When identifying risks, the first question to ask is: What is located in the affected area that is to be protected?  

The most important protected good is people. Other protected goods are those that are important for the functioning of society and the economy. These may be the objects themselves (e.g. buildings, roads, power lines, machines) or their function (e.g. education at school, enjoyment of art in a museum, supply of drinking water, production in a factory). If, for example, buildings are destroyed or transport routes are interrupted, indirect damage is added to the direct damage: If the functions fail, people become homeless and need emergency accommodation, or the ambulance cannot cross the road and rescue injured people.