DRRR

Disaster – event that occurs in most cases suddenly, unexpectedly, causing severe disturbances to
people or objects affected by it

TYPES OF DISASTERS:
 Geophysical – Earthquakes, Landslides, Tsunamis, Volcanic activity
 Hydrological – Avalanches, Floods
 Climatological – Extreme Temp, Droughts, Wildfires
 Meteorological – Cyclones, Storms
 Biological – Diseases Epidemics, Insect/Animal Plagues

Natural Hazard – a threat of a naturally occurring event will have a negative effect on humans
Important Point - There would be no natural disasters if it were not for humans. Without humans these
are only natural events.
Risk – characteristic of the relationship between humans and geologic processes
Hazard Mitigation – action to minimize the risk

 Catastrophic Hazards – devastating consequences to huge numbers of people, or worldwide

effect
 Rapid Onset Hazards – develop with little warning and strike rapidly
 Slow Onset Hazards – take years to develop
 Anthropogenic Hazards – occur as a result of human interaction with the environment
 Technological Hazards – occur due to exposure to hazardous substances

EFFECTS OF HAZARDS:
 Primary effects – result of the process itself
 Secondary effects – occur because primary effect has caused them
 Tertiary effects – long-term effects

Vulnerability – refers the way a hazard or disaster will affect human life and property
 Proximity to a possible hazardous event
 Population density in the area proximal to the event
 Scientific understanding of the hazard
 Public education and awareness of the hazard
 Existence or non-existence of early-warning systems and lines of communication
 Availability and readiness of emergency infrastructure
 Construction styles and building codes
 Cultural factors that influence public response to warnings

Hazard Assessment – consists of determining the following

 when and where hazardous processes have occurred in the past.
 the severity of the physical effects of past hazardous processes (magnitude).
 the frequency of occurrence of hazardous processes.
 the likely effects of a process of a given magnitude if it were to occur now.
 and, making all this information available in a form useful to planners and public officials
responsible for making decisions in event of a disaster
Risk Assessment - involves not only the assessment of hazards from a scientific point of view, but also
the socio-economic impacts of a hazardous event
 location of buildings, highways, and other infrastructure in the areas subject to hazards
 potential exposure to the physical effects of a hazardous situation
 the vulnerability of the community when subjected to the physical effects of the event
THE IMPACTS OF DISASTERS:
 Medical effects – traumatic injuries, emotional stress, epidemic diseases
 Damage to critical facilities – communication installations, electrical generating, and
transmission facilities
 Disruption of transportation - restricted mobility of vehicles makes rescue and other
emergency operations doubly difficult
 Economic impact - normal business operations and other economic activities are curtailed,
people must also leave their jobs and devote their time to disaster-related activities
 Global environment change - increasing evidence of global climatic change brought about by
both by human activity and disasters

ESTIMATING DISASTER RISK MODEL

CHARACTERISTIC OF DISASTER:
Disaster - inherently unexpected or come quickly with little or no warning
- cause widespread death, injury and property damage
 Knows no political boundary.
 Requires restructured and new responding organization.
 Creates new tasks and requires more people as disaster responders.
 Renders inutile routine emergency response equipment and facilities.
 Worsens confusions in understanding soles of peoples and organizations.
 Exposes lack of disasters planning, response and coordination. Inexperienced disaster
organizations often fail to see what their proper roles are.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
 Socio-cultural factors – socio-cultural attitudes influence readiness to adopt, modify, or reject
safety measures offered through outside assistance
 Psychological - research has shown that disasters can cause serious mental health consequences
for victims
 Vulnerability factors - within the victim operate in complex ways, but seem related to
the extent of stress experienced by the victim and the available resources, broadly
defined, with which to deal with it
 Widespread
 extend across a spectrum of severity
  persist for a prolonged duration
 reflect the unique and defining features of the specific disaster event
 Biological - devastating effects caused by an enormous spread of a certain kind of living
organism – that may the spread a disease, virus, or an epidemic
 Political commitments - cited as essential for governments and people to reduce potential
human suffering in disasters ranging from disease, hunger and poverty to climate vulnerability

Risk – chance or probability that cannot be measured or quantified as easily a property losses or damage
Hazard – any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someoe
Exposure – refers to people, property, systems, or other elements present in hazard zones that are
subject to potential losses
Vulnerability – refers to the characteristics and circumstances of a community, system, or asset
Resilience – ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, and recover from the
effects of a hazard

KEY HAZARDS PARAMETER

Most hazard quantification methods consider the magnitude and intensity in determining the level of
harm that a hazard event might bring. The magnitude of the event is a measure of its strength and is an
indication of how destructive it can be. Most hazard events are measured on some kind of scale to give
them a quantifiable outcome.

SPEED OF ONSET
This is the most important aspects of hazards. How predictable a hazard is and how much lead time is
allowed by it, is critical in determining how damaging it will be. The more predictable an event is, the
lesser the chance of incurring casualties and damages.
 Duration - becomes a concern as the chance of experiencing severe damage will depend on how
long the hazard effects an area

Hazard Assessment - A meaningful characterization includes qualitative and quantitative information

about the magnitude, intensity of effects, scope of affected area, frequency, predictability, and duration.
 Hazard Assessment and Risk Assessments are two different concepts.
Risk Assessment – involves both assessment of hazards from a scientific point of view and
socioeconomic impacts of a hazardous event
 Quantitative Approach – mathematical functions or equation relating the hazard variables used
are formulated to quantify the hazard
 Qualitative Approach – uses expert opinion in ranking relative terms
 Probabilistic Approach - provides an objective estimate of the probability of each hazard
affecting an area or region by considering past record of events
 Deterministic Approach – more subjective approach of estimating probability

Hazard Mapping – process of identifying the spatial variation of hazard events or physical conditions