Learn in the textbookTechnical and Physical Vulnerabilities
DefinitionA disaster (災害) is a threat in which natural events or accidents, such as earthquakes, fires, and floods, damage equipment or data. It is the typical physical threat (物理的脅威).
ExplanationA physical threat is one in which equipment or data is harmed by a physical cause, such as a natural event or direct damage to a machine. Because a disaster strikes a wide area at once, a copy of the data kept in the same building is lost along with the original.
AnalogyKeep important papers in a single warehouse and one fire can wipe them all out. Leaving copies in another town is what preparing for a disaster looks like.
Memory hookThe Japanese character 災 stacks the river shape 巛 on top of 火 (fire), so flood damage and fire damage sit inside a single character.