The magnitude of disaster is not determined by floodwater alone but also by the pattern of vulnerability in which people live. The lives and livelihoods of many poor people are hardest hit by disasters. These people, often already vulnerable to other disasters and stresses such as HIV/AIDS, drought, food insecurity, cyclones and ongoing conflict, are forced to live in hazardous places, building their homes and growing their food on disaster prone areas. Many impacts of disasters are similar between themselves although their magnitude, nature and scale may vary and these impacts may be caused in different ways. The impacts of disasters on lives and livelihoods and the way agencies have addressed them are similar in most parts of the world. The effectiveness of agency interventions has, however, always been conditioned by factors specific to the context and circumstances, size and scale of the disaster and the affected population. In this document, care has been taken to synthesise the lessons that are relevant in a variety of contexts. Readers are advised to judge them carefully in relation to their context before applying them.