazardous events. Proposed classifications are reviewed and evaluated in terms of their purposes, methods, supportive evidence and the scientific and applied goals of classification. The review is structured according to the metaphor of the natural life history of a hazard that distinguishes three stages of human-environment interaction: (a) hazard causes, (b) physical and psychosocial characteristics of hazards, and (c) individual and aggregate responses to hazards. The life history perspective has the advantage of being multidimensional and transactional. The structure highlights the relationship between proposed classifications, identifies needed areas of conceptual and empirical development, and provides a general guideline for the selection and use of classifications for hazard management.