Disaster

Disaster is defined as a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources (UNISDR, 2002).

In the Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage manual, the definition of a disaster is extended to include its impact not only on people and property but also on the heritage values of the World Heritage property and, where relevant, its ecosystems.

Source(s): Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage