disaster

is a situation which overwhelms local capacity such that external assistance is necessitated.

Disasters in EM-DAT are defined as: 'A situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to the national or international level for external assistance, or is recognized as such by a multilateral agency or by at least two sources, such as national, regional or international assistance groups and the media.' (Guha-Sapir 2004: 16)

is when either 10 people are killed, 100 are affected, a state of emergency is declared, or international assistance is called for.

Criteria For a disaster to be entered into the database at least one or a combination of the following criteria must be fulfilled: ' 10 or more people reported killed ' 100 people or more reported affected ' A declaration of a state of emergency ' A call for international assistance (Guha-Sapir 2004: 16)

Guha SapirThinkers

Guha Sapir