The level of risk to which a country or population group is exposed when a violent event occurs depends on a combination of two factors: the hazard itself and the vulnerability. As a result, defining risk requires assessing the hazards and the vulnerability of the people and elements exposed to them.

There are various tools for assessing hazards. The CAPRA platform includes the models most commonly used to assess the different types of hazards. It is important to emphasize that the analysis itself is the responsibility of national agencies and it requires the participation of technical and scientific institutions in fields related to geology, seismology, volcanology, hydrometeorology, and epidemiology, among others. In general, little can be done to change hazards, especially when they are of natural origin, and thus prevention (elimination of the risk) is more an ideal than a practical reality.