Introduction
The question of how to define a disaster and which criteria should be applied to classify it has been the subject of vigorous debate among practitioners of the field (MunichRE, 2006; Perry and Quarantelli, 2005; Quarantelli, 1998). For example, Berren et al. (1980) offer an independent and comprehensive classification that is not limited to natural disasters and is based on type and duration of disaster, magnitude of impact, potential for occurrence, and ability to control the impact. Other classification schemes consider the differentiation by magnitude of event or consequences, by the different scales (such as individual, family, community, and region), or by speed of onset and predictability. Hence, numerous classification schemes have been proposed, and little would be gained from reviewing them all here.
Despite these reservations, there is broad consensus that a disaster is an event or situation that severely disrupts normal socioeconomic activities and causes damage...
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Glade, T., Alexander, D.E. (2013). Classification of Natural Disasters. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_61
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