# Evolution of natural disaster terminologies, with a case study of the covid-19 pandemic

## TL;DR

This paper explores how people use and perceive disaster-related words like 'disaster' and 'catastrophe', and suggests a global system to classify disaster severity.

## Contribution

The paper proposes a ranking system for disaster terminologies to create a globally consistent severity classification framework.

## Key findings

- People use disaster-related terms interchangeably, leading to confusion in severity communication.
- A standard classification system is needed to improve disaster management and stakeholder communication.
- The study includes perceptions of the Covid-19 pandemic as a case example of terminology use.

## Abstract

Disaster, catastrophe, and cataclysm are some English terminologies that describe the severity of adverse events. Civilians, reporters, and professionals often use these terminologies to communicate and report any event’s severity. This linguistic method is the most practical way to rapidly reach all levels of local/regional/national, and international stakeholders during disasters. Therefore, disaster terminologies play a significant role in disaster management. However, attaining the actual magnitude of a disaster’s severity cannot be comprehended simply by using these terminologies because they are used interchangeably. Unfortunately, there is no consistent method to differentiate disaster terminologies from one another. Additionally, no globally accepted standard technique exists to communicate the severity level when disasters strike; one observer’s ‘disaster’ can be another’s ‘catastrophe’. Hence, a nation’s ability to manage extreme events is difficult when there are no agreed terminologies among emergency management systems. A standard severity classification system is required to understand, communicate, report, and educate stakeholders. This paper presents perceptions of people about disaster terminologies in different geographical regions, rankings and differences in disaster lexical and lexicon. It explores how people perceive major events (e.g., the Covid-19 pandemic), and proposes a ranking of disaster terminologies to create a severity classification system suitable for global use.