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Title Page Title: Your Guide to Mapping Disaster Risks in the Community
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Page 1 The assessment of hazards, vulnerability, capacity, and disaster risks of the community is important to guide the community in
preparing for possible disasters and carrying out appropriate responses. This booklet provides instructions in mapping hazards,
population at risk, and resources of a community to determine its readiness in times of disasters.
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Content
 Filling out the Participatory Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (PVCA) Matrix
 Creating a Hazard Map
 Creating a Population at Risk Map
 Creating a Critical Resources at Risk Map

Page 2 Filling out the Participatory Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (PVCA) Matrix

The PVCA Matrix has three headings: A) Attributes, B) Vulnerabilities, and C) Capacities. (A) refers to the different features of the
community. (B) refers to the vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the community. (C) refers to the resources or strengths of your
community.
 Step 1: Have a clear understanding of the different Attributes or features of the community.

Physical Includes location of residential or commercial structures; topography and

geography; availability of infrastructures and physical resources
Social Includes number of organizations, groups, and institutions as well as the
interrelationship or dynamics between and among these groups
Economic Includes livelihood, employment, or workforce
Cultural Refers to the attitude of the community, e.g. openness of and ability to
change, level of participation, ability to cope with trauma

Page 3 Step 2: Identify the Vulnerabilities and Capacities per component. Below are guide questions to answer per component.

Physical  What areas or locations are at risk?

 What areas or locations are relatively safe or not threatened by
hazards?
 How many houses or structures are at risk?
 Are the health centers and schools located in risky areas?
 Where can evacuation centers be situated? If there is an evacuation
center, where is it situated?
 What types of hazards make these houses or structures at risk?
Social  How many families or individuals are at risk?
 What is the ratio of male to female?
 Among the population at risk, how many are pregnant? children?
vulnerable population?
 Is the community organized?
 Is there a BDRRMC/PDRRMC?
 Are the government services available?
 Are the families in the community united?
Economic  What dominant livelihood is likely to be at risk in the community?
 Are business centers and other economic facilities located in risky
areas?
 Cultural  If there is a need to evacuate, are families prepared and willing to do
so?
 Are families capacitated to take appropriate action in times of
disaster?

Tips:
 Provide an estimate or exact number of structures, families or individuals that will most likely be affected by hazards.
 Identify organizations, groups, or institutions that are present in the community as well as the interrelation with these
organizations in times of disasters.

Page 4 Creating a Hazard Map

A Hazard Map is a map that highlights areas that are affected or vulnerable to a particular hazard. They are typically created for
natural hazards, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, flooding and tsunamis. Hazard maps help prevent serious damage and
deaths.1

A hazard map may be used to provide information on hazards to residents to ensure disaster preparedness, or it may be used in
disaster preparedness planning by authorities.

Step 1: Develop your own map or use a base map to plot the hazard.
Image: hazard map.gif

Step 2: List down the hazard or hazards that occur in your community.
 Identify the history of the hazards in the community. Include also resulting events or associated hazards occurring from the
main hazards identified e.g. heavy rain results to soil erosion or landslides. Past disaster records may be included as needed.
 Determine which of these hazards are most likely to least likely occurring.
 Determine the change in magnitude or intensity of the hazard over time.

Image: disaster icons.jpg

 (Footnote)
1
Udono, Toshiaki and Sah, Awadh Kishor. Hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment. Retrieved from
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN009857.pdf

Page 5 Step 3: Use your base map to plot where in the community these hazards are most likely to affect life, property, infrastructure and
economic activities.
 Use color coding to determine various levels of danger.
 Use icons or symbols to differentiate hazards by type or by danger level.
 Use icons or symbols for other features found in the map.

Step 4: Provide a legend to determine the meaning of the color codes, icons, or symbols used in the map.
Image: hazard map colors.pg

Creating a Population at Risk Map

The population at risk refers to the population that is exposed to the occurrence of a specific event.2 A Population at Risk Map is
used to identify the number of individuals and families within the community that are vulnerable and are relatively safe.

Step 1: Develop a matrix or use the sample matrix provided below to map out population at risk in your community.

(Footnote)
 2
”Population at Risk.” Glossary of Statistical Terms. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved from
https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=2081

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Step 2: List down families and individuals that live in or near hazardous zones classified by households, purok, zones, districts, etc..

Step 3: Classify the population into Men and Women. Also, if possible, classify further as follows: children, the person with disability,
pregnant women, mothers, older persons, sick or ailing, etc.

Step 4: Use your base map to plot the population at risk in your community based on the matrix. Use color codes or symbols to
categorize the population at risk.

Step 5: Provide a legend to determine the meaning of the color codes, icons, or symbols used in the map.

Creating a Critical Resources at Risk Map

A critical resource is defined as something necessary to sustain human life. Critical resources can include people, places, and things.3
Mapping critical resources means identifying existing resources in the community that are vulnerable and safe.

Step 1: Develop a matrix of vulnerable and safe resources. Sample matrix is shown below:

Hazards Zones/Purok Resources

Vulnerable Safe
Flood Purok 1, Purok 2, etc. 3 hectares of banana School building
Wind Purok 1, Purok 2, etc. 40 motorized boats Chapel
20 non-motorized boats
Landslide Purok 1, Purok 2, etc.

Footnote
3
Gravely, Steve, et.al. (June 2008). Critical Resources Shortages: A Planning Guide. Retrieved from
http://www.troutmansanders.com/files/upload/Critical%20Resource%20Shortages-A%20Planning%20Guide.pdf
Page 7
Step 2: List down all resources in the community as well as those that may be borrowed or used from nearby communities.
Resources may include community facilities, properties, livelihood, basic utilities, community infrastructures, crops, plants,
 vegetables, boats, fishing gears and equipment, transportation, etc.

Step 3: Identify which of these resources are at risk and are relatively safe depending on the type of hazard that may strike a
community.

Step 4: Use your base map to transfer information from the matrix. Use color codes or symbols to categorize if these resources are
vulnerable or safe.

Step 5: Provide a legend to determine the meaning of the color codes, icons, or symbols used in the map.

Tips:
 Use only one base map where you will transfer information from your list or matrix on types of hazards, population at risk,
and resources.
 Verify if the base map that will be used or developed is accurate and updated.
 Be consistent with use of terms or classification, e.g. District 1, District 2,…Purok 1, Purok 2,etc.
 Be consistent with use of color codes, symbols, or icons.
 Provide a unified legend of all information on one side or at the bottom of the map.

References:
Gravely, Steve, et.al. (June 2008). Critical Resources Shortages: A Planning Guide. Retrieved from
http://www.troutmansanders.com/files/upload/Critical%20Resource%20Shortages-A%20Planning%20Guide.pdf

“Philippine hazard maps online.” Retrieved from http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disasters/hazard-maps

https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=2081

”Population at Risk.” Glossary of Statistical Terms. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Retrieved from
https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=2081

Udono, Toshiaki and Sah, Awadh Kishor. Hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment. Retrieved from
http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN009857.pdf

Page 8 Packaged by:

(backpage)
Knowledge Management Division
Capacity Building Bureau
October 2015
(02) 951-2805
cbb@dswd.gov.ph