Rokhideh, Maryam; (2025) Rethinking Disaster Risk: The Shift Towards Multi-Hazard and Systemic Risk Approaches in Research and Policy. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Natural Hazard Science 10.1093/acrefore/9780199389407.013.551.

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Abstract

Extensive scientific evidence and global policy frameworks have demonstrated how growing vulnerabilities and interdependence between human–environment systems have intensified the consequences of disaster risks. Many regions around the world have faced costly and devastating impacts from disasters and climate extremes driven by compound, consecutive, and cascading risks. Conventional approaches that have predominantly focused on single-hazard, narrowly scoped perspectives have fallen short in adequately assessing and managing dynamic risk drivers, that combine the interactions and impacts of multiple hazards, and the exposure and vulnerability of human and ecological systems. In response to these complex challenges, there have been calls in policy and research for a more comprehensive understanding of multi-hazard risk, one that considers the multidimensional determinants of risk, including the interrelated role of hazards, vulnerability, and human actions. Multi-hazard, systemic risk approaches have been highlighted by numerous developments in international policy and scientific research as critical to disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation. This paper traces the evolution of the multi-hazard concept within academic literature and global policy frameworks, examining its divergent uses and applications across disaster risk and climate science. It examines how early international frameworks began to shift from isolated, hazard-specific approaches toward more integrated risk models. It outlines how scientific research has contributed the conceptual framing and theorization to advance this evolution with novel methodologies and multivariate analysis. It also reviews the practical and institutional challenges of operationalizing multi-hazard risk perspectives, including differing uses and inconsistencies of terminology, fragmented and siloed research, and limited cross-sectoral coordination and coherence. While contributions to multi-hazard risk approaches have predominately focused on risk assessment and analysis, recent initiatives have called for further advancements in multi-hazard forecasting, warning systems, and preparedness measures. Ultimately, the progressive turn toward multi-hazard and systemic risk approaches in scholarship and international policy marks a paradigmatic shift in how disaster risks are understood, governed, and managed in a rapidly changing climate.

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