0 The meeting proposed therefore that the following terms and definitions be used: NATURAL HAZARD meaning the probability of occurrence, within a specific period of time in a given area, of a potentially damaging natural phenomenon. VULNERABILITY meaning the degree of loss to a given element at risk or set of such elements resulting from the occurrence of a natural phenomenon of a given magnitude and expressed on a scale from 0 (no damage) to 1 (total loss). ELEMENTS AT RISK meaning the population, buildings and civil engineering works, economic activities, public services, utilities and infrastructure, etc... at risk in a given area. SPECIFIC RISK meaning the expected degree of loss due to a particular natural phenom- enon and as a function of both natural hazard and vulnerability. RISK meaning the expected number of lives lost, persons injured, damage to property and disruption of economic activity due to a particular natural phenomenon, and consequently the product of specific risk and elements at risk. The above definitions include all the terms used in the UNDRO studies and in UNESCO *Background paper presented to European Space Agency/Council of Europe Seminar on earthquake prediction, Strasbourg, France, 5 to 7 March 1979. Available from UNESCO’s Earth Sciences Division on request. 5 publications but in several cases the terms used do not correspond. The relationship between the three sets of terms is shown in Table I: Table I I- I I I The proposed definitions appear to be close enough to general usage to have a good chance of wide acceptance. Annex III provides supplementary theoretical discussion of the concept of vulnerability and proposals for the practical evaluation of the risk attached to natural hazards. An additional concept which may prove of value in practical appIications is that of RESIST- 
**Analysis**
This text appears to be related to the field of natural disasters and risk management, as it defines key terms such as natural hazard, vulnerability, and risk. The context of the text is likely related to the scientific and technical aspects of understanding and mitigating the impact of natural disasters, which suggests a connection to the field of science and technology.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, Science and technology