Types of emergency situations, characteristics and classification

The problem of emergency situations remained relevant almost always. Probably, every person should know what is an emergency and what types they are. This article will describe the concept of an emergency situation, as well as the main classifications, drawn up depending on the nature and consequences of the disaster.

The concept of an emergency

To date, there are incredibly many interpretations of the concept of "emergency situation." You can, however, highlight the most common definition most often used by various sources. It says that an emergency situation is a situation that has developed on a certain territory, formed due to dangerous phenomena. What are these dangerous phenomena? As a rule, these are natural disasters, man-caused or chemical accidents or other forms of disasters. All of them necessarily entail danger to human life or health, destruction or destruction of various material assets or resources, etc.

The concept presented above includes certain types of emergencies. About what these kinds are and how they are classified, will be told further.

Classification of emergencies by the nature of the origin of events

The first and the main classification, which should be told, depends on the nature and conditions of origin of various dangerous events.

What kinds of emergencies can be distinguished here? There are four main groups.

• Emergencies of a technogenic nature . In short, accidents that are considered technogenic are transport accidents, explosions or explosions, some types of fires, the release or threat of release of various pesticides, radioactive or biological substances, destruction of buildings, buildings or structures. It also includes accidents and catastrophes that occurred on engineering networks, threats of accidents or direct catastrophes on dams, dams, other water structures, etc. The types of emergency situations of anthropogenic nature are thus quite numerous and extensive.
• Military emergency . This group is characterized by massive and extensive measures to destroy or contaminate certain areas. The use of weapons of mass destruction is at the forefront of this group. This includes religious, social, political explosions and unrest, terrorism, state confrontation and much more.
• Socio-political emergencies . All kinds of emergency situations of this group can be characterized as unconstitutional and terrorist. As a rule, this includes kidnapping, the taking of a group of persons as hostages, illegal arms trade, etc. Socio-political emergencies are characterized as dangerous phenomena that have arisen as a result of social and political conflicts.
• Natural Emergencies . Characterized by extremely dangerous natural phenomena. There are many types of different situations in this group. However, all of them lead, as a rule, to people's diseases, to mass lesions of biological creatures, etc. A natural emergency is a situation that is formed on a certain territory, which is dangerous because of a source that can cause harm to the environment, population, material culture etc.

Thus, the four groups listed above are considered the basis of all further classifications and subtypes.

Classification of emergencies on a territorial basis

The next most important classification is associated with the territorial spread of dangerous phenomena. The main types of emergency situations in this case again divided into four groups. Among them:

• ES at the object level . This kind of dangerous phenomena applies only to certain objects, zones or small areas. The main feature of this group is that the consequences of the emergency do not go beyond the boundaries of the facility itself. An example is the sanitary protection zone on which the accident occurred.
• ES at the level of the area . This type of dangerous phenomena is somewhat similar to the previous one, because an accident occurs, as a rule, on a certain object. However, the consequences of a catastrophe that has occurred can go far beyond the designated zone. They can touch a percentage of the population, some parts of the territory, etc. Emergency situations at the local level invariably entail budgetary costs and a deterioration in the overall economic state.
• ES at the level of the region . They are similar to the previous group, but they are slightly more extensive. They can develop at once in two oblasts or districts (but no more). The main types of emergencies, called regional ones, threaten a fairly large part of the population and spread to large territories and regions.
• State-wide emergency situation . This is the last and most serious stage. This group includes only those dangerous phenomena that extend to more than two territorial entities (be it a region or region, autonomy or a city of federal significance). The peculiarity of this group is that more funds are allocated for eliminating the consequences of the disaster than it is possible (in other words, one of the criteria for determining this group will be the fact that the state budget does not allow to adequately eliminate the consequences of the disaster).

Some sources highlight the notion of a global emergency. It is used only if several states are at once threatened.

Thus, the classification presented above is rather structured and concise; There are all necessary information about the types of emergencies on a territorial basis.

What is a "technogenic emergency"?

Types of emergency situations of anthropogenic nature are incredibly extensive. To bring them all at once is unlikely to be possible. However, the first thing that has to be done is to disclose the concept of "technogenic emergency situations".

Here is one of the most accurate and well-known definitions: an emergency situation, called anthropogenic, is a certain kind of environment in which normal living conditions of people are violated, significant damage to material values and property of people, certain territories become uninhabitable, the environment and nature deteriorate .

What in this case is the source of ES? For a group of dangerous phenomena, called "man-made", the key concept will be an accident. It is the accident and various emergency situations that entail a threat to the life and health of living beings. The accident is always a technogenic incident, accompanied by a violation of the transport or production processes. About what kinds of emergencies of anthropogenic nature exist, will be told further.

The first group of technogenic ES

Types of man-made emergencies are divided into specific groups. Below we will talk about the most basic types of phenomena of this kind with examples.

• The first group of emergencies, which are technogenic, are transport accidents . What does it concern? As a rule, these are accidents that have occurred with trains - passenger or freight; Major car accidents with a large number of victims; Ship accidents - major passenger or freight; Plane crash - with aircraft or missile systems.
• The next group is the release of chemically hazardous or radioactive substances . Probably, the most common types of man-made emergencies are related to this group. Here we can distinguish the following phenomena: loss of sources of hazardous substances; Release and spread of chemical or radioactive substances during their manufacture; Accidents in the production of the nuclear fuel cycle and much more. The group of accidents with the release of hazardous substances is considered one of the most dangerous and terrible in the class of technogenic emergencies due to the consequences that cover large areas and population groups.
• Another group is fires and explosions or their threat . As an example, one can cite catastrophes at industrial facilities, in the production and transportation of chemicals, in underground areas (underground, mines, etc.) and even in ordinary residential premises.

The second group of technogenic emergencies

What other technogenic emergencies exist? The types and classification of such dangerous phenomena will be given further.

• Accidents with the release of biological substances that are considered dangerous. Such accidents occur, as a rule, at industrial enterprises, in research laboratories or centers. However, there is a likelihood of such disasters occurring on vehicles of a particular type.
• Group of hydrodynamic accidents . From the name it can already be understood what kind of species these are. The causes of emergency situations, called hydrodynamic, are associated, as a rule, with the breakthrough of dams, dams, locks, with the onset and spread of floods, flooding, etc.
• Accidents on utility systems . They happen on heat, sewer networks, gas pipelines, in drinking water supply systems, etc.
• The last thing that can be attributed to man-made disasters is the sudden collapse of residential buildings and public facilities .

Thus, the types and examples of emergencies, called man-made, are fairly easy to recognize and structure.

What is a "natural emergency"?

A natural emergency is a situation that is formed on a certain territory, which is dangerous because of a source that can cause damage to the environment, the population, material culture, etc. The natural disaster is expressed as a rule in the form of dangerous natural processes or Phenomena.

Depending on the scale and intensity of the disaster, the emergency group under consideration is divided into three main classes:

• Unfavorable natural phenomena . Characterized as relatively small, but still negative processes that somehow affect human life and health.
• Natural disasters. These are destructive natural-anthropogenic processes and large-scale phenomena, which entail significant losses and destruction.
• Natural disasters . This is a subspecies of a natural disaster, which has a particularly large scale and entails huge sacrifices.

What are the main types of emergency situations of a natural nature? This will be discussed later.

Types of natural disasters

At the moment there is a single classification of hazardous natural phenomena and natural disasters. That is why all kinds of emergency situations of a natural nature will be fairly easy to structure. In total there are eight types of natural emergencies.

1. Cosmogenic Emergencies . As it is already clear from the title, this group is associated with space objects that somehow are capable of damaging the planet (asteroids, meteorites, comets, magnetic storms, etc.).
2. Geophysical ES . This includes various tremors (earthquakes) and volcanic eruptions.
3. Geological emergency . Probably the widest group of dangerous natural phenomena. The most basic thing that can be distinguished here is landslides, subsidence of soils and sandstorms.
4. Meteorological emergency . This group includes the most dangerous types of natural emergencies: tornado, hurricane, storm, squall, etc.
5. Hydrometeorological emergency situations . This group includes the threat of water or snow objects (rain, snowfall, ice, fog, etc.).
6. Marine hydrological emergency . All floods, typhoons, dangerous ice and other phenomena associated with the sea, can be attributed to this group.
7. Hydrological Emergencies . Again, this group is associated with a water threat. This includes high water, floods, flooding and so on.
8. Fires . Any natural fires (forest, steppe, peat, underground, etc.) are referred to this group.

All kinds of natural emergency situations, therefore, are very conveniently and understandably classified.

Basic data on natural disasters

Natural Emergencies are among the most common on the planet. Above were sorted out the types of emergencies. The characterization and analysis of natural disasters should also be given for a better understanding of the general situation in the world.

Every year, the number of victims from natural disasters increases by 4.4%, and the number of victims - by 8.7%. The total number of economic losses also increases, on average by 6% per year.

There are many opinions about natural disasters. One of them is associated with the growing anthropogenic impact on the environment. People are extremely irrational in extracting natural resources, they are increasingly destroying the ozone layer by their actions, and they are carrying out an extremely ineffective policy to protect the environment. Naturally, all these factors can not but affect the gradual deterioration of the situation.

Only on the territory of Russia can be identified about 30 dangerous natural phenomena. The most common of these are, of course, hurricanes (28%), earthquakes (24%), forest fires (25%) and floods (19%). The total damage from natural emergencies each year is about 12 billion rubles.

Military Emergency Situations

What are "military emergencies"? The concept, types and structure of this emergency group will be given below.

The concept of military emergency is incredibly extensive. This includes religious, social, political explosions and unrest, terrorism, state confrontation and much more. There are many different classifications of war times. It is, however, worth highlighting only the most basic species.

• Direct impact of damaging agents . The use of biological, bacteriological, chemical, psychotropic and other weapons belongs to this type of military emergency.
• Indirect impact of damaging agents . The emergence of foci of biological contamination or simple fires, the destruction of chemically and biologically dangerous objects and much more relates to the type presented.
• Change in habitat, causing significant damage and harm . This includes the violation of the supply of food, water, the destruction of residential facilities, the destruction of heat supply systems and so on.

Thus, the consequences of military emergencies can be truly terrible and destructive, surpassing somewhere even the consequences of natural disasters.

Socio-political disasters

The group of socio-political emergencies is somewhat similar to the class of military emergencies. However, there are some structural differences here. Thus, socio-political emergencies are characterized as dangerous phenomena that have arisen as a result of social and political conflicts.

Two main groups of phenomena are distinguished: they are social and political. In some classifications, another group is singled out - military emergencies, but it, as a separate class, has already been considered above.

So, what does the socio-political emergency do?

• Hunger . This is an extremely dangerous phenomenon, characterized by a lack of food and water in certain areas.
• Alcoholism . It is considered as an emergency only if it affects a significant part of the population.
• Addiction . It is worth noting that the number of drug addicts is increasing year by year.
• Smoking . This phenomenon is considered as a subtype of drug addiction and is also part of a group of social emergencies.
• Corruption. It refers specifically to a group of social emergencies, arises as a result of insufficient legal capacity of the legislative and legal system.
• Unemployment . Subtype of political emergencies. It is characterized by the inability to find a job by a certain part of the able-bodied population.
• Terrorism . Refers to a group of political emergencies. This is a kind of intimidation of the population for the sake of achieving certain goals, having many different subspecies.