hazard

Noun

hazard (plural hazards)

1. (historical) A type of game played with dice. [from 14th c.]
2. Chance. [from 16th c.]
   • 2006, John Patterson, The Guardian, 20 May 06:

     I see animated movies are now managing, by hazard or design, to reflect our contemporary reality more accurately than live-action movies.

3. The chance of suffering harm; danger, peril, risk of loss. [from 16th c.]
   • 2009, Barbara Ellen, The Guardian, 27 Dec 09:

     Quite apart from the gruesome road hazards, snow is awful even when you don't have to travel.

4. An obstacle or other feature which causes risk or danger; originally in sports, and now applied more generally. [from 19th c.]

   The video game involves guiding a character on a skateboard past all kinds of hazards.

A hazard is a situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or environment. Most hazards are dormant or potential, with only a theoretical risk of harm; however, once a hazard becomes "active", it can create an emergency situation. A hazard does not exist when it is happening. A hazardous situation that has come to pass is called an incident. Hazard and vulnerability interact together to create risk.

Modes of a hazard

Hazards are sometimes classified into three modes:

• Dormant - The situation has the potential to be hazardous, but no people, property, or environment is currently affected by this. For instance, a hillside may be unstable, with the potential for a landslide, but there is nothing below or on the hillside that could be affected.
• Armed - People, property, or environment are in potential harm's way.
• Active - A harmful incident involving the hazard has actually occurred. Often this is referred to not as an "active hazard" but as an accident, emergency, incident, or disaster.